Trump showed ‘fascination with the sheer power’ of Putin, Kim: Merkel

Germany’s former chancellor, Angela Merkel, said in a new interview that President-elect Trump displayed “fascination” with world leaders who have unchecked power such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

“The way he spoke about Putin, the way he spoke about the North Korean [leader] — obviously apart from critical remarks he made — there was always a kind of fascination with the sheer power of what these people could do,” Merkel told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.

Throughout the segment, Merkel spoke of her tumultuous relationship with the former president, who she felt desired an administration without “encumbrance.”

“My impression always was that he dreamt of actually overriding maybe all those parliamentary bodies that he felt were in a way an encumbrance upon him, and that he wanted to decide matters on his own,” Merkel said. 

“In a democracy — well, you cannot reconcile that with democratic values.”

The Hill reached out to Trump’s team for comment. 

Much of Merkel’s discussion with Amanpour was focused on her new book, “Freedom: Memoirs 1954 – 2021,” in which she chronicles her 16 years of leadership in Germany. As the first woman to hold the office of chancellor, Merkel details how she navigated foreign relations between Berlin and Brussels as well as the United States, in addition to her views on the success of democracies.

“These days, liberal democracies are under onslaught. They are under pressure,” she told Amanpour.

Her chancellorship ended just before Russia invaded Ukraine in what she called a “power play.” 

Merkel predicted Trump could help end the conflict in the region as he has promised, but urged Ukraine to only accept a deal with “security guarantees.”

“There was a turning point in our relationship quite clearly that I had to be extremely cautious in my approach toward him. So, you cannot only trust in an agreement with him — that’s absolutely correct,” she said.