Trump hails AfD's record win in German state election

US President Donald Trump praised Germany’s right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party after it secured a record result in a state election, attributing its rise to opposition to the country’s immigration policies.  “Wow! The Populist Party in Germany just had a really big night,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. “They finally got tired of the absolutely horrible Immigration rules and regulations which have hurt Germany so badly. THEY ARE ON THE RISE, and not going to take it anymore! MGGA!!!” he added, using an abbreviation for “Make Germany Great Again.”
The AfD won 43.8% of the vote in Sunday’s election in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, its strongest showing in any German state election, while Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) fell to 17.2%. The AfD’s Ulrich Siegmund, who hopes to become the new premier of Saxony-Anhalt after Sunday’s election, has promised “deportations (of illegal immigrants) from the first minute” in an echo of Trump’s own policies. The AfD’s victory also represents one of the biggest setbacks for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives since they returned to power at the national level in Germany more than a year ago.
When asked about the Saxony-Anhalt election on Wednesday, Merz’s chief spokesperson, Stefan Kornelius, declined to comment directly on Trump’s social media post. Kornelius said the government had postponed a planned phone call between Merz and Trump on the upcoming 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks in the U.S. Kornelius said Germany remains ready to stand up for the values that define and unite the two countries. “These are freedom, democracy and respect,” he said.
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has classified the AfD’s regional branch as a proven right-wing extremist organization, saying parts of the party promote a racist, ethnic understanding of national identity that is incompatible with the country’s democratic constitutional order. Mainstream parties have cited that assessment in maintaining a refusal to govern with the AfD.
The U.S. and Germany have traditionally been close allies, but their relationship has been put to the test since Trump’s return to office, with differing views on a host of topics, including tariffs, the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, and support for Ukraine.