Donald Trump calls Clinton ‘America’s Merkel’

Speaking at a campaign event in Ohio Monday night, Donald Trump called Germany’s immigration policy a “disaster,” and compared Hillary Clinton to the country’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel.

“In short, Hillary Clinton wants to be America’s Angela Merkel, and you know what a disaster this massive immigration has been to Germany and the people of Germany. Crime has risen to levels that no one thought they would ever, ever see. It is a catastrophe.”

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Trump was giving a speech on national security and used Germany as an example of bad immigration policy. His official Twitter account even featured an image of Clinton and Merkel together with the hashtag, #AmericasMerkel.

Germany has so far accepted well over one million migrants mostly from war torn countries like Syria and Afghanistan.

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There have been reports of increased crime in the country like the sex assaults that took place in Cologne on New Year’s Eve, but according to statistics from the German Federal Police (BKA) there has not been an increase in sex crimes associated with migrants. The statistics show that migrants only represent a small fraction of sex assaults, pegging the number at less than four per cent of the total sex-related crimes in the country.

Statistics for other offenses have shown that crime in the country has not increased dramatically overall as Trump has suggested.

Merkel has been both praised and criticized in Germany for her ‘Wir Schaffen Das,’ which means ‘We can cope’, attitude towards immigration in the country and there is internal debate in the country over policies related to tightening up security following several terror related attacks that included a failed suicide bombing in the German town of Ansbach and an axe attack on a train in Wurzberg. Both attacks were later confirmed to have been carried out by asylum seekers from Syria and Afghanistan.

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Although there has been no official reaction from the German government to Trump’s comments Monday, the story has dominated the news and generated reaction in Germany.

German Politician and Green Party MP in the Bundestag, Omid Nouripour responded to Trump’s comments on Twitter saying, “When will you stop your trash talk about my country, @realDonaldTrump? Ever cared for facts?”

The U.S. presidential election continues to be a topic of interest in Germany, particularly Trump. Although the government remains officially mum on issues surrounding the election spokeswoman for German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Sawsan Chebli did break with protocol last week speaking on behalf of the minister, saying, “If you follow what Trump is saying you need to be really anxious about what could become of this world if he does become president. That is what the foreign Minister is drawing attention to and it is his right to do so.”

Melanie de Klerk is an assignment editor at Global National. She is currently living in Berlin as one of the 2016 Arthur F. Burns Journalism Fellows.