German Chancellor Angela Merkel alluded to fraying relations between the United States and the rest of the world, shortly after Donald Trumprefused to join world leaders in the fight against climate change.
Following Trump's departure from a series of meetings with leaders from around the world, Merkel spoke to a crowd and hinted at Europe's inability to count on long-time allies like the United States.
"The times in which we can fully count on others are somewhat over, as I have experienced in the last few days," she said. "And that is why I can only say, we Europeans must really take our destiny in our own hands."
Merkel continued, saying, "We need to know we must fight for our own future as Europeans for our destiny."
Trump, who has routinely referred to global warming as a hoax, was the only leader from a G7 country not to sign off on enforcing guidelines agreed to in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
In addition to Trump's resistance to adopting modern climate policy, a video from the summit appears to show Trump sitting idly while the rest of the leaders listened to translations of the Italian speaker through provided headphones.
The White House disputed this version of events. Press Secretary Sean Spicer claims Trump was simply using a smaller earpiece in his right ear during the video in question.
The German Chancellor's comments are a stark contrast from the picture painted by the Trump administration upon completion of the President's overseas trip. Despite Merkel's suggestion that European nations were on their own to push forward into the future, Trump declared the trip a "great success" for America on his Twitter account.
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