German ex-leader Merkel says she felt sorrow at Trump’s comeback and recalls awkward non-handshake

BERLIN (AP) — Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she felt “sorrow” at Donald Trump’s return to power and recalls that every meeting with him was “a competition: you or me.” In an interview published Friday, Merkel said that Trump “is a challenge for the world, particularly for multilateralism.” She said that “what awaits us now is really not easy.” She recalled as “a typical scene” a famously awkward moment in the Oval Office when she first visited Trump at the White House in March 2017. Photographers shouted “handshake!” and Merkel quietly asked Trump: “Do you want to have a handshake?” There was no response from Trump.