Inside Trump-Dinner: Plötzlich fielen Schüsse. Mit Helge Fuhst

00:00:06: This is an ABC News special report.

00:00:09: We're coming on the air because there was an incident at The White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington,

00:00:14: D.C.,

00:00:14: At the Washington Hilton... On-air with some breaking news Because we are getting reports from that White House correspondent's dinner here In Washington That there were suspected gunshots within the building And the president has been

00:00:26: removed?

00:00:27: We first laid an hour Taking very well care Very quickly Very quickly rushed off stage But I said

00:00:37: very importantly that we'll do it again within the next thirty days.

00:00:41: It will make it bigger and better, even

00:00:45: nicer.".

00:00:48: They throw themselves under the table and it's first shock.

00:01:01: Later, of course, the attacker is supposed to be a thirty-one year old from California.

00:01:06: He had a shotgun, a handgun and several knives with him And now of course many ask how he could get in there at all.

00:01:25: How did this whole thing go?

00:01:31: I'm very happy

00:01:35: that.

00:01:35: Hello Paul, I'm happy

00:01:37: to talk about that.

00:01:40: Helge!

00:01:40: Many of you know me as ARD Tagistim Moderator and have been with us for a month or two.

00:01:49: The time goes so fast at Axel Springer...

00:01:52: And what about

00:01:53: the correspondence dinner?

00:01:55: I remember, two years ago when Joe Biden was still there and if you wanted to go in then it was pretty cramped, well secured.

00:02:09: But let's talk first of all about this correspondence dinner.

00:02:14: Who is coming over here and how does that

00:02:18: make sense?

00:02:18: A really long tradition, over a hundred years already.

00:02:23: There is this correspondence dinner that has changed over the decades and continues to develop but it's been a very big tradition for many decades now.

00:02:36: I myself have watched it from Germany every year on YouTube.

00:02:39: you can see quite a lot of journalists do it in Germany.

00:02:43: we did a lot And I lived in Washington myself, but at that time it wasn't for the White House correspondent.

00:02:52: That's why this was my first time here.

00:02:56: In the new assignment you just mentioned and especially there with Politico on the political table with colleagues from Washington of Politico.

00:03:07: This dinner took place... in the eighties, in the nineties and two thousand people to a very popular event.

00:03:18: So more and more guests came along not only at the capital press that was there but also with politics.

00:03:26: And you actually talked about press freedom over the first amendment.

00:03:32: so the press freedom and the task of the press in the USA.

00:03:37: But it became almost a large entertainment show.

00:03:41: That means there were many Hollywood stars who wanted to experience it every year, from the various shows that included the most famous Hollywood stars and there have been many years, decades of highlighting each time one comedian or a cabaretist who held the main speech next to the president.

00:04:08: And something like that we did in roasting of the President, so it was also about much humor and a lot of entertainment.

00:04:19: and besides the serious topic there were many years like this.

00:04:23: And then finally Donald Trump has not only the best relationship – let's put it that way – to press.

00:04:30: He didn't go there as president.

00:04:34: This time he was supposed to come back for the first time, and that's why this evening came from a completely different reason with great expectations, so to speak, looked at it and waited.

00:04:47: This

00:04:48: hotel where you can find the Hilton in Washington is a very legendary hotel Attentive attempt at that time against Ronald Reagan.

00:05:02: Explain a little bit, what is this hotel for?

00:05:05: Why is it so legendary?

00:05:07: Yes, first of all in the heart of the capital and on top you can almost say such a small hill.

00:05:15: So really special location Hotel, I think it was built in nineteen sixty-five.

00:05:21: It also looks like that from today's point of view one would say negative sense.

00:05:26: so no beautiful building but out of the sixties with a lot of concrete and in nineteen eighty-one this was in March.

00:05:34: nineteen eighty one Ronald Reagan came to the hotel.

00:05:40: there was an attack on him.

00:05:42: he got shot directly at the entrance of the hotel And it's so hard to say that he didn't just have to go straight into the hospital, but also had to stay there for eleven or twelve days in the hospital.

00:06:00: The interesting thing is at this time was exactly when White House Correspondents were back here again in the hotel in Washington Hilton and since many years ago it has been the first time that a US president could not participate in the final dragon because of his illness on the way to the hospital.

00:06:20: So a hotel with great history.

00:06:23: in the meantime, there are also many other events political and from lobby associations all year over town.

00:06:30: you know that here so really in the city but it is above all for this White House Correspondents dinner.

00:06:34: That

00:06:34: then takes place in the Balseelen-Stadt.

00:06:39: But

00:06:41: at

00:06:41: night when it starts, if guests come Or at least I experienced massive security problems, so different locks.

00:06:51: How were you controlled when you wanted to go to the motel?

00:06:57: So on Saturday evening... When did that happen

00:07:00: and how was it going?

00:07:01: You might have to say one thing before saying something.

00:07:04: In the end the safety somehow worked out.

00:07:06: We'll talk about this later in case the attacker got caught off guard by the security.

00:07:14: The security was, before the accident on that evening a very intense topic there.

00:07:20: And not only because we all knew how tense the situation is from various reasons of course.

00:07:25: The US president had already experienced several cases and an attack on him which he barely survived.

00:07:36: then the whole situation with Iran, the entire international crisis.

00:07:41: then of course the main press was completely collected there.

00:07:46: So surely, there are few events that are so dangerous for various reasons with attacks.

00:07:55: That means you really expect the best and most intense security and safety.

00:08:01: And it wasn't like this at all!

00:08:04: Of course I am as many other journalists who can also lie on the field now .

00:08:08: We can only describe what we have seen ,what we experienced ourselves.

00:08:11: But above all, there are two things that have not only been discussed after the accident but really before when we came in and wondered about it.

00:08:22: One is you can see for everyone who watches with pictures a small printout of the invitation or the little plate set where the table was once on top.

00:08:38: You could also have it on your phone to show that, but without an ID or a name.

00:08:44: That means in a prison with many people you just had to hold up a note and then it was nicked and you were able to go inside.

00:08:52: And the security lock is very classic as you know from airports, so the metal detectors... They were not as you might know it from the entrance or outside, before entering the hotel.

00:09:09: But inside and also quite far in there.

00:09:12: You could hold on to yourself for a long time without being controlled by anything.

00:09:19: That surprised me.

00:09:20: Many people did that but couldn't fully understand them And at this point, the attack was eventually stopped.

00:09:35: But there came another observation that it is a hotel and normal hotel.

00:09:43: guests have lived here as well not only those who took part in this event.

00:09:53: That means many people went out all day long to their rooms.

00:09:58: In this case, it is also about whether the attacker was able to put the weapons together in a room or somewhere else.

00:10:06: So there are many questions that may be the reason why this legendary place we just talked about can no longer be where it is because today under which safety precautions cannot be secured as a hotel.

00:10:19: How did it

00:10:19: go when you came in?

00:10:21: With your table card, then through security.

00:10:25: Then there were a lot of journalists and very many tables as many people were loaded on the table.

00:10:31: And now at the beginning if one follows the pictures You can see Donald Trump sitting over there with his wife and also many cabinet members.

00:10:40: How big do you have to imagine that?

00:10:43: So how far away were you at the time of Donald Trump.

00:10:47: This

00:10:47: party is huge, it's one of the biggest in Washington for events like this.

00:10:54: There are a lot of people sitting there and I had to imagine last ten, five or ten seats in front of the president as a small point.

00:11:03: And he sits on stage with the most important guests and the chairman of the Journalist Association which means that there is a huge, huge space.

00:11:23: There are very large lines.

00:11:25: The radio broadcasts have been transmitted to the single-player films for many years.

00:11:33: And that's how the atmosphere is, which means it's incredibly loud as well.

00:11:38: It often happens at U.S.

00:11:40: events where everyone talks and when I just find a place in front of them they all eat.

00:11:51: And that's why at the moment when he arrived, a lot of people couldn't tell me in detail whether they were shots or not.

00:12:02: Because there was just more to it than what you could hear with bags and plates... ...with laces and bottles.

00:12:10: That all mixed up together.

00:12:11: We'll get to what happened when the shots were shot.

00:12:19: But how was that before?

00:12:21: What did you talk about, and why Donald Trump suddenly went there?

00:12:29: It really felt like he was the US President for the first time as president of Donald Trump.

00:12:39: It was a big story in the first place when he wasn't president.

00:12:42: But as President for the very first time, that means everything is about it and above all his relationship to press freedom.

00:12:52: so actually the topic of tonight how would Donald Trump deal with this?

00:12:57: So what kind of speech would he receive?

00:12:59: Many people are afraid.

00:13:00: He will not only find words that have been said too diplomatically in the direction of press and media, but also doubt how we often get to know him, insult him or make accusations.

00:13:13: And above all it was really about how long he would probably talk.

00:13:18: There were rumors that at least sixty minutes.

00:13:23: then the court would speak for ninety minutes And it's a long evening, everyone was clear with such a long speech and everything else around them.

00:13:34: Then it would take at least one and half hours for the US president to listen as journalists on an evening when there is press freedom and then maybe so much to be ashamed of.

00:13:50: that was the big

00:13:52: topic.

00:13:53: what you could expect from this And the ones who now spend their day with him.

00:13:56: The White House correspondents, all of them were there and the different moderators, colleagues from Fox, CNN that sat in there... When they looked at this debate as well why was Donald Trump even here for the first time?

00:14:16: So did people find a plausible answer out of your point?

00:14:20: Surely nobody

00:14:21: knows!

00:14:22: There is no exact stop-up.

00:14:23: It was already a long time ago that he would now participate and I was lucky enough to sit very far ahead with Politico, which was the fourth table series of the president.

00:14:38: That means we had a good look at the president on The First Lady , on the vice president who was there .

00:14:45: And then the tables around us sat down in their minister from the cabinet Robert Kennedy

00:14:50: Jr.,

00:14:50: the health minister or Pete Hexeth, the defense minister at our table sat down.

00:14:59: The businessman, Jameson Greer who we talked about trade negotiations before and that means not only Donald Trump was there but really his cabinet represented a very broad government.

00:15:17: I think In fact, Donald Trump is exactly his event.

00:15:21: He has a huge stage.

00:15:23: Hundreds of journalists are the most important media representatives sitting in front of him and if he talks for an hour or so no one can get away from it.

00:15:34: Everyone listens to him.

00:15:36: They have to or will have to clap at many places.

00:15:39: He's got full attention... The question is, why did he take part first and not in the past years already?

00:15:49: Because that's actually exactly what it is.

00:15:53: He loves the big stage, the big TV show, which will also be broadcast live.

00:16:02: And looked at by many people from there was

00:16:05: maybe even coincidental for him to be on his side again.

00:16:07: Many remember Donald Trump's appearance before his first office time.

00:16:10: Back then he was a celebrity and there was Barack Obama, the US president.

00:16:16: He sat over there and Obama made jokes about him.

00:16:24: There is at least one legend that some U.S.

00:16:25: journalists say The humiliation, the way he felt that he was humiliated or made jokes about him by Obama.

00:16:34: That he had contributed to it in the end and that his candidature then strived for twenty-fifteen at all.

00:16:43: So this seems like the last effort to be there which was discussed a lot in the video.

00:16:52: It must

00:16:53: have been twenty-fourth and twenty-five.

00:16:56: Exactly, so this moment was in the year of two thousand and eleven.

00:17:00: And I've looked at it for a few days now that everyone can join YouTube with The Mighthouse Correspondents Dinner and Trump & Obama.

00:17:06: That was an especially special moment because actually there is something about that.

00:17:17: the president, Obama then, lets jokes about himself and that he will be roasted.

00:17:23: And also everyone else who is there.

00:17:26: So I would like to leave all of you with an entertaining moral criticism.

00:17:33: Obama himself then talked about Donald Trump in this speech.

00:17:39: He was just a celebrity at the time, he had his super successful TV show The Apprentice and certainly thought about it over there for quite some time now.

00:17:52: Before that, he also often already thought about going to politics even during decades.

00:17:58: He has always been very politically exposed In this room, in the party hall and Obama's name a topic that Donald Trump originally had.

00:18:09: And he was very impressed.

00:18:11: He always said to me, Barack Obama is not an actual US American, he wasn't born in USA.

00:18:17: The birth certificate doesn´t mean anything about him being real or something like that.

00:18:23: That means he didn´t even say legitimate President of the United States.

00:18:28: Barack Obama, intensively and always for years.

00:18:31: That's what Obama took up in his speech then And he had great writers for his speeches back then.

00:18:41: And Obama himself and Donald Trump took it on the ship.

00:18:46: Obama made a video about the line-up there at that time and said Here is not only my birth certificate but also a movie.

00:18:58: And then he played an excerpt from the King of the lions, so a play on Kenya and his family background.

00:19:07: So a huge laugh about himself, Obama over himself.

00:19:11: but when Donald Trump mentioned it all, he said very much.

00:19:23: And then, fifteen years later Donald Trump wants to to keep his own speech as the US president.

00:19:36: He's already sitting there, you can see it in live

00:19:39: broadcasts and waiting for him to come up with something.

00:19:44: And then he looks relaxed.

00:19:49: Then you look at these live images of what suddenly happened, unrest... You also hear shots in the background.

00:20:05: But how was that for yourself?

00:20:08: As someone who is now really close to the President?

00:20:12: What has happened here?

00:20:14: So you're talking about.

00:20:15: In the moment, people will say what Donald Trump is going to do and how he's going to punish him.

00:20:19: He'll get angry and sit down and drink a glass of wine.

00:20:24: And then suddenly this anger... How did you come up with it?

00:20:30: That was

00:20:32: all of a sudden.

00:20:33: It went really fast, really fast.

00:20:34: And that whole thing came after a mini-greeting.

00:20:41: from the chairman of the journalist association, who really only greeted three minutes in front.

00:20:46: The president came on stage with the First Lady and they were greeted but didn't say anything yet.

00:20:53: They sat down at the front and then came for all the breakfasts.

00:20:57: And everyone was sitting at their breakfast and the first few minutes.

00:21:03: that means a loud noise mirror because everybody talked to each other that the climp on his chest and chest was heard.

00:21:13: And suddenly, within one to two seconds... You can really see it again in the videos how fast this happened.

00:21:24: Everyone noticed something had happened.

00:21:28: Some of them could have heard a gunshot but we'll find out later if you don't know about it at the party hall or even another stage You could not hear the shots where we were sitting.

00:21:41: On videos you can see that one was able to hear them in a fixed room, but rather when you sat on the edge or in the back row because it was close to the doors towards Lobby and what I saw at the moment as I looked up It was like a wave from the outer edge of this fixed room.

00:22:04: The people jumped up from their seats, and without looking back on the windowsill that fell down were plates.

00:22:14: So with these loud noises they jumped down onto the floor under the table.

00:22:19: And it felt like a roller coaster on an elevator to the front row by row there are people jumping off and under the tables And that's what we did within two, three or four seconds.

00:22:33: You can see a few who didn't go under the table and have actually continued to film it.

00:22:37: Everyone has to know for themselves.

00:22:39: but then like most of us first went into the table because things were so unclear.

00:22:47: there was an instruction in the hall.

00:22:48: So now everyone is under the tables?

00:22:50: Or was this one March next March exactly?

00:22:55: We haven't heard any instructions.

00:22:57: We don't know if something was called on the edge in the lobby.

00:23:01: Yes, you can also see that from the videos.

00:23:04: Of course it was said that such instructions were sent down to the floor.

00:23:10: What we could quickly or even just see and then only heard afterwards is that Secret Service has actually ran through this number of people with a lot of people .

00:23:23: It sounds so strange but it jumped over the table like this ... I jumped over the chairs, because in this room and that was where I sat at the table of a single minister from the cabinet.

00:23:37: So not only the president but also many and other people from the cabinet, who were distributed across the room.

00:23:49: And there weren't always security people sitting next to them on the table.

00:24:10: That means that Secret Service people really had to come running over the tables in all directions to secure the minister with us at our table as I said.

00:24:24: He was acting in charge of a cabinet member in the government.

00:24:30: What did you think

00:24:32: at the moment?

00:24:35: One,

00:24:35: two milliseconds.

00:24:36: They went really fast and at the same time felt like eternity to be under a table for several minutes.

00:24:46: That felt like an eternity!

00:24:47: We were completely uncertain about how long we would sit under this table after that.

00:24:54: So the estimate went from one or two minutes up to ten- fifteen minutes.

00:24:59: I saw on videos afterwards four and a half, five minutes under the table.

00:25:06: Then it's hard to estimate.

00:25:08: But within one or two seconds, I mean we're sure that all of them were in the hall.

00:25:12: It was clear there was an attack and very likely someone with a gun.

00:25:19: That just wasn't clear.

00:25:20: if somebody is in this room or if they are drunk, so-to speak.

00:25:25: This couldn't be seen clearly because you could not see anything from under the table for more than minutes.

00:25:33: the fear that something was going on there.

00:25:38: Did you get

00:25:39: flustered by a table or how did it

00:25:42: go?

00:25:42: Exactly, we talked to each other normally because there's still a lot of loudness in the whole festival so I wasn't flustered at all but just quietly talking with one another.

00:25:52: I looked at my phone and couldn't really read what happened which didn't happen very quickly.

00:25:58: This was really an inconspicuous situation for the first time.

00:26:06: What did you get from it, like Donald Trump and JD Vance talking about the evacuation of other ministers?

00:26:12: You can also see how Trump then is brought out under the protection of various secret service employees but a lot of people who suddenly gather around him.

00:26:23: Did you get

00:26:25: that?

00:26:25: We didn't quite get this because everyone was busy with it so to speak.

00:26:31: where you throw yourself under the table, how do they secure themselves?

00:26:35: It all went in parallel.

00:26:40: That means some of them were taken out from their eye angles so to speak that the series which was on the podium sat down on stage and then it was quickly removed.

00:26:55: And because everyone knew this had to be an attack He had that in his eyes, no matter if he looked at the president or not.

00:27:02: It wasn't a question.

00:27:05: you knew it would already be there when we came to the table again but only then did this question come back.

00:27:11: and what really happened next evening?

00:27:15: And maybe one has also noticed very clearly how people went around with it That you are in the USA where something like I don't want to say it's everyday, but even if that would probably be true.

00:27:37: We all know the U.S.

00:27:38: and now we're talking about the US president more often than ever before where there has been a U. S. President who came directly or indirectly in this situation when there was threatening attack on him and not just the big dinner.

00:27:54: He barely survived in Pennsylvania, during the presidential election last year.

00:27:58: But also on his golf course where someone had lost their books and wanted to kill him.

00:28:08: So there were already several moments... That's special but you could notice at that moment no one shouted into the hall or anything like this But they all went under the table pretty

00:28:24: automatically and took off.

00:28:26: What do you know, Helge?

00:28:28: About the thirty-one year old man who came in there... How did he get into that place at

00:28:34: all?!

00:28:35: We just talked about it!

00:28:35: He wasn't in the ballroom himself but next to him or over there.

00:28:41: How

00:28:42: was he

00:28:43: able to get into a hotel

00:28:47: with these weapons?

00:28:48: Can one say something like this already?

00:28:50: First of all, it's a man from California.

00:28:53: You could see him live in the U.S.

00:28:56: after an hour watching this video on TV.

00:29:09: in California.

00:29:13: Then he came back and forth after an hour.

00:29:14: He was supposed to be a teacher, at the end of year four twenty-four when he was appointed as the teacher for one month.

00:29:26: He developed computer games with them And you will certainly get more information from day to day where it was handled.

00:29:41: That's why he did exactly that, whether this is basically hate on the US president or if there are certain topics in all of these conflicts and issues that exist right now.

00:29:56: This means that we'll definitely come out later.

00:30:00: and how he got there... He was arrested, yes and he didn't come to the party but there wasn´t much left.

00:30:05: It really was a blessing for security forces.

00:30:09: as you can see many of our listeners have been watching us on social media or online or in our publications about the world, politics... The boat of the man was running for a long time, as it had been set up and how security forces were going after him.

00:30:31: And that was very professional on one hand in terms of how the security forces went around with this.

00:30:37: But when we talked about it once again many questions came to my mind – Were

00:30:44: there enough safety locks?

00:30:45: And he has... He's got several weapons with him, right?

00:30:48: Exactly.

00:30:48: What is reported and what I just said had a shotgun, a handgun and several knives!

00:30:52: You have to get into this hotel for the first time because of that!

00:30:56: That's crazy!

00:30:57: Absolutely exactly!

00:30:57: And these are the big questions like how can it be or why did you take such risk?

00:31:05: Because we knew in which no one was under control when entering this hotel And you could also take a hotel room.

00:31:15: Exactly,

00:31:15: what do you mean by that?

00:31:17: So there was then an insurance lock from whom you reported Yes but one has

00:31:22: to imagine when everyone could enter the premises.

00:31:28: Everyone could first enter the hotel.

00:31:31: You had to show this little fish here.

00:31:34: Everyone could really fake it and copy or express themselves somehow, that was not very complicated at the time... ...and then you got in there!

00:31:43: And one could be very, very far away on different levels of the hotel.

00:31:49: One also could live in a hotel, so they didn't have to come in with weapons during that moment and day.

00:31:54: They would've been able to pull in an hour before and store their weapons there.

00:32:02: This security lock It was only a short time before the arrest, not directly in front of the doors.

00:32:13: But as you can see how this attacker is arrested he will surely have checked and known that it's a route which one can theoretically create where it just depends on how fast it gets registered by security forces what kind of threat it is and how fast he will be stopped, or how long it can

00:32:34: run?

00:32:34: Apparently a room was supposed to have been taken there before.

00:32:38: So apparently he came into the hotel in the Hilden Hotel.

00:32:44: After that... So you come back from the table, President is gone!

00:32:50: How did this go on

00:32:51: then?!

00:32:52: Did everyone knew immediately?

00:32:54: now there's a warning again or was there still nervousness?

00:32:57: And how did Trump react publicly?

00:32:59: You said it's actually not clear yet what is behind this.

00:33:02: We'll start on Sunday, at around midnight, German time, which is a bit early for

00:33:07: you in the morning!

00:33:08: So...you didn't

00:33:11: sleep much.

00:33:12: How was that...?

00:33:17: Why...Trump immediately told us there were attempts to attack him.

00:33:21: So an attempt to attack a new perpetrator.

00:33:23: Is from your point of view somehow clearer.

00:33:29: Well, he probably was right about that and even if the details are still coming out as I said whether this is a special internal crime or in general hate on the US president but it's almost double-edged, there is an attack, an attack which has very likely been stolen by the President.

00:33:51: And this is happening, these moments that we just talked about.

00:33:58: This attack on the other side of the city at a time of twenty or thirty.

00:34:03: That means it was like two o'clock in the night German time and then It took a good hour until it was clear how the evening goes on again.

00:34:11: It got pretty quickly known there in the room where the evening went on.

00:34:15: There he became very self-confident.

00:34:20: We continue the evening, we still need some time to clear up.

00:34:24: It then turned out that the security of Secret Service was really looking for the whole hotel because no one knew about it.

00:34:30: Is this a single TETA now?

00:34:31: Or are there more?

00:34:32: So even when DER was set and fixed wasn't so obvious is all over.

00:34:41: That means it goes on and at the same time was completely open.

00:34:45: And above all, everyone would ask themselves if Donald Trump would come again with the security system.

00:34:54: I also thought that when there is a security system then he would come back because of course this will be his big moment At the end, it was because of his safety that he couldn't stay there.

00:35:08: It also means for him to make sure that he didn't have to go back into a white house.

00:35:15: and then we had the press conference.

00:35:21: There were about seventy minutes after the incident in front of us the evening will end, and that Donald Trump would then hold a press conference in the White House for thirty minutes after this announcement.

00:35:42: And it was absurd because of course the mood was tense, a little scared but at the same time everyone knew there had never been any damage and the security was restored.

00:35:57: That means, not everyone sat still or quiet but they talked again.

00:36:02: They drank something there as well and looked at how it went on.

00:36:06: But with this announcement that thirty minutes later in Meissenhaus would come to the press conference There actually was a big laugh in this party because everyone knew most of them from the party.

00:36:20: They would have to work immediately and quickly get out of the party in White House, into the press room.

00:36:26: To be there for President's press conference.

00:36:30: And that was exactly what the pictures were from this Pat Press Room.

00:36:33: Most of them sat with their smoking or clothes.

00:36:35: So they came themselves out of this party hall, sat at the White House and then locked Donald Trump's words.

00:36:42: You already

00:36:43: said Donald Trump announced or a new event.

00:36:52: He said

00:36:53: in half of thirty days,

00:36:56: if you look at it now... You've been in DC for a few days and listened to yourself and also talked about it.

00:37:05: Germany but Iran too.

00:37:08: maybe when you see these tweets as well the foreign government has just suddenly there was a tweet.

00:37:20: How would you estimate the current US-German relationship between Trump and Merz?

00:37:29: There were many talks about it, but we also talked about a deterioration

00:37:37: of relations.

00:37:37: Exactly!

00:37:38: It is exciting to hear that there are different voices German side, US side here in Washington.

00:37:52: talked diplomatic circles media and so on.

00:37:55: There are different voices but at the end it is clear that Donald Trump for the US government Germany a partner And an important partner.

00:38:09: So what you just mentioned with What the federal government is planning, what's going on in Germany.

00:38:20: That was taken positively by Washington because it's all about interest from Washington and Donald Trump that Germany stands strong for Europe as a whole.

00:38:36: It is clear that Donald Trump will look at the EU government in Europe, just like here on Germany.

00:38:46: And not for a long time and has never been so much yet.

00:38:50: but it doesn't seem to be looking at Europe anymore because they know Europe does not speak with one voice.

00:38:57: There are very different opinions there alone about this topic.

00:39:02: And anyway, Trump's line was very hard.

00:39:05: Actually he doesn't want to do anything with the EU at all.

00:39:08: I don't think that is great either and how much they have failed for various reasons.

00:39:16: But he wants individual strong states like Germany.

00:39:18: so it has been taken up positively.

00:39:21: first of

00:39:22: all.

00:39:22: Great foreign policy topic remains Iran?

00:39:25: What was there?

00:39:27: a theme now seems to say that the negotiations in Pakistan will not go on for now.

00:39:32: There are different signals there, if you talk with people from Germany and also those who are very close to Donald Trump which option does he have right now?

00:39:44: So there is the blockade, it could be continued.

00:39:47: It might give a bad deal out of his sight by then saying this is quite a great deal or The war could escalate again.

00:39:58: Where are you talking

00:39:59: about?

00:39:59: in DC?

00:40:00: Donald Trump has certainly missed the point of time to sell a small victory, so to speak.

00:40:05: So there was probably still at some point last week where he would have been able to go out and sell it as a victory in his own way .

00:40:19: And yes , that would also be part of winning.

00:40:21: That's getting more and more difficult.

00:40:24: The longer the war is going, the more billions are being spent on it... ...the more the economy is suffering in the USA as well,... ...the higher prices are rising.

00:40:38: The more pressure increases that he really wins with a bigger win from this war.

00:40:43: This means you're talking about different options now.... And the one thing is escalation, as many people say.

00:40:51: In my opinion with word escalation it's purely negative.

00:40:57: You can also describe that if Washington makes even more pressure and becomes even stronger militarily and really draws all registrations, then there will be a big risk for Washington to escalate everything completely differently.

00:41:15: At the same time, Washington has never been able to be so far away from such a point in order for the regime where it is really possible.

00:41:30: To be able to free Iran of this violence and change it.

00:41:35: So if you do that then there will certainly be this moment when we were still not as close But there's a big risk.

00:41:45: The other thing is to play on time, so the regime in Iran continues economically and militarily, but it's hard to say who can hold out longer for the USA.

00:41:59: The US is certainly military or probably also economic – but politically that's the question!

00:42:05: There are between bales in a few months in the

00:42:07: U.S.,

00:42:08: Donald Trump himself maybe already because he knows the values are bad, but of course he also gets pressure from his supporters by Republican parties and all candidates in between elections.

00:42:22: So how long will Washington hold this through?

00:42:27: And who has to give up faster is not quite clear either.

00:42:30: or just the negotiation solution?

00:42:31: I don't think we can only look at which negotiations on a higher level, but the probability is much higher that you come to an agreement with what will be discussed in the background or really at lower levels.

00:42:50: Neither with the president nor with the vice-president and even with ministers rather than really in the back ground.

00:42:58: if it goes forward there when it's really being discussed Then there can be a solution.

00:43:06: And then it's part of Trump who will surely sell the big one, but these different variants are still available.

00:43:14: and one more point because those are very different variants at the moment several ways are still possible for Donald Trump to have this difference in power so he has multiple people around him that Each one of these variants supports a Lindsey Graham, who wants to escalate in the sense that he's going through it now and really goes into the big win even with the risk you're taking.

00:43:43: And Donald Trump himself – and the government has more or less changed its goal for war, or left it unscathed as well during public debate – the regime change is, or to end the nuclear program.

00:44:01: Or to give people freedom.

00:44:02: Everything came before that, which means a lot of things in this whole debate and also what

00:44:12: can be the way now.

00:44:15: Helge!

00:44:15: Thank you very much for your exciting analysis.

00:44:20: especially Thank you very much for taking the time with us and I said that we didn't have a lot of sleep.

00:44:27: That's why thank you so much to be available as soon as possible, and at least wish you some quiet hours in Washington DC now!

00:44:40: See you soon in

00:44:43: Germany!

00:44:44: Thank you for

00:44:45: listening.

00:44:47: If there is feedback, no matter if it's positive or critical please leave a comment.

00:44:53: I read all of them

00:44:55: and

00:44:56: evaluate the podcast and of course subscribe to it when you don't want to miss anything.

00:45:00: A warm thanks goes to Philipp Jartoff in the editorial office, my producer Daniel van Mool and then Serda Dennis and Liven Jenrich for the recording and mixing.