President Donald Trump made an awkward joke about the liberation of Europe from Nazi tyranny that punctuated his Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The odd moment came when Merz mentioned before a group of reporters that tomorrow, June 6, was the anniversary of D-Day, when U.S. and allied forces stormed the beaches at Normandy.

‘May I remind you that we are having June 6 tomorrow. This is D-Day anniversary when the Americans once ended a war in Europe. And I think this is in your hand in specific – in ours,’ Merz said.

‘That was not a pleasant day for you,’ Trump interjected, in a reference to Nazi Germany’s forces who had occupied France and were fighting off the historic Allied invasion.

‘No, that was not a pleasant …’ Merz responded. 

‘This was not a great day,’ Trump joked again.

That prompted Merz to explain a longer view that disassociated the modern democratic German Government from the Nazi German forces the U.S. and allies were fighting. 

‘Well, in the long run, Mr. President, this was the liberation of my country from Nazi dictatorship,’ he informed the president.

Merz appeared to be raising the issue to underline the importance that multilateral efforts can have toward ending conflict – as Russia continues its war on Ukraine.

Trump also risked poking at his host while blaming President Joe Biden for allowing Russia to invade Ukraine.

'That was not a pleasant day for you,' President Trump told German Chancellor Friedrich Merz whiel he was discussing D-Day

‘That was not a pleasant day for you,’ President Trump told German Chancellor Friedrich Merz whiel he was discussing D-Day

Trump referenced his opposition during his first term to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline – which provoked fears at the time of leading to more European reliance on Russian gas by piping it to Germany.

‘I’m the one that stopped the pipeline. It’s called Nord Stream 2. Until I came along, nobody ever heard. Not one person in this room ever heard of Nord Stream two. You probably did,’ Trump said.

‘This was a mistake,’ Merz admitted. 

The moment came in a stunning Oval Office meeting where Trump raged against former first buddy Elon Musk in their escalating split. 

World leaders have been forced to be mindful during their Oval Office encounters with Trump after the president torched Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during their standoff at the White House.

Vice President JD Vance accused Zelensky of being ungrateful.

Merz made sure to express plenty of thanks up front. ‘We owe the Americans a lot. We will never forget about that. And so with your German provenance I think this is a very good basis for close cooperation between America and Germany,’ he said, likely referencing German elements in Trump’s ancestry.

 He even thanked Trump, who maintains a real estate empire, for allowing him to stay at Blair House, across the street from the White House.

Trump and the German Chancellor spoke about the D-Day invasion

Trump and the German Chancellor spoke about the D-Day invasion

‘Thank you for the hospitality and thank you for having your guest house for a night. This is a great place, great place. Many thanks for that. I really enjoyed it. Thank you,’ he said.

Trump appreciated the remark. ‘It’s a wonderful place. It’s a landmark also. Blair House. It’s a nice place to stay. Thank you very much for saying that,’ the president said.

There was one point where Merz decided he needed to correct point, or at least stress a key point, after Trump described the horrors he sees of casualties in the war.

‘We get satellite pictures of the Warfield, and you don’t even like to look at them, right? It’s bodies, arms, heads, legs, all over the place, and you’ve never seen anything like it. It’s so ridiculous.’

Merz spoke emphatically. ‘This is only by Russian weapons against Ukraine. This had never happened with Ukraine weapons against Russia. Never,’ he said. ‘Ukraine is only targeting military targets, not civilians, not private, not Institute, not energy infrastructure. So this is the difference, and that’s the reason why we are trying to do more on Russia. How to stop this war?’

There have been repeated demonstrations of Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and civilian areas during the war. He underlined the point after a stunning Ukrainian attack on Russian aircraft on far-flung military bases.

But Trump didn’t give him the last word.

‘Well, in this case, I’m talking about the battlefield. You know, the soldiers-on-soldiers. But you could also say that too, with the city, the cities are being hit also. So it’s a terrible, terrible thing,’ Trump said.

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