Mar 24, 2026, 2:57 p.mMar 24, 2026, 2:57 p.m
Against the backdrop of differences of opinion over the Iran war, the right-wing populist AfD faction in the German parliament says it will meet again on Wednesday with representatives of US Republicans led by US President Donald Trump.
A joint discussion event on transatlantic relations is planned for the evening in the Bundestag – Germany’s parliament – in Berlin. Among others, the president of the New York Young Republican Club, Stefano Forte, is scheduled to appear.
Stefano Forte.Image: keystone
AfD parliamentary group vice-president Beatrix von Storch, who is organizing the event together with the parliamentary group’s foreign policy spokesman, Markus Frohnmaier, spoke to journalists in Berlin about “high-ranking representatives from the United States”, including from the US State Department, without giving names or further details.
USA trips and MAGA contact maintenance
Since Trump began his second term in office in January 2025, Von Storch, Frohnmaier and other AfD politicians have been making greater efforts to maintain intensive contacts with Washington. There were several trips to the USA and meetings with Republicans, and one of Trump’s social media advisors came to give a lecture to the AfD parliamentary group in the German capital.
Beatrix von Storch with a cap inspired by MAGA.Image: EPA/EPA
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in turn, openly sided with the AfD and criticized the way the German Office for the Protection of the Constitution dealt with it. Last year, after several years of review, he classified the party as definitely right-wing extremist. The AfD took legal action against this – in February, the Cologne Administrative Court granted the party’s urgent application; proceedings on the main issue are still pending.
In the most recent federal election in February 2025, the AfD doubled its share of the vote to 20.8 percent compared to the previous election. It is the second strongest parliamentary group in the Bundestag.
Recently there has been more criticism than praise for Trump
Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement (MAGA) and the AfD are close in terms of migration and social policy and both see themselves in the fight against what they see as left-wing sovereignty of opinion in Western democracies.
After the US military action in Venezuela, the conflict over Greenland and especially after the start of the US attacks on Iran, the AfD leadership expressed criticism of Trump’s foreign policy.
Von Storch said of the Iran war that it was a difficult international issue. The mullahs’ regime doesn’t belong there, “but it’s difficult to bomb away from the outside. We think that’s problematic.” When asked whether the AfD’s positioning had angered Republicans in Washington, von Storch simply said that no public discussions were being held. (hkl/sda/dpa)