Vice President JD Vance met with Alice Weidel ― co-chair of Germany’s far-right, firmly anti-immigrant party ― on his visit to the country Friday, his office said.
Weidel’s party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), has been designated by the German domestic intelligence service as a “suspected extremist” organization since 2021. Founded over a decade ago, its members strongly oppose the immigration of Muslims into Germany, call for mass deportations, reject the idea of multiculturalism and seek to exit the European Union.
Once a fringe political party, AfD now appears headed for a strong political showing in this month’s election and is currently polling in second place. Elon Musk, a near-constant presence at President Donald Trump’s side, has endorsed the party.
“People really need to get behind AfD, otherwise things are going to get very, very much worse in Germany,” Musk said in a conversation with Weidel on X last month. “I think Alice Weidel is a very reasonable person. Nothing outrageous is being proposed.”
Earlier this month, Weidel said she finds if “quite disturbing when the Holocaust is politically instrumentalised.” She also doubled down on her past comments characterizing Germany’s remembrance culture as a “guilt cult.”
In 2018, she attacked Muslims during a speech in the German parliament.
“Burkas, girls in headscarves, knife-wielding men on government benefits and other good-for-nothing people are not going to ensure our prosperity, our economic growth and our social welfare system,” Weidel said — comments that outraged many in Germany.
Vance also met with the leaders of major Germany political parties, along with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. He met with Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier this week in Paris, Vance’s office said.