Europe may be on its own.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel hinted Sunday that recent tensions at the G-7 meeting — where President Trump clashed with world leaders about defense spending and the Paris climate accord — made her realize time-tested global alliances are failing.
“The times in which we could rely fully on others, they are somewhat over,” Merkel said in a Munich campaign event for her fourth term.
“This is what I experienced in the last few days. We Europeans must really take our destiny into our own hands.”
Trump's report card for first gathering with world leaders
The German leader received a minute-long ovation for her comments.
Merkel did not name a specific leader or event that led to her grim epiphany.
But her remarks came a day after a tense G-7 summit in Sicily, which ended with Trump backing away from agreements with other allied nations.
At the meeting, Trump refused to say whether his administration would back the 195-nation Paris climate pact, which was signed under former President Barack Obama.
White House omits only gay man in NATO photo caption
All other G-7 officials — including leaders from Germany, Canada, France, Italy and Japan — were uniform in their support for the first-of-its-kind deal to combat climate change.
The G-7 leaders issued a statement saying the United States is “in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change” and “not in a position to join the consensus on these topics.”
Trump, who once called global warming a “hoax,” vowed as a candidate that he would pull the United States out of the Paris deal.
At the G-7, Trump also reportedly trashed Germany in particular, blaming it for being “bad” on trade deals.
President Trump speaks during the unveiling ceremony of the Berlin Wall monument at the NATO summit in Brussels.
(MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
Trump kept his distance from fellow leaders during the summit, though not as a snub. As the six other heads of state walked together, Trump traveled in a golf cart.
During the summit, Trump publicly chastised other NATO nations who he said did not pay their fair share for the military alliance, making other world leaders clearly uncomfortable during his Brussels speech.
The G-7 meeting marked the end of Trump’s nine-day trip, sending him home with open questions, and wounds, on American alliances.
But even before the Sicily meeting, Trump and Merkel had uncomfortable moments.
Obama, Merkel will meet in Germany during Trump's trip to Europe
The two seemed to squirm through a White House meeting in March, frowning before news cameras as Trump refused to shake Merkel’s hand.
He later tweeted that they had a “GREAT meeting.”
“Just returned from Europe,” Trump tweeted. “Trip was a great success for America. Hard work but big results!”
But Trump still criticized Germany for owing “vast sums of money” to NATO.
Trump’s combative attitude has shaken long-held alliances with several other nations, including Australia and the United Kingdom. He was a supporter of England’s Brexit vote, which further divided old-time ties in the European Union.
Merkel will seek her fourth term in September, making Germany yet another EU nation that will likely see its future hang on a tense election.
She closed out her Munich speech by taking a sip from a mug of beer, surrounded by supporters doing the same.
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