Key facts
- Leaked documents reveal the AfD's decade-long efforts to court Donald Trump and Maga allies.
- Senior AfD officials agonized over wording of congratulatory telegrams to Trump after his 2016 election.
- The AfD sought White House support on policy issues and requested Trump's backing on UN charter clauses.
- The party's 2025 election program calls for lifting sanctions on Russia and repairing Nord Stream pipelines.
A data leak from Germany's far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has revealed the extent of its efforts to court Donald Trump and leading figures in the Maga movement over more than a decade. Senior party officials agonized over the wording of congratulatory messages to Trump after his 2016 election, including a wish for his personal hopes to be fulfilled. The AfD, which entered the Bundestag in 2017 and now leads national polls, also sought White House support on policy issues and requested Trump's backing on removing the "enemy-state clause" from the UN charter.
The trove, covering over 420,000 emails and documents from the party's foundation to the present, shows AfD officials quickly moving to requests for support from the White House after Trump's 2016 election win. The party's 2025 election program calls for lifting sanctions on Russia and repairing the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
Mainstream German politicians greeted Trump's election with skepticism, with then-Chancellor Angela Merkel offering "close cooperation" on the basis of "values." The AfD, however, saw Trump as a potential ally. The leaked documents detail the careful preparation of a congratulatory telegram, including a request for support in removing the "enemy-state clause" from the UN charter, a move viewed by the AfD as a limitation on German sovereignty.