BERLIN — The Trumpier he gets, the more Merkelish she becomes.

Donald Trump has launched blunt attack after attack on Germany, and particularly Chancellor Angela Merkel, since he became U.S. president last year. But Merkel is doubling down on staying sober and factual and not getting drawn into a war of words.

That was abundantly clear on Friday at Merkel's annual summer press conference in Berlin, where she faced a series questions about Trump, who just last week declared that Germany is "totally controlled" by Russia.

“I’m trying to pay even more attention to my language, to be precise, to make sure facts are accurate,” Merkel said after a reporter asked her about a "change in political culture" and noted a series of contradictory statements by Trump related to his Helsinki summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Merkel said she believes Germany's economic prosperity could be one reason for Trump's anger.

“By setting an example, I try to keep this process of coarsening a bit under control — because I believe there is a pretty close link between thinking, speaking and acting,” Merkel said.

Ever since Trump took office in January 2017, he has attacked Germany on issues including its trade surplus, defense spending and Merkel’s approach to immigration.

"I've taken notice of it," Merkel said of the criticism on Friday. But the chancellor, originally a scientist by profession, deadpanned that she had not tried "to investigate the root causes" of Trump's behavior, triggering smiles among the journalists.

Later, she added that she believes Germany's economic prosperity could be one reason for Trump's anger.

Merkel adhered strictly to diplomatic protocol, declining all requests to comment directly on Trump's political performance or his approach to politics. (Trump, by contrast, has repeatedly criticized Merkel's handling of various domestic issues.)

Merkel also stuck to the pragmatic approach that has often played to her advantage in the almost 13 years she has spent as the leader of Europe’s richest country, stressing that Europe and the U.S. are not enemies and that the model of the European Union is a "win-win situation."

Here are some key comments from her press conference.

On transatlantic relations:

"We see the U.S. as an important partner," Merkel said. Historically, Washington has always been "a partner that doesn't always follow policies we agree with ... but it's certainly worth solving those conflicts," she added.

Asked about Trump's comment that the EU, a longstanding American ally, is a “foe” of the U.S., Merkel said she “can’t embrace this choice of words,” and that she has "a different approach to this."

On Germany's trade surplus:

Referring to Trump's repeated criticism that Germany is doing too little to reduce its trade surplus with the U.S., Merkel pushed back by noting that the U.S. is actually in surplus once services are added to the equation.

"When we speak about the trade surplus of Germany and Europe towards the U.S., it's important to stress that this is true if we only look at products and goods," she said. "But if we add services to that ... things look very different." The balance then slightly favors the U.S, she added.

On defense spending:

Asked about Trump's repeated tirades against Berlin's relatively low defense spending, Merkel said she is "trying to face up to the criticism."

Acknowledging that just within Europe, Germany lags behind "the East Europeans, the United Kingdom, France," Merkel said Berlin will continue to increase defense spending.

On the role of Germany and Europe in the world:

Back in May 2017, Merkel made headlines when she said that “the era in which we could fully rely on others is over to some extent.” On Friday, Merkel told journalists that "the sentence stands and is true, and it has been confirmed further by the events that happened since then."

On NATO's common defense clause:

"Article 5 is a central element of NATO, and in my view this article is valid for all member states," Merkel said — a rebuke to Trump who has repeatedly cast doubt on the alliance's collective defense guarantee. Earlier this week, the U.S. president suggested that coming to the aid of Montenegro, NATO's newest member, could trigger World War III.

Merkel spoke up for the small Balkan nation, saying it has made "many efforts" to join NATO and she is "happy about the new member" in the alliance.