Meghan McCain points out political factors in Trump’s tension with Merkel, Macron

Following President Donald Trump’s trip to Europe, Fox News analyst Meghan McCain emphasized the political nature of European leaders’ cold shoulders toward Trump.

The host of Fox News’ “The Outnumbered” and the daughter of Arizona Sen. John McCain, Meghan joined KTAR News 92.3 FM‘s Mac and Gaydos to discuss, among other things, U.S. diplomatic relations with France and Germany.

The discussion came just days after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her country must become self-reliant in world affairs and newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron said a tense handshake with Trump was “not innocent.”

So, McCain was asked: Are France and Germany turning their backs on the U.S.?

“Angela Merkel is the last global leader of what was once this progressive wave that happened globally,” McCain started. “And everyone has been voted out of office except her. Her numbers aren’t doing so good right now because she let in over a million refugees and as a result, violence spiked.”

McCain’s claim that German citizens are unhappy with Merkel’s decision to let in refugees is supported by an article in the U.K.’s The Independent — among other news publications — though that same story also claims that the violence is largely against refugees themselves. A BBC report, however, details multiple attacks in Germany perpetrated by migrants, though Merkel urged citizens to not stigmatize all refugees based on the actions of a few.

McCain continued:

“There are so many sexual assaults against women that they ran out of pepper spray in all of Germany,” she said. “I mean, we’re talking about serious, serious ramifications for Germans and I don’t think it makes you or I ignorant or unkind or unchristian — as the Pope said — to say, ‘Hey, we need to take a pause, because we don’t want all these violent terror attacks and spikes in crime.’

“The fact that Angela Merkel would go back to Germany and say ‘We can’t rely on the United States,’ I’m not surprised. She and President Trump couldn’t be politically more polar opposite.”

As for French President Macron, McCain said he might be trying to “politicize” things and “talk tough.”

“When it comes to Macron, he is a brand new president, 39 years old. (…) So, he has a lot to prove right now. He needs to go back to France — and we know the French normally hate America — go back and act tough, talk tough with President Trump. Macron literally was just elected and, like I said, he was a low-level staffer that somehow became president. So I think he’s just trying to go back and politicize everything.”

Trump will announce his decision on Thursday at noon as to whether the United States will pull out of the Paris Accord, a deal that the U.S. entered under President Obama that stipulates measures to fight climate change.

“That being said, it looks like President Trump is going to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement, and if he does that, I think the red line is going to be drawn between us and Europe,” McCain said.

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