INTERNACIONAL
Trump effect forces Germany to reprioritize defense as nation plays catch-up in military spending
President Donald Trump’s continued criticism of Germany’s failure to pay its defense bills looks to have pushed one of Europe’s wealthiest nations into action.
The president’s criticism of Berlin has compelled Germany to increase funding for its military forces and infrastructure, which critics say are in a bad state of affairs.
Richard Grenell, U.S. Ambassador to Germany during the first Trump administration, told Fox News Digital «multiple German leaders ignored the warnings from President Trump that Russia was using energy as a weapon against them.
US BRISTLES AT GERMANY’S DEFENSE BUDGET PLANS AFTER IT FALLS SHORT
«The war in Ukraine and the invasion of Putin showed the new German leadership that Donald Trump was absolutely right about Germany feeding the beast that ultimately turned on them,» he added.
Trump appointed Grenell as presidential envoy for «special missions» in December.
During his first term, President Donald Trump waits to greet Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, at the White House in Washington, D.C., March 17, 2017. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In 2018, Trump rebuked Germany’s addiction to Russian gas, according to observers of German-U.S. relations. He told the U.N. General Assembly that «Germany will become totally dependent on Russian energy if it does not immediately change course. Here in the Western Hemisphere, we are committed to maintaining our independence from the encroachment of expansionist foreign powers.»
During his remarks, the camera panned to Germany’s delegation to the U.N. in 2018, including its then-U.N. Ambassador, Christoph Heusgen, and former Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who all seemingly laughed and smiled at Trump.
‘MAKE NATO GREAT AGAIN’: HEGSETH PUSHES EUROPEAN ALLIES TO STEP UP DEFENSE EFFORTS
However, those smirks soon turned into raw anxiety, when four years later, in 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine and Germany scrambled for a way to wean itself off Russian gas to avoid helping reward Putin.
Matthew Kroenig, director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, told Fox News Digital, «Every U.S. presidential administration since Eisenhower has complained about European free riding, but asking «pretty please» has not worked. Trump’s tough rhetoric is achieving results that eluded his predecessors.
«The Trump effect is in part due to Trump raising NATO burden sharing to the very top of the transatlantic security agenda and in part due to genuine fears that Washington could abandon NATO and Europe would need to fend for itself.»
Soldiers from the German Armed Forces honorary guard are pictured during a reception with military honors Nov. 4, 2024, in Berlin, Germany. (Getty Images)
After Trump and Grenell helped to cajole the Germans out of their security slumber, Berllin reached the NATO goal of spending 2% of gross domestic product spending in 2024. This was the first time Berlin reached 2% since 1991, the end of the Cold War.
Trump, however, called for Germany to spend 5% on defense because, he argues, the U.S. is contributing significant resources to protect the central European country.
The frustration with Germany and other European allies was captured in text messages reported between Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance.
TRUMP WATCHES STRIKE ON IRAN-BACKED HOUTHIS IN YEMEN IN NEW WHITE HOUSE PICS AS LARGE-SCALE OP CONTINUES
«I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC,» Hegseth said in response to Vance, who questioned U.S. leadership in advancing security policies in the Red Sea to counter Houthi aggression and reopen shipping lanes.
Germany’s export trade greatly benefits from free navigation in the Middle East, but it refuses to aid the U.S. in stopping the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist movement via military strikes. Europe and Germany are unwilling to follow Trump’s lead and sanction the Houthis as a terrorist entity.
Friedrich Merz, chairman of the Christian Democratic Union and a chancellor candidate, during a press conference after the federal election Feb. 24, 2025, in Berlin, Germany. (Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images)
The so-called Trump Effect has also affected the German parliament’s decision to relax restrictions on debt so it can pump funds into its military superstructure.
The likely new German chancellor, Friedrich Merz of the conservative Christian Democratic Union party, said he would do «whatever it takes» to rebuild Germany’s frail military. Berlin’s mainstream parties aim to invest hundreds of billions of euros in defense and infrastructure. Germany’s armed forces (Bundeswehr) are, according to reports, in a state of disarray, with a mere 181,174 soldiers at the end of last year. Germany’s Defense Ministry seeks to expand its armed forces to 203,000 by 2031.
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Recruitment remains an ongoing challenge within a population raised on pacifism. After Germany started two World Wars in the last century, Germany’s power politics stressed the role of multilateral institutions like the U.N. and diplomacy in remedying conflicts.
Conscripted armored infantrymen stand at attention while dressed in their camouflage uniforms during an exercise as part of the basic training of the German Bundeswehr on the premises of the Knuell Barracks in Schwarzenborn, Germany, in April 2005. (Frank May/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)
The Associated Press recently reported that Germany’s parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces, Eva Högl, said, «The biggest problem is boredom. She added «If young people have nothing to do, if there isn’t enough equipment and there aren’t enough trainers, if the rooms aren’t reasonably clean and orderly, that deters people, and it makes the Bundeswehr unattractive.»
In an interview earlier this month with German news outlet WELT, the German historian Michael Wolffsohn, who taught at the Bundeswehr University Munich, said of Germany and Western Europe’s failure over the decades to address its severe defense deficits, «Now we get the receipt for everything we neglected.»
Fox News Digital sent a detailed press query to the German Foreign Ministry about Trump’s criticism that Berlin has chronically underinvested in defense and remained wedded to Putin’s gas supply after his warnings.
Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
Trump national security adviser Mike Waltz reiterated the administration’s support for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Sunday, saying they «couldn’t be prouder» of his early months in the role, despite a wave of high-profile controversies and resignations that have embroiled the department in recent weeks.
Speaking to Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, Waltz was pressed about the alleged dysfunction inside the Pentagon’s top ranks— and whether, in his view, the current Pentagon is equipped to deliver on lofty foreign policy goals, including helping broker a negotiated settlement in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
«Can you do this in what appears to be a chaotic, weakened Defense Department?» Bartiromo asked Waltz on «Sunday Morning Futures,» citing reports of chaos and dysfunction, including recent firings of Hegseth’s top aides, and reports he has been threatening polygraph tests for some staffers at the department.
«I’ll tell you about a weakened Pentagon,» Waltz fired back. «That was one that had a Defense Secretary that disappeared for two weeks just last year, and nobody knew about it.»
DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH REBUFFS NEW GROUP CHAT ALLEGATIONS AS ATTEMPT TO ‘SABOTAGE’ TRUMP’S AGENDA
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is seen at Guantanamo Bay earlier this year. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. ShaTyra Cox)
In contrast to his predecessor, Waltz said Hegseth is «leading from the front» at the Defense Department, and praised what he described as Hegseth’s early efforts to reform the Pentagon.
«He is leading the charge, and he has no tolerance for leaking,» Waltz said, dismissing the alleged chaos or dysfunction as a «media narrative,» and one he vowed they «are going to power through.»
Waltz also brushed off a question about the departures of senior aides, including Hegseth’s own chief of staff, Joe Kasper, last week.
The exodus of senior officials and other allegations of chaos from inside the Pentagon have prompted some Democrats to call for an investigation into his leadership.
But Waltz also brushed off these characterizations of dysfunction on Sunday. Asked by Bartiromo how he was going to replace the fired Pentagon officials, Waltz said in response: «Maria, there’s 20,000 people in the Pentagon.»
«There is a record number of generals,» he said. «And the other piece— there is accountability. We have had several general officers that weren’t getting the job done, and admirals get fired and get replaced… That’s what the Pentagon needs.»
Waltz argued that that is a stark contrast to the longtime culture at the Pentagon, where he said «no one ever gets fired, [and] there’s never a sense of accountability.»
«And now there is,» he told Bartiromo.
«Whether it’s leaks, or not getting the job done, or failures in terms of procurement acquisition, now you have a leader that’s in charge,» Waltz said. «And I couldn’t be prouder of Pete Hegseth.»
HEGSETH SHARED DETAILS OF YEMEN STRIKES IN SECOND SIGNAL CHAT: REPORT
Pete Hegseth, left, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be Defense secretary, shakes hands with Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss. after his Senate Armed Services Committee for his confirmation hearing. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Waltz’s remarks come as Hegseth’s role has come under mounting scrutiny in recent weeks — both for his participation in at least one Signal group chat in March where he discussed a planned military strike against the Houthis, and the firing of several senior staffers earlier this month.
Hegseth earlier this month fired three top aides: including his aide, Dan Caldwell, his deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick, and the chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary, Colin Carroll.
These oustings were described as both «baffling» and alarming by John Ullyot, a former Pentagon communications official who resigned earlier this year.
«The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership,» Ullyot wrote in an op-ed for Politico.
The White House, however, has sought to emphasize its support for Hegseth in recent days, with both Vice President JD Vance and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt vehemently dismissing reports that the administration could be considering a possible replacement.
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«Let me reiterate: The president stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth and the change that he is bringing to the Pentagon, and the results that he’s achieved thus far speak for themselves,» Leavitt told reporters at a briefing last week, describing the reports as a «smear campaign.»
Trump’s First 100 Days,Pete Hegseth,Pentagon,Politics,National Security
INTERNACIONAL
Comienza la cuenta regresiva para el cónclave: los cardenales buscan definir el rumbo de la Iglesia católica
Tras el masivo funeral del papa Francisco, este lunes a la madrugada argentina comienza la cuenta regresiva hacia el futuro cónclave que deberá elegir al sucesor de Jorge Bergoglio y cuya fecha de inicio será determinada en breve.
El cónclave no empezará antes del domingo 4 de mayo, cuando concluirá el luto de 9 días desde la sepultura del pontífice. La fecha podría ser anunciada este mismo lunes.
Leé también: Se conoció un video inédito del papa Francisco que fue grabado antes de que se agravara su estado de salud
En esta transición de “sede vacante”, el Vaticano atraviesa el período de duelo conocido como “novendiales”, con misas diarias y reuniones periódicas de cardenales en las llamadas “congregaciones generales”.
Cuál es la importancia de las congregaciones generales
Estas asambleas buscan definir el rumbo que deberá seguir la Iglesia en el futuro pontificado y sirven de antesala a la elección del nuevo papa. En estas reuniones participan los cardenales que ya llegaron a Roma y sus deliberaciones son secretas.
Entre otras cosas, la primera congregación celebrada un día después de la muerte de Francisco determinó la fecha del funeral. Se espera que, de ahora en más y hasta el inicio del cónclave, los cardenales comenzarán a definir hacia dónde se inclinará la balanza entre esa lucha entre continuistas y rupturistas sobre la herencia que deja Francisco.
El cardenal Matteo Zuppi llega a la Basílica de San Pedro, mientras el cuerpo del Papa Francisco es llevado en un ataúd dentro de la Basílica, el día de su traslado, en el Vaticano, el 23 de abril de 2025 (Foto: Reuters/Hannah McKay)
Si bien las deliberaciones son secretas, se sabe que estas reuniones son vitales para definir el perfil de quien será el nuevo pontífice.
De hecho, en el último cónclave, según una infidencia “autorizada” hecha hace unos años por el fallecido cardenal cubano Jaime Ortega y Alamino, el entonces cardenal Bergoglio leyó un discurso que captó la atención del sector progresista. “La Iglesia está llamada a salir de sí misma e ir hacia las periferias, no solo las geográficas, sino también las existenciales”, sostuvo. Días después fue electo papa.
El objetivo más ambicioso de estas congregaciones es achicar el tiempo de duración del cónclave. La Iglesia católica necesita dar un mensaje de unidad tras la muerte de Francisco. A nadie escapa que Bergoglio fue un papa muy popular y querido, pero que también generó una fuerte resistencia en la curia y en sectores conservadores.
Leé también: De la niñez al Vaticano: la historia del sacerdote que le enseñó a ser monaguillo al papa Francisco
Si bien en estas reuniones no se barajan nombres, sí se vislumbra el perfil que deberá tener el sucesor. Los discursos de los cardenales tratan de definir el modelo y la agenda prioritaria del nuevo pontificado. El portavoz vaticano, Matteo Bruni, dijo que en la congregación del jueves pasado hubo 34 intervenciones.
En los próximos días, los discursos buscarán “consensuar” el perfil del nuevo papa para evitar un cónclave extenso. “No será largo”, dijo este fin de semana el cardenal Reinhard Marx, arzobispo de Múnich y Freising, la diócesis de Joseph Ratzinger
“Durará pocos días”, aseguró Marx, miembro del Colegio Cardenalicio y coordinador del Consejo para la Economía.
Según el cardenal alemán, el futuro papa deberá ser comunicativo y “poner en el centro la autoridad del Evangelio. En estos días hemos podido constatar el sentimiento del pueblo de Dios Los cardenales no pueden ignorar este sentimiento”, dijo. Sus palabras fueron interpretadas por la prensa italiana como un vaticinio de la “continuidad” del estilo del papa argentino.
Un caso urgente: el cardenal Angelo Becciu
Los cardenales deberán tomar una decisión urgente sobre su colega italiano Angelo Becciu, a quien Francisco le quitó sus “derechos” cardenalicios tras ser condenado por corrupción. Sin embargo, Becciu insiste en su inocencia y reclama participar del cónclave.
Según el diario Domani, Francisco dejó dos cartas en las que confirmó su voluntad de que Becciu sea excluido del cónclave.
Ante este panorama y frente al riesgo de un escándalo, los purpurados decidieron crear una comisión especial conformada por cinco cardenales para analizar el caso. La prensa italiana afirma que el propio Becciu integra el grupo.
Vaticano, conclave, Papa Francisco
Prosecutors in a left-wing Minnesota county attorney’s office will be required to consider defendants’ race when crafting plea deals, according to a local report citing internal documents.
The office of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, which recently let a Democrat-connected alleged Tesla vandal off with a slap on the wrist, issued the internal document «Negotiations Policy for Cases Involving Adult Defendants.» It directs prosecutors to consider «racial identity and age» as they negotiate plea deals, local Minnestota outlet KARE 11 first reported last week.
«While racial identity and age are not appropriate grounds for departures [from the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines], proposed resolutions should consider the person charged as a whole person, including their racial identity and age,» the internal document states, according to the outlet.
«While these factors should not be controlling, they should be part of the overall analysis. Racial disparities harm our community, lead to distrust, and have a negative impact on community safety. Prosecutors should be identifying and addressing racial disparities at decision points, as appropriate,» it continues.
STRING OF PLEA DEALS FROM MINNEAPOLIS DA OUTRAGES FAMILIES OF VICTIMS, DRAWS CONCERN FROM LEGAL EXPERTS
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty speaks in video address. (Hennepin County Attorney’s Office/YouTube)
The policy changes are set to take effect on April 28, according to the outlet. Hennepin County encompasses the city of Minneapolis and is the most populous county in the Democrat-run state.
The «Negotiations Policy for Cases Involving Adult Defendants» began circulating in the county attorney’s office last week, KARE 11 reported.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office on Sunday morning regarding the policy update, motivation behind the internal document and whether there are any concerns over the constitutionality of the changes, and is awaiting a response.
The reported plea deal policy comes with constitutionality issues, according to KARE 11, which spoke to local attorneys to weigh in on the change.
SOROS PROSECUTOR RIPPED FOR FAILING TO CHARGE WALZ STAFFER OVER TESLA VANDALISM: ‘TWO-TIERED JUSTICE SYSTEM’
«It both says, ‘Don’t take race into account,’ presumably because of the constitutional problems with taking race into account in addition to potentially political objections, but it simultaneously says this is something you should consider,» Jill Hasday, a University of Minnesota law professor, told the outlet. «And the problem for the drafters of this policy is, once you take race into account, it doesn’t really matter what else you say. The policy is going to be struck down.»
Another local attorney brushed off constitutionality concerns, saying that county prosecutors are directed to steer clear of racial disparities, not create them.
A man in handcuffs (Reuters/Lucy Nicholson) (Reuters/Lucy Nicholson)
«I definitely think that some people will get worked up about the issue, but I don’t see a constitutional problem, and that’s specifically because the policy tells prosecutors to avoid racial disparities. Not to create them,» University of St. Thomas law professor Rachel Moran told the outlet.
The Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution requires states to govern impartially, meaning that states and official government actions cannot discriminate or treat individuals differently based on characteristics such as race.
WALZ STAFFER ACCUSED OF VANDALIZING TESLAS MIGHT NOT FACE CHARGES: REPORT
«Our sentencing guidelines that criminal justice professionals use every single day in court say that race should not be used in that calculus. This seems to contradict our sentencing guidelines,» former Washington County, Minnesota, prosecutor Imran Ali told the outlet. «It’s inconsistent not only with our sentencing guidelines, but the policy in and of itself is inconsistent.»
Snow is removed from the entrance of the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa, File)
The county attorney’s office told KARE 11 that race is an important factor to consider during plea deal negotiations «because we know unaddressed unconscious biases lead to racial disparities.»
«This policy acknowledges that there are many factors to be considered in negotiations. Each case – and defendant – is unique. Someone’s age may change the likelihood of growth and change. A defendant’s race matters because we know unaddressed unconscious biases lead to racial disparities, which is an unacceptable outcome,» the office told the outlet.
NUMBER OF TESLA ATTACKS SOARS PAST 50 AS VIOLENCE TARGETING MUSK’S COMPANY ESCALATES
«Our goal with this policy matches the goal of all our work: to achieve safe, equitable, and just outcomes that center the healing of victims while improving public safety,» the office continued.
Fox News Digital previously reported that Moriarty has been backed by groups tied to money from liberal mega-donor George Soros, who has helped to install scores of soft-on-crime local prosecutors around the nation. She was first elected to the role in 2022 after working for more than two decades as a public defender in the county.
Moriarty most recently made national headlines last week when her office bucked criminally charging a Minnesota state employee suspected of vandalizing six Tesla vehicles and causing $20,000 in damages. Instead, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said it would seek «diversion» over charges against Minnesota Department of Human Services data analyst Dylan Bryan Adams. The diversion approach «helps to ensure the individual keeps their job and can pay restitution,» according to the office.
Mugshot of suspected Tesla vandal Dylan Byan Adams (Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office)
Teslas around the country have been targeted for vandalism as its CEO Elon Musk heads up President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, which has been auditing various federal agencies for government overspending, fraud and mismanagement.
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Moriarty and her office also came under fire in October of 2023, when families of murder victims slammed a string of plea deals that had been offered to murder defendants, sparing them time behind bars, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Fox News Digital’s Deirdre Heavey and Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
Minnesota,Donald Trump,Elon Musk,Politics
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