With Little Pomp, Merkel Arrives at the White House to Meet With Trump

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump welcomed Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany to the White House on Friday for a meeting and working lunch that were likely to be dominated by disagreements over the Iran nuclear deal and trade.

Trump has a chilly relationship with the German leader, and her understated arrival in the White House driveway was a sharp contrast to the elaborate state visit to which Trump treated President Emmanuel Macron of France this week. The warm rapport between the two presidents seemed almost to overshadow their many disputes.

Like Macron, Merkel was expected to implore Trump not to abandon the nuclear deal with Iran, a pursuit that the French president predicted before his departure was unlikely to be successful. Merkel is also seeking a permanent exemption for Germany from steel and aluminum tariffs that Trump imposed in March, another goal that analysts said appeared out of reach.

Both issues are time-sensitive. A temporary exemption from the tariffs for European countries expires on May 1. Trump faces a May 12 deadline for recertifying the nuclear deal with Iran.

Despite the divides, Trump greeted Merkel courteously Friday, tweeting in the hours before they met that he was “looking forward” to her visit, and kissing both of her cheeks when she stepped out of her limousine at the entrance to the West Wing.

“We have a really great relationship,” Trump told reporters moments later in the Oval Office, seated beside Merkel for a few moments in front of news cameras before they were to meet privately. “We actually have had a great relationship, right from the beginning.”

The two shook hands twice, avoiding the awkward tableau that played out as Merkel sat in the office during her first White House visit of the Trump era, when she held out her hand and the president did not grip it. That day, Trump used a news conference alongside Merkel to chide Germany, saying the nation had not contributed enough financially to NATO and was taking advantage of the United States on trade.

On Friday, Merkel thanked Trump for the “warm reception” and said she was looking forward to productive talks.

“We wish to deepen our relationship further,” she said in German.