Transatlantic Firestorm: Trump Deputy Secretary of State Slams German Government for Targeting Right-Wing AfD Party, Citing Nazi-Era Parallels
A diplomatic firestorm erupted this week between the Trump administration and Germany’s outgoing Green-led government after Berlin moved to expand surveillance powers against the surging right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party—currently the most popular party in national polling.
At the center of the controversy is a fierce rebuke from Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who torched Germany’s Foreign Ministry for what he called “tyranny in disguise.”
Germany Targets Its Opposition—Calls It Democracy
The dispute began when the German Foreign Ministry, still under the influence of departing Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and World Economic Forum alum Jennifer Morgan, posted a message defending its domestic spy agency’s move to classify the AfD as a “confirmed right-wing extremist group.”
“This is democracy,” the ministry declared on X. “We have learned from our history that rightwing extremism needs to be stopped.”
This response followed widespread international concern about the German government’s use of secret police surveillance on its main opposition party—one that recently placed second in regional elections and continues to gain ground across Europe.
Landau’s Scathing Retort: “Spare Us the Moralizing”
That post triggered a blistering response from Landau, who is Jewish and the son of a World War II veteran who fled Nazi-occupied Austria.
“Words can’t begin to express the outrage and resentment I feel at having an official account of the GERMAN government purport to lecture the US Secretary of State on the need to spy on and censor the political opposition,” Landau wrote.
He slammed Berlin’s sanctimonious appeal to history:
“No, Germany, you can’t hide behind smug references to what you’ve learned from ‘your’ history. It’s our history too. My father fled Vienna after the Anschluss, came to America, and fought in the US Army to liberate Europe.”
Landau then reminded the German government what triggered WWII wasn’t excessive free speech, but a regime bent on silencing dissent:
“He didn’t flee because of too much free speech. He fled because those who believed in spying on and censoring political opponents were in charge.”
The Globalist Playbook Exposed
Landau’s takedown hit a nerve across Europe, where populist and nationalist parties are gaining traction. German elites, who have long relied on soft censorship and media demonization to stifle opposition, are now doubling down with intelligence agency involvement—drawing comparisons to authoritarian regimes they once vowed never to emulate again.
AfD member of European Parliament Petr Bystron praised the Trump administration for standing up:
“The German establishment elite are running scared because the people are sick of their climate nonsense and open borders madness. Now we have a US government that’s on to their tricks and will no longer stand for it.”
Global Shift: Populists Rise, Establishments Panic
As elections loom in Germany and the European Union, Berlin’s crackdown on dissent has only deepened fears of a bureaucratic elite willing to abandon democracy in the name of protecting it.
Landau’s message was clear:
“You may choose to brand your own citizens as ‘rightwing extremists’ and silence or jail them. But please—spare us the moralizing.”
With populists like George Simion in Romania, Marine Le Pen in France, and AfD leaders in Germany gaining ground, this latest clash signals a broader trend: The gloves are off, and the globalist consensus is crumbling—one thunderous rebuttal at a time.