Summary
In her memoir Freedom, Angela Merkel reflects on her misjudgment of Donald Trump, initially treating him as “completely normal” before realizing his emotional nature and authoritarian inclinations.
She recounts his attempts to humiliate her, his zero-sum worldview, and fascination with autocratic leaders like Vladimir Putin.
Merkel also critiques Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord and his hostility toward Germany.
Addressing her legacy, she discusses tensions with Putin over NATO and acknowledges criticism of her reliance on Russian gas and liberal refugee policies.
Agreed, and the passing from the article implies that she was prepped and had an idea that he was shitty then realized how terrible a person he is once he met her. He’s in the news so much over the last 8-9 years but before 2015/2016 most people knew fairly little about him unless you read his biography which his biographer has come out and said it’s very sanitized.