Trump calls to Make Germany Great Again. In Germany, nostalgia carries a dark past.
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Newsletters Axios Local Show Axios Pro Axios Live The Axios Show Login Axios All topics Axios Search 5 hours ago - Politics & Policy Trump's "MGGA" praise collides with Germany's Nazi past Avery Lotz , Andrew Pantazi email (opens in new window) sms (opens in new window) facebook (opens in new window) twitter (opens in new window) linkedin (opens in new window) bluesky (opens in new window) Add Axios on Google Add Axios as your preferred source to
Add Axios on Google President Trump speaks with Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a work lunch as part of the G7 summit, in Evian, eastern France, on June 16. Photo: Christian Hartmann / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
President Trump used a call to restore German greatness Tuesday to celebrate a far-right party that others have denounced as antisemitic.
Why it matters: Trump promoting the AfD, or Alternative for Germany, comes as the nation's political mainstream has spent years keeping the party — which intelligence authorities has classified as extremist — out of power.
Driving the news: " Wow! The Populist Party in Germany just had a really big night," Trump wrote Tuesday on Truth Social.
Zoom out: National nostalgia in Germany is fraught because Nazi promises of renewed glory helped propel Adolf Hitler to power.
The latest: Merz postponed a planned Wednesday call with Trump hours after the president's post.
The big picture: Germany rebuilt its democracy after Nazi rule with strong safeguards against extremism. But the AfD's breakthrough shows those barriers aren't stopping a far-right surge — and critics fear some leaders' rhetoric trivializes the past.
Catch up quick: Trump's praise matches other efforts by his allies to challenge Germany's isolation of the AfD.
Zoom in: The president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, said he feared what AfD's proposed changes to education policy would mean for the fight against antisemitism.
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