Speaking in the first TV debate before snap elections later in the month, Scholz said his strategy for dealing with Trump is "clear words and friendly conversations."
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00:00German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said the European Union can act in an hour if US President
00:07Donald Trump slaps tariffs on the bloc.
00:10Speaking in the first TV debate before snap elections later in the month, Scholz said
00:15his strategy for dealing with Trump is clear words and friendly conversations.
00:20He pointed to his public statements about respecting borders after Trump said he wouldn't
00:24rule out the use of military force to take control of the Panama Canal and Greenland.
00:30He also stressed the importance of European unity and said he and other countries are
00:34working on proposals to increase NATO's presence in Greenland.
00:38Trump pitched the idea of taking control of Greenland on the campaign trail last year,
00:43saying it was important for America's national security.
00:46He said he could impose financial penalties or even use the military to force Denmark
00:51to cede the island to the United States.
00:55Scholz also described Trump's suggestion that the US could take ownership of Gaza, relocate
01:00its population and redevelop it as a scandal.
01:03Scholz's main challenger, the Christian Democratic Union's Friedrich Merz, also voiced unease
01:08about the proposal but suggested there's a lot of rhetoric coming from Washington.
01:13Merz said the new US president is predictably unpredictable.
01:17Merz, who was the frontrunner in the 23rd February snap elections, also discussed top
01:22domestic issues with Scholz such as Germany's struggling economy and migration.