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The moments do not appear to have hardened the friendship, at least not on Trump's end. In an April 23 Associated Press interview that coincided with his first 100 days in office, Trump said \"it’s funny: One of the best chemistries I had was with Merkel.\"

When asked if he was not expecting to have a good relationship with her, Trump said he wasn't \"because, um, I’m at odds on, you know, the NATO payments and I’m at odds on immigration. We had unbelievable chemistry. And people have given me credit for having great chemistry with all of the leaders.\"

Merkel talking tough

Even though Trump has been touting their relationship since their White House meeting, Merkel has made two notable comments that could be interpreted as slights against her American counterpart.

After a meeting at the NATO summit, during which several world leaders were unable to reach an agreement on climate change with Trump, the Associated Press reported that Merkel said, \"The times in which we can fully count on others are somewhat over, as I have experienced in the past few days.\"

Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert followed up by saying her comments stand for themselves but she is \"a convinced trans-Atlanticist.\" He said German-U.S. relations \"are a strong pillar of our foreign and security policy, and Germany will continue working to strengthen these relations.\"

And then, in an article published in German magazine Die Ziet on the eve of her expected meeting with Trump, she noted their philosophical differences in how they view the world.

\"While we are looking at the possibilities of cooperation to benefit everyone, globalization is seen by the American administration more as a process that is not about a win-win situation but about winners and losers,\" she said in the interview with Die Zeit.

While we are looking for ways to work together for all-round benefits, globalization in the US administration is seen as a process that is not about win-win situations but about winners and losers,\" she was quoted as saying in the article.

When asked about national security adviser H.R. McMaster's world view, which the interviewer summarized as one in which he \"does not believe in a global community,\" Merkel responded \"that completely contradicts my view.\"

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