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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.
INTERNACIONAL
Japón proveerá drones y tecnología a Argentina, Uruguay, Perú y Ecuador para frenar la pesca ilegal china
Japón implementará un programa de asistencia a países sudamericanos que enfrentan flotas pesqueras chinas operando ilegalmente en sus aguas, proporcionando drones de vigilancia y otro equipamiento para reforzar los patrullajes marítimos, anunció el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores nipón.
Ecuador, Perú, Argentina y Uruguay recibirán la ayuda a través de la Oficina de las Naciones Unidas contra la Droga y el Delito, según informó este lunes Nikkei Asia. El Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores japonés destinó 300 millones de yenes (1,9 millones de dólares) para la iniciativa, que incluye botes patrulleros inflables y equipos que analizan imágenes tomadas por drones. Esta tecnología permitirá identificar el registro de las embarcaciones, el tamaño de la tripulación y las rutas que siguen los buques.
Las flotas pesqueras chinas mantienen una presencia activa en las aguas alrededor de las Islas Galápagos de Ecuador. Con sus transpondedores GPS aparentemente apagados, estas flotas navegan hacia el sur frente a las costas de Perú y Chile. En el Atlántico, se ha confirmado actividad de flotas chinas en aguas cercanas a Argentina y Uruguay.
Estas flotas chinas son sospechosas de pesca ilegal, no declarada y no reglamentada, así como de actividades de recopilación de información, incluyendo el mapeo del lecho marino. .
Cuando una flota pesquera desactiva el rastreo GPS, determinar la trayectoria y el número de embarcaciones involucradas se vuelve extremadamente difícil. Tomar medidas de aplicación requiere capacidades superiores de guardacostas, de las cuales muchos países sudamericanos carecen.
Los buques pesqueros chinos también operan ilegalmente en el Banco de Yamato del Mar de Japón, y embarcaciones pesqueras japonesas han estado involucradas en incidentes frente a la costa del Pacífico del noreste de Japón. El gobierno japonés busca apoyar a países que enfrentan problemas similares.
La presencia de la flota china en aguas sudamericanas ha generado gran preocupación en la región. En Argentina, la actividad pasó de 61.727 horas por cada 500 kilómetros cuadrados en 2013 a 384.046 horas en 2023 en la zona conocida como “Milla 201”, al borde de la Zona Económica Exclusiva del país, según datos de Global Fishing Watch citados por Infobae.
La Prefectura Naval Argentina informó recientemente que reforzó el monitoreo de “más de 500 buques pesqueros extranjeros que arribarán a la Milla 201 en la próxima zafra del calamar”, de los cuales ya detectó 148 “en tránsito”. La mayoría proviene de China, Corea del Sur y Taiwán, reportó Infobae.
Investigadores locales han denunciado además actividades sospechosas de mapeo de la Plataforma Continental Argentina por parte de buques chinos. El arrastrero Lu Qing Yuan Yu 205, que en 2016 había realizado pesca ilegal dentro del Mar Argentino, fue detectado este año realizando movimientos en cuadrículas que sugieren prospección del fondo marino, según Milko Schvarzman, investigador del Círculo de Políticas Ambientales, citado por Infobae.
En Ecuador, el episodio de mayor tensión tuvo lugar en 2017, cuando las autoridades capturaron el carguero chino Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999 dentro de la reserva marina de Galápagos cargado con 6.623 tiburones de diversas especies.
También se han planteado preocupaciones sobre posibles abusos a los derechos humanos de trabajadores en embarcaciones pesqueras ilegales en Sudamérica. Según reportes, estos trabajadores enfrentan largas jornadas en condiciones difíciles en barcos sin control de temperatura.
Muchos de los trabajadores son del Sudeste Asiático, según el ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores japonés. Intensificar la aplicación de medidas contra las flotas pesqueras ilegales en Sudamérica podría ayudar a proteger a esos trabajadores, según Nikkei Asia, proporcionando potencialmente una oportunidad para que Japón refuerce las relaciones con los países del Sudeste Asiático.
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Minnesota Dem Senate candidate faces call from opponent to apologize over viral ‘pandering’ hijab video
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Minnesota Republican senatorial candidate David Hann is calling on one of his potential Democratic opponents to apologize after a video of her wearing a hijab and supporting the Somali community amidst a massive fraud scandal went viral on social media.
«It’s emblematic of the way she and other Democrat politicians in Minnesota have behaved over the past decade or so. They’re very political,» said former Minnesota state Sen. David Hann, who is running for Senate in the Republican primary, of Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s video wearing a hijab and defending the Somali community amid a massive fraud scandal that has rocked Minnesota over the past several years.
«They just are pandering to political constituencies, and they’re not doing the job that they were elected to do.»
In the video, which was widely criticized by conservatives on social media last week, Flanagan can be seen donning a hijab while talking to Somali constituents.
MINNESOTA GOP LAWMAKERS CITE CONSTITUTION IN CALL FOR WALZ TO RESIGN OVER FRAUD CRISIS
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is facing backlash over a viral video defending Somalis amid a massive fraud scandal. (Getty)
«Salam alaikum,» Flanagan says in the video giving an Arabic greeting before saying, «The Somali community is part of the fabric of the state of Minnesota.»
«I am here shopping today and just encouraging other folks to show up, support our Somali businesses, support our immigrant neighbors, and I know that things are scary right now,» Flanagan added in the video that was aired on Somali TV.
«Being part of Minnesota and growing up here, the Somali community has always been a part of my Minnesota,» Flanagan added, while telling residents to «show up and support our Somali businesses and our immigrant neighbors.»
«We’ve got your back,» Flanagan said.
Flanagan, who has not spoken out in response to the viral investigation from journalist Nick Shirley highlighting the alleged fraud problem in Minnesota, faced criticism over the video from those who accused her of downplaying the scandal.
MEDIA ‘COMPLICITY’ BLAMED AS FEDS SAY MINNESOTA FRAUD CRISIS COULD REACH $9B: ‘SHOWN THEIR TRUE COLORS’
«This is what political performance looks like — symbolism over accountability — while billions in taxpayer dollars vanish,» Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham posted on X. «Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan wears hijab in solidarity with Somalis as feds probe multibillion-dollar fraud scandal.»
Hann told Fox News Digital that Flanagan should apologize for and retract the video.
«They did not do their duty out of concern that they would offend a political constituency,» Hann said. «So they haven’t done anything to take responsibility for what the public expects them to do. So yes, she should apologize.»
«She certainly should not be sent to Washington to oversee federal dollars being spent. But it’s emblematic of the way Democrats have governed in this state. They like to posture, they like to tell people how compassionate they are. They tell us our high taxes are helping people, but they really haven’t demonstrated a concern for helping people. They’re more interested in just spending.»
Fox News Digital has extensively reported in recent weeks on the Minnesota fraud scandal, including concerns that the fear of being called «racist» helped provide cover for the fraud, which primarily occurred within the state’s Somali community.
LAWMAKERS PROBE SBA LOANS LINKED TO MINNESOTA’S $9B FRAUD SCANDAL: ‘RECKLESS DECISION MAKING’
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan speaks as Gov. Tim Walz, right, listens. (Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
«The Somali voting block is significant in the Minneapolis area, of course, and they’re concerned about that,» Hann told Fox News Digital. «And yes, I’ve seen those reports as well, that there were concerns about how this would appear. Most of the fraud was conducted by Somalis who put up these shell companies and looted the public treasury and I think the Democrats were concerned that if they went after that, they would appear to be picking on the Somali community when, in fact, they needed to enforce the law.»
«I think every community wants to see the laws enforced and people in Minnesota want to see laws enforced. And this is why this is so terrible. They are just failing to do the duty that they were elected to do.»
The lieutenant governor, who has been in office since 2019, is challenging two other Democratic candidates in the Senate primary race to fill the seat of outgoing Democratic Sen. Tina Smith. Former Democratic presidential candidate and current Sen. Amy Klobuchar serves as the other senator from the state.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Flanagan spokesperson Alexandra Fetissoff said the focus should be on the Trump administration’s efforts to deport illegal immigrants in Minnesota.
«While the Lt. Governor was showing her support for small businesses and communities being terrorized by ICE, she was handed a scarf by a friend and briefly wore it out of respect,» Fetissoff said. «The real outrage should not be a scarf, but masked men throwing American citizens into vans and violating the constitution.»
Flanagan’s team also clarified that while many on social media have claimed she said Somalis «built» Minnesota, «she does not say that in the video.»
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Senate candidate David Hann speaks to Fox News Digital in a 2024 interview when he was chair of the Minnesota GOP. (Fox News Digital)
Last week, Fox News Digital first reported on legislation introduced by GOP Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks named after Tim Walz that is aimed at addressing future fraud like what has occurred in Minnesota and could total as much as $9 billion, according to federal prosecutors.
If elected to the Senate, Hann told Fox News Digital he would push for more «safeguards.»
«But I think we should also be looking at, how can we reform the whole welfare establishment?» Hann explained.
«Are there better ways to help people? We should be more concerned about trying to make sure people’s lives are improved, rather than just spending money. It seems to me that the Waltz administration has been focused on just handing out money, Democrats in Washington just hand out the money and no accountability and no attempt to figure out the effectiveness of the programs that we have, we need to take a hard look at that.»
Fox News Digital’s Preston Mizell contributed to this report.
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Eurostar forced to cancel all services to and from London after ‘major disruption’ in Channel Tunnel
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The international high-speed passenger rail service that connects the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands was forced to cancel all services to and from London after experiencing a «major disruption.»
«Eurostar services to and from London are suspended until further notice due to overhead power supply issues in the Channel Tunnel, followed by a failed LeShuttle train,» Eurostar said in a statement emailed to Fox News Digital.
«We advise our customers to rebook their journey for another day, with free exchanges available,» the statement added. «We apologize for the disruption and will continue to keep customers updated with the latest information.»
YOUR HOLIDAY TRAVEL PLANS COULD BE RUINED IF YOU WEAR ONE PARTICULAR ITEM TO THE AIRPORT
Travelers queue for Eurostar services at St. Pancras International station in London, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (Alberto Pezzali/AP Photo)
Eurotunnel said that «LeShuttle service resumed very gradually» just before 3:00 p.m. CET. The company noted that service was «operating alternatively in both directions with significant delays.» Shuttles will be added Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.
Eurostar told Fox News Digital that its services to and from London would resume at approximately 6:00 p.m. GMT. The company is urging travelers to rebook their trips, as the power issues are still impacting service.
«As the overhead power supply issues in the Channel Tunnel still remain, only one line is available to run trains on. This means there will continue to be delays and longer journey times than usual this evening,» Eurostar said in a statement.
Customers whose trains have been canceled are advised not to come to the station, as those trains are not slated to be reinstated.
Eurostar told Fox News Digital that passengers whose travel has been canceled can, within three months of their original travel date, choose from a variety of compensation options. This includes a free exchange for a ticket on another day or an e-voucher for the unused ticket that will be valid for 12 months. Additionally, they may request refunds for their unused tickets.
Passengers who were left stranded by the disruption are eligible to have Eurostar cover a variety of expenses, including hotel accommodations up to approximately $199 per room, per night, taxi costs of up to around $70 per journey and food and drink expenses up to approximately $47 per person, per day.
Passengers wait after a Eurostar spokesperson said they were suspending its cross-Channel train services to and from London until further notice following a power supply problem in the Channel Tunnel that links Britain and France, at St. Pancras International station in London, Britain, Dec. 30, 2025. (Maja Smiejkowska/Reuters)
MILLIONS AFFECTED AS MAJOR AIRLINE ENDS ADVANTAGE MILES PROGRAM ON BASIC ECONOMY TICKETS
Earlier on Tuesday, Eurostar issued a warning to travelers to postpone their journeys due to a power supply issue. The company said passengers could see severe delays and last-minute cancellations as a result. Customers were instructed not to go to the station unless they already had a ticket, according to the BBC.
The U.K.’s National Rail issued a similar statement urging passengers to postpone their travel amid delays and cancellations between London St. Pancras International and Paris Nord, the BBC reported.
«An incident related to the power supply to trains occurred last night in part of the Channel Tunnel, affecting train and shuttle traffic. A technical intervention is required, which is currently underway,» Eurotunnel said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. «The service is temporarily suspended in both directions.»
Eurostar told Fox News Digital that no passengers were stranded in the tunnel and that the broken shuttle, known as LeShuttle, had been removed.
LeShuttle, which is separate from Eurostar’s passenger-only rail service, runs between Folkestone, U.K., and Calais, France, bringing passengers and their vehicles through the Channel Tunnel in just 35 minutes.
People gather near a Eurostar train at Gare du Nord station, after Eurostar announced a power supply problem in the Channel Tunnel that links Britain and France, in Paris, France, Dec. 30, 2025. (Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters)
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London North Eastern Railway (LNER) told Fox News Digital that customers with tickets for Dec. 30 whose travel was affected by the Eurostar disruption could travel to their home station on an alternative LNER train for no additional fee.
«Any LNER customers who have had to abandon their journey in London King’s Cross are able to return to their home station on the next available LNER service at no additional cost,» LNER told Fox News Digital. «LNER customers who choose to defer their Eurostar travel to a different day may use their existing LNER ticket to travel on that same day.»
In response to a request for comment, National Rail referred Fox News Digital to Eurostar’s media center.
LeShuttle did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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