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Merkel's friendship with Obama and awkward early interactions with Trump are a study in political contrasts that the Berlin government and the White House will likely seek to ease given the crucial nature of the Germany-US relationship.

But it seems unlikely that the studious and cautious German leader will ever recreate the chumminess she enjoyed with Obama with the brash and unpredictable Trump.

That easy interaction was on display again on Thursday when Merkel seemed delighted to be sitting down with Obama. The former US leader told tens of thousands of people who showed up to witness their earnest conversation about democracy that Merkel was "one of my favorite partners throughout my presidency."

Merkel once shared hugs and smiles and intimate dinners with Obama as their relationship evolved over the years. In one iconic photo that exemplifies their friendship, Obama sits on a bench while Merkel stands in front of him with her arms outstretched in deep conversation -- with the German Alps in the background.

Obama gave Merkel his nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and lauded her as the epitome of freedom itself after she reached the pinnacle of political power in a united Germany after growing up under the political suppression of the communist East.

"The night the wall came down, she crossed over, like so many others, and finally experienced what she calls the 'incredible gift of freedom,'" Obama said at a State Dinner for Merkel in 2011.

Two years later, Merkel poignantly pointed out the route of the wall during an Obama visit to Berlin, and told him that, trapped in the East, she used to listen to trains on the other side and dream of being free.

Contrast such intimacy with the body language on display at the White House when Merkel flew across the Atlantic to get to know Trump.

The President later said that he didn't hear the request and meant no offense but the moment became an irresistible metaphor for the rocky start of their relationship.

Did Trump snub Merkel handshake? 01:02

In effect, Merkel will be coming face-to-face Thursday with one president that she probably wishes were still in the White House and the other, with whom she now has no choice to partner, no matter how tough it is going to be.

Merkel, demonstrating rare sentimentality but also the pragmatic streak that runs through her politics, admitted last year it was tough to see Obama go.

"Taking leave from my partner and friend, well, yes, it is hard. If you've worked together with somebody very well, leave-taking is very difficult. But we are politicians. We all know that democracy lives off change," Merkel said at a joint news conference during Obama's farewell visit to Berlin as President.

The fact that Merkel is sharing the spotlight with Obama and Trump on the same day is a quirk of the calendar: the former president was invited to the Berlin event organized by the German evangelical protestant church a year ago, long before his successor was even elected.

But the presence on European soil of the current and immediate past US President will inevitably draw comparisons about their leadership styles and policies, especially as Obama remains popular in Europe while Trump is not.

There is deep concern in Europe, for instance, about Trump's hostility to anti-climate change policies pursued by Obama, as well as his attempt to institute a ban on travel to the United States of residents of several Muslim nations.

And Obama largely pursued a foreign policy based on multilateralism, which is more to the taste of European leaders, than the "America First" approach that is now the organizing principle of US diplomacy.

Obama's team insisted he was not in Germany to play politics.

"When we agreed to do this, they had not yet set the Trump schedule, we did not in fact know he would be there when we made this decision," said an Obama foundation official, pointing out that the Kirchentag event -- the biennial congress of the German Protestant Church -- had been planned months ahead of time.

Obama also built his schedule to fit in around Merkel's busy diary as a current world leader, and the Thursday date was most convenient for her.

The official stipulated that "is not set up as something where Obama will be asked to respond directly to things that Trump is doing because he has made clear that he doesn't see his role as a former President responding to everything that Trump says or does."

Still, Obama is not beyond oblique references to the turbulent events of the last four months.

"So, what's been going on while I've been gone?" he quipped in the first public appearance of his post presidency in Chicago in April.

And the fact that Obama and Merkel will sit side-by-side on Thursday cannot help but be seen in a political context, especially since the German chancellor is running for a fourth term in office in September's election.

His visit comes shortly after Obama endorsed new French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of the run off in the presidential election this month saying he represented "the values that we care so much about."

Obama had already delivered an endorsement of Merkel's re-election run, albeit in a light-hearted tone, during his visit to Berlin last year.

"I try to make it a rule not to meddle in other people's politics," Obama said, before reeling off a warm tribute of Merkel. "If I were here and I were German, and I had a vote, I might support her. But I don't know whether that hurts or helps."

Clearly, Merkel, who risked her career to accept hundreds of thousands of mainly Muslim refugees pouring across Germany's borders, like Macron, is the kind of leader whose values Obama shares, in a Europe that has recently been rocked by the rise of populist politics that looks much like the outsider strain of anti-establishment politics that Trump rode to victory.

Obama: Merkel on the 'right side of history' 00:46

Obama said last year that Merkel's action on refugees, one that was deeply unpopular among some Germans, put her on "the right side of history."

Trump meanwhile slammed the move.

"I think she made one very catastrophic mistake, and that was taking all of these illegals," Trump said during an interview with the German newspaper Bild and the London Times in January.

Still, despite her affection for Obama, Merkel is nothing if not a realist. And she knows that the future of the Western alliance may rely on her carving out a workable relationship with Trump.

And while the White House may bristle at coverage of Obama's friendship with Merkel, the history of the ex-President and the German Chancellor may contain some good omens for Trump.

After all, it was hardly love at first sight when Merkel first beheld Obama.

In fact, she was affronted by the young rising political star's request to deliver a 2008 campaign speech at the Brandenburg Gate, the iconic spot where Ronald Reagan once beseeched Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "Tear Down this Wall."

Merkel blocked Obama from using the venue, and he delivered a speech instead to several hundred thousand of young Germans at the Victory Column in mile or so away.

At the time, Obama's soaring rhetorical style appeared to irritate the bookish Merkel.

In an email to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, released by the State Department during disclosures from her private emails server, her friend Sidney Blumenthal passed on observations of a former US ambassador to Berlin John Kornblum.

"He says she (Merkel) dislikes the atmospherics surrounding the Obama phenomenon, that it's contrary to her whole idea of politics and how to conduct oneself in general. She would welcome a more conversational relationship with you," Blumenthal wrote.

And even as respect between Merkel and Obama gradually grew, there were bumps in the road.

Germany for example abstained in a UN Security Council vote before the US-led intervention in Libya -- a move that in retrospect looks prescient given the chaos that unfolded in the country after the toppling of Colonel Moammar Gadhafi.

Then, revelations that the NSA had been listening in on Merkel's cellphone temporarily strained the relationship with Obama -- who stopped the practice after it was revealed by fugitive intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.

But the intellectual approach to governing that both shared brought them back together, as well as the vital nature of the US-Germany relationship.

Now, Merkel, who is expected to win re-election, has the task of starting all over again, with a new US president with whom she has little in common.

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Merkel meets with Obama, then Trump - CNNPolitics.com

BBC News

Obama avoids crowds outside Edinburgh charity dinner BBC News Former US president Barack Obama is speaking at a charity dinner in Edinburgh, addressing an audience made up largely of business leaders. The event has been organised by the Hunter Foundation, set up by the philanthropist Sir Tom Hunter. Thousands ... Obama hits the links in ScotlandThe Boston Globe Watch: Former president Obama plays Old CourseGolf Channel (blog) Barack Obama Is Having a Blast on Vacation in Scotland Playing GolfTMZ.com Golf.com -Sporting News -The Guardian all 79 news articles »

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Obama avoids crowds outside Edinburgh charity dinner - BBC News

In the age of President Trump, liberals love nothing more than to pine for the glory days of President Barack Obama. But Obama was always better in theory than he was in reality. His recent trip to Europe reminded us all of that phenomenon. Still, liberals would have you believe that todays problems began on Jan. 20, 2017, with Donald Trumps inauguration as if the plague of Obamas foreign policy blunders and failed economic initiatives had never occurred. And so the story goes, with Obama retired from the White House, the liberals and their allies in the media are trying to recapture the near-godlike status he had attained during the summer of 2008.

But some things never change. Obama continues to hold himself in high regard. He still loves the sound of his own voice, and his self-congratulatory ramblings mirror the inescapably pretentious tone of his campaign and presidency. Perhaps unsurprisingly, therefore, Obamas supporters continue to swoon behind him seemingly blind to the chaos caused by the past eight years of mishaps, inaction and distorted truths.

Former president Obama has no shame. After all, it was Obamas arrogance, inexperience and misguided worldview that fractured our relationship with key allies. It was Obama who retreated from the world stage at a time of increasing conflict and uncertainty. As Israeli President Reuven Rivlin asserted this week, under President Trumps leadership, America is back again. For Obama and his supporters, that has got to hurt.

And it was Obama who capitulated to Iran, saluted Cuba, and walked back on the American promise to retaliate against the Assad regimes barbaric use of chemical weapons in Syria. It was Obama who undermined U.S. leadership and signaled to our allies that America was not the reliable actor they previously knew. But even with the benefit of hindsight, Obama has not come to terms with the impact of his foreign policy blunders. Rather than remain silent and humbly accept the consequences of his misguided actions, Obama incredibly announced in a recent interview, the issue that required the most political courage was the decision not to bomb Syria after the chemical weapons use had been publicized. In his mind, reneging on a commitment made to the world should be glorified as an act of political courage. And perhaps most chillingly, the truth is neither Assads refusal to turn over his entire supply of chemical weapons nor the fact that he took a green light from Obama to continue slaughtering his own people seem to have made any impression on the former president.

And here at home, Obama has contrived notions of reality that serve to build only the facade he desperately wants us to see. Rather than remain on the sidelines for a gracious period of time like most other former presidents, Obama is taking shots at his political opponents. While cozying up with a host of euro-elites in Berlin yesterday, Obama pronounced in a pompous and self-righteous fashion, We cant hide behind a wall. Thankfully, the homeland security secretary, retired Gen. John F. Kelly, pushed back against Obamas childish jab, arguing, Were not hiding behind a wall, and you cant defend anything by hiding behind something.

With a flock of unquestioning liberal enablers cheering on his every word, Obama can continue to obfuscate reality and advance the narrative that all was good and well under his reign in the White House. But Obama invited mayhem around the world, fostered a depressed, crippled economy at home, created racial divisions, and imposed a PC culture that hangs like a dark cloud over Middle America. Remember, Obama did more to make the conditions ripe for a Trump presidency than anything Hillary Clinton did.

Regardless of what happens at home or abroad, our former president can hop on his private jet and escape the unfortunate realities of todays crises. Obama can bask in self-delusion and embrace the collective amnesia of his pious followers while living the life of a .01 percenter, but feeding his own ego does not help solve any of todays problems. Obama can afford to walk away from his blunders, but the rest of us can only hope that todays leaders do a better job than he did.

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Obama has no shame - Washington Post (blog)

For 5-year-old Taylor, its bad enough Barack Obama is no longer the U.S. president but did Hillary Clinton have to lose the 2016 election, too?

In a three-part Instagram video thats gone viral since her mom uploaded the clips on Thursday,the 5-year-old had some questions as to how this electoral system would allow Obama to depart from the White House and allow President Trump to enter.

Why did [Obama] go? a genuinely frustrated Taylor asks her mom. Where did he go? So why do we have the president we have now at the same spot he was and why did he leave it anyway?

When Taylors mom starts to explains that presidents can only sit for two terms, Taylors already moved on.

But how come Hillary did not get to be the president and why is she the loser? she asks.

But the real existentialist kicker in the video came when Taylor asked: And what are they even winning, anyway?

After using pizza to try to further her understanding of Americas voting system, Taylor becomes increasingly frustrated and confused as to why Trump had to occupy the presidency.

Part 2

A post shared by tabgeezy (@tabgeezy) on May 25, 2017 at 8:22am PDT

Under the belief that Trump is ruling the nation from her native Texas, she becomes annoyed.

Well, why does he have to live there? she exclaims throwing her hands up in exasperation.I want him living somewhere else, I dont want him living in Texas.

Taylor still isnt pleased though when she finds out the White House isnt actually in Texas.

Well I dont want him being our president, anyway...I wanted Hillary and Marack Obama, the defeated 5-year-old said.

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Frustrated 5-Year-Old's Speech About 'Marack Obama' Is Deeply Relatable - HuffPost

Former president Barack Obama spoke in Berlin on May 25 at a discussion on democracy with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. (Reuters)

Thanks to an awkward coincidence, President Trump is in Brussels at the same time as predecessor Barack Obama is in Berlin. These two trips are certainly offering contrasting views of the United States's relationship with Europe.

Obama was in the German capital Thursday morning to appear alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a biennual festival organized by the German protestant church. The two spoke in front of a large crowd at the iconic Brandenburg Gate, with Obamagoing out of his way to praise Merkel.

Not only do I love this city, but one of my favorite partners throughout my presidency is sitting next to me, Obamasaidwith a smile.

Speaking at the democracy-themed event, he also appeared to offer thinly veiled criticism of Trump, then only a few hundred miles away in Belgium. We cant isolate ourselves. We cant hide behind a wall, he said, prompting cheers from the audience.

Even before he became president, Obama had endeared himself to Germans. In 2008, while campaigning for the Democratic nomination, he gavea speech to an estimated 200,000 Berliners inTiergarten park. Five years later, he returned to the city to give a speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate, the iconic location from whereRonald Reagan called onSoviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down this wall.

Merkel became a key Obama ally on the world stage, despite strains over ascandal involving alleged U.S. monitoring of her phone. During Obama's last official trip to Germany, in November, theaffection between the two was apparent,and theyissueda joint warningagainst taking democracy for granted.

Obama's high standing in Germany is largely shared across the continent. A poll conducted by thePew Research Center last summer found that 77 percent of Europeans hadconfidence in him, including 86 percent of Germans. The poll asked Europeans what they thought about Trump, who at that point was a presidential candidate. Just 9 percent of Europeans said they had confidence inhim.

Trump's remarks about Europe on the campaign trail may not have helped his cause. He labeled himself Mr. Brexit and questioned the logic of the European Union, while warning that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization amilitary alliance that binds Europe and North America may be obsolete. He even singled out Merkel, sayingshe was ruining Germany with her immigration policies.

President Trump criticized leaders at a dedication ceremony at the new NATO headquarters in Brussels, May 25, saying they need to increase financial contributions to combat "the threat of terrorism." (The Washington Post)

As Obama and Merkel spoke in Berlin, Trump was in Brussels the center of European political power and a city he once calleda hellhole as part of his first foreign trip as U.S. president. The trip has included stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican.

In the Belgian capital, Trump met with E.U. officials Thursday morning and later in the day will attend a working dinnerwith world leaders including Merkel representing NATO members. In April, Trump toned down his criticism of the organization, even saying that the alliance was no longer obsolete. Such comments mark a broader trend for Trump, who has walked back some of his harshest criticisms of Europe since becoming president.

So far his bark has been worse than his bite when it comes to the core issues Europeans care about, said Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations andprofessor of international affairs at Georgetown University.

However, Trump's time in Europe may also have its share of tricky moments.He will meet with British Prime Minister Theresa May later Thursday. She is expected to raise the issue ofapparent leaks of shared intelligenceabout Mondays Manchester bombing. Trump has ordered the Justice Department to launch a full investigation into the leaks, adding in a statement Thursday that there is no relationship we cherish more than the Special Relationship withBritain.

Trump also had a private lunch with new French President Emmanuel Macronat the residence of the U.S. ambassador to Belgium on Thursday a meeting that prompted a widely mocked video of the pair shaking hands, if nothing else.

President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron shared an intense handshake at their first meeting on May 25. (The Washington Post)

After the NATO meeting, Trump will head to Sicily fora Group of Sevenmeeting of the world'stop industrialized nations. His time in Europe isimportant.European leaders and publics are still sizing him up, Kupchan said. Opinions will firm up over the course of the next 48 hours.

That Obama received such a rapturous reception in Berlin probably won't help. Several aspectsof Trump's first foreign trip have been compared unfavorably with his predecessor's:After Trump signed a short, curiously upbeat message at Israel's Holocaust memorial Tuesday, social media users begansharing the lengthy and solemn note Obama wrotewhen he visited Yad Vashem in 2008.

By all accounts, Obama's trip to Berlin was long planned and not designed to clash with Trump's Europe sojourn. However, the awkward timing may benefit at least Merkel, who isfacing reelectionin September.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told world leaders at NATO headquarters, May 25, that preserving "open societies" leads to success, not "the building of walls." (The Washington Post)

If you look at public opinion surveys, Barack Obama has retained a popularity in Germany that Donald Trump has not achieved, said Karen Donfried, president of the German Marshall Fund and a member of the National Security Council during the Obama administration. Given the political year that we have in Germany, with a national election in September, the chancellor could be well served by showing her relations with both the past U.S. president and the current U.S. president.

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Trump and Obama are having very different trips to Europe - Washington Post