US: Trump Talks Up China Trade Deal, Defends Megabill In Meeting With Merz

US President Donald Trump is meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House ahead of a bilateral meeting and working lunch. LIVESTREAM

• The tone in the Oval Office is cordial, with no signs of an ‘ambush’ as seen with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Trump responds positively to German plans to significantly boost defence spending.
• Trump says that China trade talks “were only a little bit off track” last week. Notes that his “very good talk” with Chinese President Xi Jinping “straightened out” some of the “complex stuff”.
• He says he thinks the US is in “very good shape” with China. He claims the US already has a deal with China and “we just want to make sure everybody understands what the deal is.”
• Trump notes that he accepted Xi's offer to visit China and will be going there “at a certain point,” and Xi will be “coming here hopefully.”
• When asked about greenlighting new sanctions on Russia, Trump declines to answer but notes his previous hawkish position on Russia, namechecking Nordstream 2.
• Asked about a rift with Elon Musk, Trump defends the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ and says “Elon’s upset because we took the EV mandate”, referring to the House bill’s repeal of the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act.
• Trump adds that he "had a great relationship" with Musk but he "is not sure he will anymore" following his posts on X panning Trump's flagship fiscal bill.