Merz presents Trump with a German national football team jersey at the G7 summit

The handover took place after Trump had already taken his seat at the round G7 table. According to information from the German delegation, Merz presented the jersey as a birthday gift to coincide with the football World Cup. The jersey bears the name Trump in capital letters, and the number 47 adorns the jersey – a reference to the fact that Trump is the 47th US President.

Symbolism of the number 47

Merz had also marked Trump's birthday belatedly on the platform X. Addressing Trump, the CDU leader wrote: „Herzlichen verspäteten Glückwunsch zum 80. Geburtstag." Addressing Trump, he added: „Schließlich spielen wir im selben Team." The Federal Chancellor combined the birthday wishes with framing the sporting gesture as a political message of togetherness.

Trump's 80th birthday had been celebrated in Washington the previous Sunday. Trump then travelled to France for the G7 summit. The summit in Évian-les-Bains runs until Wednesday. The handover of the jersey thus falls chronologically between the US President's birthday and the start of the actual working sessions.

As for the football World Cup, the German national jersey in the black, red and gold colours is considered one of the most tradition-rich international playing kits. For his gift, Merz chose the classic home jersey of the German team. In doing so, he drew on a gesture frequently used in diplomatic protocol as a symbolic sign of sporting fellowship.

Birthday wishes on X

The symbolism of the number 47 is unmistakable: Trump is the 47th US President. The choice of squad number is a direct reference to his political office and underscores the personal touch of the gift. Combined with the printed name, the result is a jersey clearly tailored to its recipient.

The scene at the round table was documented by journalists present and spread rapidly across social networks. On X, Merz himself shared a post with the words „Herzlichen verspäteten Glückwunsch zum 80. Geburtstag" and linked the gesture with the note „Schließlich spielen wir im selben Team". The wording was interpreted internationally as a signal of reconciliation between Berlin and Washington.

The background to the gesture is a phase of strained relations between the German federal government and the US administration. There had recently been discord between Merz and Trump after the Federal Chancellor had voiced criticism of the US approach in the Iran war. With the jersey and the birthday congratulations, Merz was evidently seeking an improvement in the atmosphere of the bilateral relationship.

Background: Discord in relations with Washington

So far, no bilateral meeting between Trump and Merz is planned at the G7 summit, which runs until Wednesday. This means that the personal encounter at the round table and the symbolic gesture of the jersey could remain the only direct contacts between the two leaders in Évian. Observers interpreted this as an indication that the differences of the past weeks have not yet been fully resolved.

Nevertheless, the appearance at the G7 table was perceived by many present as a deliberately staged signal of rapprochement. The combination of birthday wishes, a shared team reference and a personalised jersey followed the classic pattern of informal diplomacy, in which personal gestures are meant to prepare for or complement formal talks.

In the context of the G7 summit, the jersey handover also carries a sports-political subtext: the upcoming football World Cup is an event watched worldwide, and several G7 states are among the traditional footballing nations. Merz used the platform of the summit to foreground the sporting dimension as a connecting element between the heads of state and government.

The response to the gesture was mixed on social media. While numerous users praised the appearance as a charming diplomatic gesture, others saw it primarily as a distraction from the substantive differences between Berlin and Washington. Regardless, the scene attracted international attention and dominated coverage of the G7 summit for hours.

Reactions on social media

From the Federal Government's circle, it was said that the action had been coordinated with Merz personally. It was a spontaneous yet deliberately chosen gesture that emphasised the shared value framework of the Western alliance. The jersey was intended to serve as a reminder of the close transatlantic partnership between Germany and the United States.

For Trump himself, the gesture comes at a time when he had celebrated his 80th birthday only a few days earlier. The belated congratulations from Berlin add to a series of similar good wishes the US President had received from heads of state and government around the world. The jersey with his name and the 47 occupies a special place, as it alludes directly to his office as the 47th US President.

Reporting on the jersey handover was disseminated, among others, by the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa). In the dpa report, it says Merz had „beim G7-Gipfel ein Fußballtrikot mit dem Namen 'Trump' berreicht" – with the word „berreicht" in the original report containing a typo that was partly carried over in subsequent coverage.

Outlook for the remainder of the summit

The G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains continues until Wednesday and includes further working sessions on topics such as the economy, climate and security. Whether a brief bilateral meeting between Merz and Trump would still take place on the sidelines of the summit was initially unclear. The symbolic gesture at the round table thus remains, for now, the most visible German-American moment of the gathering.