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00:00I just wanted to know, James, where does this leave Germany, which is Europe's largest economy,
00:06and Mertz as the person who has to negotiate somewhat for Germany?
00:13This is a really good question because I think Germans were really shocked and caught surprise
00:20with Trump's tariff war. Trump has frequently lashed out at Germany, in particular the
00:26former Chancellor Angela Merkel, about not spending enough on defense, particularly not
00:33carrying their weight, as Trump would put it. But what Mertz has done is shown a certain
00:38decisiveness that was lacking from his predecessor, Olaf Scholz. And he said, you know, even though
00:44he's a staunch transatlanticist, he was the head of the Transatlantic Bridge. It's called an NGO here.
00:51And he said, we're going to spend a lot of money. We're going to invest and we're going to prepare
00:55for a future of European security without America. He said that in not so many words.