Von der Leyen, Merz Arrive at White House for Talks With Trump

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived at the White House on 18 Aug. for meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump. Live footage showed the two leaders entering the executive mansion within minutes of each other as part of a larger gathering of European officials in Washington. The White House has not released an agenda, but a pooled video feed indicated that additional leaders—including French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy—are expected to join the talks. The visits mark a rare in-person summit between Trump and several key European counterparts amid heightened trans-Atlantic coordination on security and trade.