There are a few good tips that one would think were obvious when it comes to being the leader of the free world. Simple things, like don’t start World War III, don’t antagonize your traditionally strongest allies, and you definitely shouldn’t let the Chancellor of Germany beat you to the punch of condemning white supremacist Neo-Nazis in the strongest terms.

But that’s exactly what President Trump allowed to happen on Monday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesperson, Steffen Seibert, said early Monday the chancellor called the white supremacist rally “disgusting,” and “The scenes at the right-wing extremist march were absolutely repulsive – naked racism, anti-Semitism, and hate in their most evil form were on display.”

Seibert also said Merkel finds, “Such images and chants are disgusting wherever they may be and they are diametrically opposed to the political goals of the chancellor and the entire German government.”

Several participants at Saturday’s rally used Nazi gestures, slogans, and displayed swastikas, all of which have been banned in Germany since the end of World War II.

While several world leaders have issued statements about the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. it’s seemingly most appropriate for Germany’s chancellor to come out condemning the ideology on display there.

The fact that our president was beaten to the punch by the person holding what was once Adolf Hitler’s position seems more like a bad Saturday Night Live skit than real life. And yet here we are.