White House spat is deliberate U.S. escalation, says German Chancellor candidate Merz

This is reported by Tagesschau.

According to Merz, he watched the video of the Oval Office incident multiple times and described it as a deliberate escalation by the U.S.

“In my opinion, this was not a spontaneous reaction to Zelenskyy’s intervention but clearly an escalation,” the politician asserted.

He also emphasized that such rhetoric from the U.S. administration aligns with the current policies of the White House.

Dispute in the Oval Office

On February 28, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Washington for a working visit. During a press conference, a dispute broke out between Trump, Zelenskyy, and U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance.

Later, it was reported that the joint press conference of Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump was canceled after the disagreement.

Following the altercation in the White House, European leaders and U.S. politicians began expressing their support for Zelenskyy and Ukraine.

White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt announced the U.S. government’s intention to halt financial military aid to Ukraine.