Germany’s foreign ministry on Wednesday mocked US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s false claim that immigrants eat pets in a post on the social platform X, as well as his criticism of German energy policy.
Trump pushed a false claim in Tuesday’s debate with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris that many Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are stealing residents’ pets or taking wildlife from parks for food.
He also attacked Harris’ efforts to move the country toward a more diverse and sustainable mix of energy sources. He said Germany had tried to abandon fossil fuels but failed.
“Whether you like it or not: Germany’s energy system is fully operational, using more than 50% renewable energy. And we are shutting down coal and nuclear plants – not building them. Coal will be out of the grid by 2038,” the foreign ministry said in a post on X, known as Twitter.
“P.S.: We don’t eat cats and dogs either. #Debate2024”
Whether you like it or not: Germany’s energy system is fully operational, with more than 50% renewable energy. And we’re shutting down coal and nuclear plants – not building more. Coal will be out of the grid by 2038. PS: We don’t eat cats and dogs either. #debate2024 pic.twitter.com/PiDO98Vxfo
— GermanForeignOffice (@GermanyDiplo) September 11, 2024
The Economy Ministry, which is run by the Greens party, retweeted the post, saying: “New coal-fired power plants? Absolutely not!”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has not directly endorsed Harris, but praised her in July, saying she is a “competent and experienced politician who knows what to do” and who could win the US election.
Germany was a frequent focus of Trump’s ire during his 2017-21 term as president over its trade surplus with the US and low defence spending.
Trump has promised to impose higher tariffs on imports if he wins the election and has conditioned US support for members of the NATO military alliance on them spending 2% of gross domestic product on defence. German officials have said they expect to meet the 2% target this year.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
