In a surprising move, Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk endorsed Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as federal elections approach. Despite their endorsements, opinion polls indicate that the AfD, positioned as the second-largest party, is unlikely to disrupt the election outcome or gain coalition power, as Chancellor Scholz and conservative Friedrich Merz reaffirm their refusal to work with the AfD. Analysts note the unprecedented nature of U.S. involvement in a foreign election, especially one that spreads far-right views in a country historically wary of such influence.
For more than a year, opinion polls have shown the AfD in second place, ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party, though well behind the conservative Christian Democratic Union.
The AfD almost certainly won't end up in any ruling coalition that comes out of this election, maintaining the firewall that has kept the far right out of power since the Nazi era.
Political analysts interviewed by The Washington Post could not recall another time that a U.S. administration has inserted itself so adversarially in the election of an ally.
Musk appeared via video link at an AfD rally and hosted a flattering conversation with AfD leader Alice Weidel on his X platform.
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