German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Wednesday took a swipe at President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE while affirming his country’s relationship with the U.S.

“For me, the USA is not an opponent but rather our most important partner and ally outside the EU,” Maas tweeted, according to Reuters. “America is bigger than the White House. Trump will not change that either. He can tweet as much as he wants.”

Für mich sind die USA kein Gegner, sondern unser wichtigster Partner und Verbündeter außerhalb der EU. Amerika ist größer als das Weiße Haus. Daran wird auch Trump nichts ändern, da kann er so viel twittern, wie er will. — Heiko Maas (@HeikoMaas) July 25, 2018

Maas spoke Wednesday in Japan to propose that the two countries lead an “alliance of the multilateralists” in response to Trump’s policies by filling in what he sees as gaps in political, economic and environmental leadership left by the U.S. president.

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During his remarks, Maas criticized Trump for “throwing decades-old alliances into question in 280-character tweets.”





Maas’ comments come about a week after Trump referred to the European Union as one of his biggest global “foes” because of its economic policies. Trump has clashed with the EU in recent weeks after targeting it, and other U.S. allies, with massive tariffs.

Maas responded more forcefully to that comment, saying: “We can no longer completely rely on the White House.”

“To maintain our partnership with the USA we must readjust it,” Maas told a German newspaper. “The first clear consequence can only be that we need to align ourselves even more closely in Europe.”

Trump also butted heads with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the NATO summit earlier this month, after saying Germany was “captive” to Russia over a pipeline deal.