Trump claims to have a 'very, very good relationship' with Merkel after he insulted Germany to its face and said Russia controls it

Reinhard Krause/Reuters

President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed to have a "tremendous relationship" with Germany just hours after insulting it to its face at the NATO summit in Brussels.

• President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed to have a "very, very good" relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel just hours after causing an uproar at the NATO summit in Brussels when he said Germany is "controlled" by Russia. 
• Merkel was furious over Trump's remarks and offered a sternly worded response. 
• Trump is being broadly criticized for his demeanor at the summit thus far as well as his sustained criticism of NATO in relation to how the alliance is funded.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed to have a "very, very good" with German Chancellor Angela Merkel just hours after causing an uproar at the NATO summit in Brussels when he said Germany is "controlled" by Russia.

"We had a great meeting discussing military expenditure. We're talking about trade," Trump said as he met with Merkel. "We have a very, very good relationship with the chancellor. We have a tremendous relationship with Germany. You've had tremendous success and I congratulate you."

But as NATO leaders met earlier in the day, Trump took a much different tone on the subject of Germany. 

"It's very sad when Germany makes a massive oil and gas deal with Russia where we're supposed to be guarding against Russia, and Germany goes out and pays billions and billions of dollars a year from Russia," Trump said to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a working breakfast that marked the beginning of the summit. 

"Germany is totally controlled by Russia," Trump added. "Because they're getting between 60 to 70% of their energy from Russia and a new pipeline."

Germany was furious over these remarks and Merkel offered a sternly worded response.

"I have experienced myself how a part of Germany was controlled by the Soviet Union," Merkel told reporters in reference to Trump's comments. 

"I am very happy that today we are united in freedom, the Federal Republic of Germany," Merkel added. "Because of that we can say that we can make our independent policies and make independent decisions. That is very good, especially for people in eastern Germany."

Trump is being broadly criticized for his demeanor at the summit thus far as well as his sustained criticism of NATO in relation to how the alliance is funded. The president feels the US provides a disproportionate amount of NATO's budget. 

Former NATO Ambassador Nicholas Burns on Wednesday accused Trump of "diplomatic malpractice" in this regard, adding, "it's just infuriating to watch this happen."

"You cannot imagine any American president all the way back 75 years deciding to become the Critic-in-Chief of NATO," Burns said. "I mean, it's Orwellian. He's making our friends out to be our enemies and treating our enemies, like Putin, as our friends, and he's misrepresenting the facts."