Irie Sentner
2025/02/14
The vice president met with the leaders of all four major German political parties — including Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany.
JD Vance met Friday with the leader of the far-right German political party being boosted by Elon Musk, according to a person familiar with the meeting granted anonymity to discuss the vice president’s schedule.
Vance was in Munich for a security conference, where earlier in the day he had blasted Europe over immigration and censorship of free speech that he suggested targeted right-leaning people and political parties.
Vance met with the leaders of all four major German political parties, the person said — including Alice Weidel, the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AFD. He also met this week with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier in the week in Paris.
It was not immediately clear what Vance and Weidel discussed. A spokesperson for Vance declined to comment on what Vance discussed with any of the leaders.
Musk — the world’s richest man, DOGE chief, and close adviser to President Donald Trump — has been publicly supporting AFD ahead of Germany’s snap election, which is in less than two weeks. Last month, the billionaire appeared virtually at an AFD rally, urging the crowd to “move on” from “past guilt.”
Musk — an unelected official displaying unprecedented power over the federal government, which he hopes to completely transform — has garnered intense criticism over what detractors say is an effort to influence a foreign election. But Vance on Friday hit back on those claims.
“If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg’s scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk,” Vance said, comparing a 22-year-old Swedish climate activist with the owner of X and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.
2025/02/14
The vice president met with the leaders of all four major German political parties — including Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany.
JD Vance met Friday with the leader of the far-right German political party being boosted by Elon Musk, according to a person familiar with the meeting granted anonymity to discuss the vice president’s schedule.
Vance was in Munich for a security conference, where earlier in the day he had blasted Europe over immigration and censorship of free speech that he suggested targeted right-leaning people and political parties.
Vance met with the leaders of all four major German political parties, the person said — including Alice Weidel, the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AFD. He also met this week with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier in the week in Paris.
It was not immediately clear what Vance and Weidel discussed. A spokesperson for Vance declined to comment on what Vance discussed with any of the leaders.
Musk — the world’s richest man, DOGE chief, and close adviser to President Donald Trump — has been publicly supporting AFD ahead of Germany’s snap election, which is in less than two weeks. Last month, the billionaire appeared virtually at an AFD rally, urging the crowd to “move on” from “past guilt.”
Musk — an unelected official displaying unprecedented power over the federal government, which he hopes to completely transform — has garnered intense criticism over what detractors say is an effort to influence a foreign election. But Vance on Friday hit back on those claims.
“If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg’s scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk,” Vance said, comparing a 22-year-old Swedish climate activist with the owner of X and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.
