Article snippet: On the heels of a festive state visit in honor of French President Emanuel Macron, President Donald Trump welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House Friday for a more subdued business meeting. While Macron was feted in grand style with a three-day state visit, complete with a private dinner with the president and first lady at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Virginia, home, a formal military welcome ceremony and state dinner, Merkel arrived in Washington for a no-frills, one-day visit to meet with the president and participate in a joint press conference. The back-to-back meetings stand as a study in contrast between the Trump-Macron bromance and the strictly-business Trump-Merkel relationship of necessity. While Trump and Macron's political bromance budded over an extended white-knuckle handshake at their first meeting last year, Trump and Merkel had an awkward moment before cameras in the Oval Office on her first visit to the Trump White House when there was no handshake at all. “President Macron, I believe, has broken the code when it comes to dealing with President Trump, with a very close ally and partner. Now, let’s contrast that to German Chancellor Angela Merkel,” said Heather A. Conley, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies Europe Program. “She is a scientist. She is cautious. She is careful. Her nickname is 'Mutti,' or mother. She’s low-key. She’s an everyday person, a slayer of political challengers... Link to the full article to read more