00:00I bet a legacy of Angela Merkel is there's a lot of girls who watch Angela Merkel say,
00:05I too can have a position of responsibility and power because she conducted herself with such dignity.
00:31President Bush, you have met Chancellor Angela Merkel so many times.
00:35Do you recall kind of a defining moment?
00:38You know, the last time I saw her was defining because she flew all the way over to my dad's
00:44funeral.
00:45My whole family was there.
00:48And somebody said, Angela Merkel would like to call on you.
00:51And it just meant a lot. You know, I was very close to my dad.
00:54And the fact that she would take time to come really defined, I think, our relationship.
01:00She's a very thoughtful, kind person.
01:08I mean, Germany is a very close ally and a very important friend.
01:12Germany is really important for Europe.
01:15And Germany's got a lot of sway in terms of helping shape kind of world opinion on key issues.
01:22And therefore, it makes sense for a U.S. president to be close to the German chancellor.
01:26And even though Gerhard Schroeder and I had a disagreement on issues, we nevertheless were able to send the signal
01:34that U.S.-German relations were very important.
01:35Talking about difficult relationships, what triggered Angela Merkel in Donald Trump and caused these harsh reactions?
01:44He once refused shaking her head.
01:46So that was just not a good period in German-U.S. relations.
01:55So it's hard for me to guess why.
02:03Talking about immigration, that was something which will define probably Angela Merkel's chancellery.
02:10What's your take on her reaction when she didn't close the borders and let in like a million or so?
02:16Yeah, you know, my first reaction was there's a woman with a big heart.
02:20And I'm sure she was motivated by human compassion.
02:28And, you know, it was clearly a tough political decision for her.
02:35But she took a lead.
02:37And the world needs leadership that is based upon principle.
02:43And that's what she did.
02:46And I know it costs political points, but it seemed like she's doing pretty well.
02:57Is it a mistake?
02:59You know, I think it is.
03:00Yeah, I think because I think the consequences are going to be unbelievably bad.
03:05And I'm sad.
03:08Laura and I spend a lot of time with Afghan women and they're scared.
03:13It's unbelievable how that society changed from the brutality of the Taliban.
03:18And all of a sudden, you know, sadly, I'm afraid Afghan women and girls are going to suffer unspeakable harm.
03:32Angela Merkel's relationship with Vladimir Putin is somewhat special.
03:38Sometimes it's really close.
03:39Sometimes it's more confrontational.
03:42How do you see her relationship or how did you see it when you were in office?
03:47Well, first of all, I fully understood the importance of Russia to Germany.
03:54It can become more important as Germany relies upon Russian natural gas to power her big industrial economy,
04:00which I thought was a mistake.
04:03But, you know, I didn't I didn't view it as, you know, a diminution of our relationship because she had
04:13to deal with Vladimir Putin.
04:15I mean, I view it as very practical.
04:18I mean, Putin's got big influence and he speaks German.
04:22And and I wasn't, you know, look, Putin's he's wily and he can be pretty tough.
04:29And but but so can Angela.
04:31So I wasn't worried about Putin running over Angela Merkel.
04:33Like she she can hold her own.
04:36And I'm sure she did.
04:44If you would write the history books, what would be your paragraph about Angela Merkel?
04:50Angela Merkel brought class and dignity to a very important position and made very hard decisions.
04:59And did so, though, with what's best for Germany and did so based upon principle.
05:05Here's the thing that amazes me.
05:07Eight years in a democracy is a long time.
05:10I know full well.
05:11People get tired of you and they were tired of Reagan after eight years.
05:15They're darn sure tired of me after eight years.
05:18And Angela Merkel has managed to survive in a pretty tough political environment for more than eight years.
05:24And I think it reflects the German voters trust.
05:28They may not agree with Angela, but they trust her and they trust her most first and foremost because she's
05:32a good person.
05:40You painted a portrait of her.
05:42I'm sure all that kind of is seen in this portrait.
05:46Maybe you can talk a little bit about the process and the picture itself.
05:50Sure. Well, you know, I was just I was a new painter.
05:54So I was a little worried about making sure I captured the person that I was trying to paint.
06:01And in Angela's case, I wanted to paint a kind person with a lovely soul.
06:08And that's the person I got to know.
06:10I mean, she's plenty tough in order to survive in what was a man's world German politics for a long
06:17time.
06:17She's got to be pretty tough and she's resolute.
06:20But I also saw a side of her that was very compassionate and decent.
06:24And that's what I that's the what I try to do in the portrait.
06:28I hope she likes it.
06:29There is one image the world remembers of you and Angela Merkel.
06:32That's that's at the GA meeting in San Petersburg when you were massaging her shoulder.
06:37Oh, and I walked by and gave her.
06:38Did you ever talk with her about it?
06:40No.
06:41No, but if I need to, Angela, I'm sorry I did that and put you in the public spotlight.
06:45But on the other hand, it's a reflection of my my friendship with you.
06:49I don't know.
06:54Because first the message is that I am at this point.
06:58I'm sorry.
06:59I will.
06:59You are.
07:01I am.
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