German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday he would advise his children not to live or study in the United States for now, citing a rapidly changing social climate that limits opportunities even for highly educated people.The comments highlighted tensions between the United States and its European allies under President Donald Trump, as trade disputes, the war in Ukraine and now the war in Iran put the NATO alliance under pressure. Mertz angered Trump last month when he said the United States had been humiliated in the war with Iran. Days later, Washington announced the withdrawal of some troops from Germany.Addressing a young audience at a Catholic conference in Würzburg, Merz said it was too easy to think about the state of the world in “catastrophe mode” and urged Germans to be more optimistic about their country’s potential.“I firmly believe that there are few countries in the world that offer such good opportunities, especially for young people, as Germany,” he said.“I would not now advise my children to go to the United States, get an education there and work there just because of the social atmosphere that suddenly developed there,” said Mertz, a 70-year-old father of three.“It’s hard for the best-educated people in America to find jobs today.”
