Germany taunts Donald Trump again despite Republican outrage

Germany’s Foreign Ministry doubled down Thursday on its jeering of Donald Trump, deepening a spat between the former U.S. president and German officials.

The fight began when Trump claimed during the U.S. presidential debate Tuesday night that Germany’s shift away from fossil fuels had failed, and that the Germans “were back to building normal energy plants.”

Germany’s Foreign Ministry flipped out and responded with an unusually confrontational post on X.

“Like it or not: Germany’s energy system is fully operational, with more than 50 percent renewables,” the ministry wrote, “And we are shutting down — not building — coal and nuclear plants. Coal will be off the grid by 2038 at the latest.”

In reference to Trump’s debunked claim that undocumented immigrants were eating people’s pets in Ohio, the ministry added an eye-opening jibe: “PS: We also don’t eat cats and dogs.”

Despite pushback from Trump allies including his former ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, who accused Berlin of “blatant election interference,” the ministry doubled down on that combative approach.

Responding to Trump’s “disinformation” with “facts and humor” was the “right answer,” Anna Lührman, Germany’s Europe minister, wrote Thursday. “As democrats, we can no longer allow false statements to stand uncommented.”

“We have stopped using nuclear power and are burning less coal than we have since the 1960s. And our energy supply is and will remain stable,” she added.

Trump is currently in a knife-edge race for the White House against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, with polls across several battleground states showing the race is too close to call.

For German officials, the confrontation with Trump, who has been known to hold a grudge, is a risky one that might come back to hurt them should Trump be elected again as U.S. president in November. That’s particularly the case given Germany’s reliance on American military power for its own defense.

While Trump was president, he often attacked Germany, especially when it came to the country’s defense spending. Trump repeatedly called Germany “delinquent,” and threatened to pull 12,000 troops from the country.

“We don’t want to be suckers anymore,” Trump said at the time.

Grenell on Thursday lashed out at Germany once again, saying the Foreign Ministry “lied about its energy accomplishments.”

The U.S., he added, must be clear-eyed “about Germany’s current government’s election interference.”