By Andreas Rinke, Andrea Shalal, Sarah Marsh and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz kicked off a White House meeting on Thursday with talks on Ukraine and trade but none of the fireworks that have characterized other Oval Office meetings with foreign leaders.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says he found President Donald Trump open to discussion and is convinced that Washington remains committed to the NATO alliance

President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk are showing no signs of reconciling on Friday, but Republicans are increasingly urging them to settle their dispute

Steve Bannon has stoked the tension between Donald Trump and Elon Musk. The feud began when Musk pushed lawmakers to reject the president’s tax bill.

Elon Musk had toyed with the idea of backing another party - including a third party - in the wake of his falling out with President Donald Trump.