Germany’s Merkel says “America first” attitude will hurt US

BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she understands the support in the United States for the “America first” attitude that got President Donald Trump elected, but that in the end it will only hurt the country.

Speaking at a forum Wednesday organized by Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper, Merkel said many in the U.S. see globalization as a situation in which one country profits at the expense of others.

But she says her view is that everyone can win.

She says “an America that doesn’t bother with anything in the world but only with itself will not be a great America.”

She added that though she has differences of opinion with Trump, he fought a “hard campaign” to become the Republican candidate and then win the election, and “that deserves the necessary respect.”