BERLIN: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday he would advise his children against living or studying in the United States at the moment, citing a rapidly changing social climate and limited opportunities even for the highly educated.

The remarks highlight tensions between the United States and its European allies under President Donald Trump, with disputes over trade, the wars in Ukraine and now Iran putting the Nato alliance under strain.

Merz said last month the United States was being humiliated in the Iran war, angering Trump. Days later, Washington announced a partial troop withdrawal from Germany and tariff hikes on European Union cars, a sector where Germany is strong.

Speaking to a young audience at a Catholic convention in Wuerzburg, Merz said people were too prone to think in “disaster mode” about the state of the world and urged Germans to feel more optimistic about their own country’s potential.

“I firmly believe that there are few countries in the world that offer such great opportunities, especially for young people, as Germany,” he said.

“I wouldn’t recommend that my children go to the US today, get their education there, and work there, simply because a social climate has suddenly developed there,” said Merz, a 70-year-old father of three.

“Today, the best-educated people in America have great difficulty finding a job.”

Merz took office last year as a self-professed transatlanticist, but has since criticised Germany’s most powerful ally, the US.

Trump, in turn, said Merz should focus on fixing his own “broken country”.

“I am a great admirer of America,” Merz told his audience. “My admiration isn’t growing at the moment,” he said to laughter and applause.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2026