Angela Merkel Ally Says Trump Welcome in Germany

Horst Seehofer, the minister president of the German state of Bavaria and a key partner of Angela Merkel, says he would welcome Donald Trump to Germany if the Republican wins.

Seehofer also told German media he disapproved of attempts by German politicians to persuade Americans of how best to vote.

"If the American people decide to vote for a candidate, in a democratic process, then the democratic people of Germany and Bavaria have to accept their decision," Seehofer told German media, Euractiv reported, adding that "We cannot behave like we are the whole world's headmaster."

"We would treat Donald Trump the same as Hillary Clinton. Both would be welcome in [Bavaria's capital] Munich," he added.

Seehofer represents the Christian Social Union (CSU), which works in partnership with Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

The CDU's Norbert Röttgen, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag, said on Sunday: "For the German-American relationship, Trump as president would be a strain," adding it would "lead to the deepest alienation in our relationship since the Vietnam War."