(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump’s attacks on Germany’s energy policy during Tuesday’s debate drew umbrage — and a sharp social media jab — from the country’s foreign ministry, underscoring the extent to which the Republican presidential nominee retains a raw diplomatic relationship with some of Europe’s leading powers.
The squabble originated in the closing moments of Trump’s face-to-face showdown with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, whom the former president was eager to cast as an opponent of fracking and fossil fuels and in favor of renewable energy.
The issue has become a flashpoint in Pennsylvania, the key swing state where the debate was held and where a fracking boom has boosted the economy.
“Germany tried that, and within one year they were back to building normal energy plants,” Trump said Tuesday night. “We’re not ready for it. We can’t sacrifice our country for the sake of bad vision.”
Germany’s foreign ministry bridled at the swipe, saying in a social media post, “Like it or not: Germany’s energy system is fully operational, with more than 50% renewables. And we are shutting down – not building – coal & nuclear plants. Coal will be off the grid by 2038 at the latest.”
“PS: We also don’t eat cats and dogs,” the post added.
The quip — a reference to Trump’s airing during the debate of an unfounded conspiracy theory that migrants in Ohio were eating neighborhood pets — was a break from normally staid diplomatic statements, particularly among allies who often seek to avoid taking sides in domestic campaigns.
The episode also underscored the extent to which energy policy might remain a sore spot for Germany, which decided to close the nation’s nuclear reactors after the 2011 disaster at Japan’s Fukushima plant. The decision meant that Germany had to burn more environmentally-damaging coal to make up for lost energy production — particularly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to a surge in the cost of natural gas. Berlin officially aims to exit coal by 2038, but is hoping to do so earlier by the end of the decade.
It’s also preparing to spend billions of euros on expanding gas power plants to back up intermittent renewable sources of energy.
Still, the country has not undertaken the type of reversal described by Trump. The use of coal power has dropped significantly in recent years and the country does not have plans to construct any new coal-fired plants.
Trump frequently clashed with then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel during his presidency, and in particular his push to condition US military protection on allies reaching the goal of spending at least 2% of gross domestic product on defense. Current German leader Olaf Scholz praised Harris earlier this year as a “competent and experienced politician.”
--With assistance from Carolynn Look.
(Updates with German gas expansion plans in ninth paragraph. An earlier version of this story corrected the description of Germany’s coal exit policy.)
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