Trump makes Second World War joke in front of German chancellor

Donald Trump made a Second World War joke about Germany re-arming while meeting the country’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, in the Oval Office on Thursday, 5 June, amid negotiations over tariffs.

Mr Merz went into the meeting hoping to keep Western support for Ukraine, make progress on trade, and bolster German military spending.

“I know that you’re spending more money on defence now,” the US president began.

“They said never let Germany rearm."

Mr Trump added that Germany's rearming is a good thing, "at least to a certain point".