US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell is one of five candidates under consideration to become President Donald Trump’s new national security adviser.
Trump has said that he likes what Grenell has done as the US ambassador to Germany, according to news reports citing White House sources.
Grenell is best known for asserting US pressure on the German government, including by calling for Berlin to spend more on defense and pushing for a confrontational policy against Iran.
German media have described him as an agitator who meddles in domestic politics. But for Trump, Grenell may be just what he is looking for.
Read more: Why is Donald Trump ignoring Germany?
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="400" width="600" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
Richard Grenell (left) has been a vocal critic of German foreign policy with regards to Iran and China
‘Highly qualified, good people’
Earlier this week, Trump fired John Bolton from the NSA post, saying he had strong disagreements with him on foreign policy issues.
Bolton, best known as a hawkish neoconservative who considers regime change a viable option, was vying for influence in Trump’s inner circle, a battle he appeared to have lost to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The other candidates for the national security adviser job include retired General Keith Kellogg, who currently serves as Vice President Mike Pence’s adviser for national security, and Brian Hook, an Iran expert at the State Department.
Trump said he considers them all “highly qualified, good people that I’ve gotten to know over the last three years.”
Read more: US military in Germany: What you need to know
-
Donald Trump on Germany: Top quotes
The good, the bad and the ugly
US President Donald Trump has offered both candid praise and unabashed criticism of Germany and its policies. From calling German Chancellor Angela Merkel “possibly the greatest world leader” to describing her open-door refugee policy as a “catastrophic mistake,” here are his most memorable quotes regarding Germany.
-
Donald Trump on Germany: Top quotes
‘Greatest’
“Germany’s like sitting back silent, collecting money and making a fortune with probably the greatest leader in the world today, Merkel,” Trump said in a 2015 interview with US news magazine Time.
-
Donald Trump on Germany: Top quotes
‘Very bad’
“The Germans are bad, very bad … Look at the millions of cars they sell in the US. Terrible. We’ll stop that,” Trump said during a NATO leaders summit, according to German news magazine Der Spiegel, which cited sources at the alliance’s meeting.
-
Donald Trump on Germany: Top quotes
‘Something in common’
“As far as wiretapping, I guess, by – you know – [the Obama] administration, at least we have something in common, perhaps,” Trump said in March during a press conference with Merkel. He was referring to his unproven allegations that ex-President Barack Obama tapped his phone. There was widespread anger in Germany in 2013 when it was revealed the US National Security Agency tapped Merkel’s phone.
-
Donald Trump on Germany: Top quotes
‘Illegals’
“I think she made one very catastrophic mistake and that was taking all of these illegals (sic), you know taking all of the people from wherever they come from,” Trump said in a joint interview published by German daily Bild and British newspaper The Times, referring to Merkel’s open-door policy for refugees fleeing war and persecution.
-
Donald Trump on Germany: Top quotes
‘Germany owes vast sums of money’
“Despite what you have heard from the fake news, I had a great meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Nevertheless, Germany owes vast sums of money to NATO and the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany,” Trump said in a two-tweet statement after meeting with Merkel for the first time in March 2017.
-
Donald Trump on Germany: Top quotes
‘Turning their backs’
“The people of Germany are turning against their leadership as migration is rocking the already tenuous Berlin coalition,” Trump tweeted in the midst of a row within the German goverment. He went on to claim that: “Crime in Germany is way up. Big mistake made all over Europe in allowing millions of people in who have so strongly and violently changed their culture!”
Crash course with Germany?
It is unclear how Grenell would impact national security policy as a senior adviser to Trump. US foreign policy towards Germany, however, has taken a more confrontational approach under the Trump administration.
Experts told DW last month that Trump’s “transactional leadership style” led him to snub Germany on a major trip to Europe for the G7 summit in late August.
“He sees himself as a boss, articulates clear goals and demands and rewards or punishes subordinates with advantages or disadvantages if they fail to meet his requirements,”said Josef Braml, a US expert for the German Council on Foreign Relations. “This is why Germany and Denmark are being punished with neglect.”
Read more: Trump’s troop talk again rattles Germany’s security assumptions
ls/sms (dpa, Reuters)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/will-us-ambassador-to-germany-richard-grenell-be-trump-s-next-security-adviser/a-50394724?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf