Overview
- Roughly 20 AfD politicians traveled to New York, where Markus Frohnmaier received a New York Young Republican Club award and cast the party as part of a transatlantic right-wing alliance.
- Frohnmaier said he met representatives of the U.S. government during the trip, and he posted a photo with State Department official Sarah Rogers, while German outlets also cited meetings with senior MAGA-aligned figures.
- The AfD announced it will invite U.S. government representatives, Republican members of Congress and lobby groups to a Berlin congress in February, timed near the Munich Security Conference.
- German parties condemned the trip as anti-Germany messaging and questioned financing, with reports that several Saxony-Anhalt lawmakers intend to bill taxpayers for travel and gala costs.
- Analysts warned that Washington’s security doctrine backing “patriotic” European parties could carry diplomatic or economic repercussions for Berlin, with some pointing to potential tariffs if Germany advances efforts against the AfD.