Musk plans discussion with German far-right leader on X – POLITICO

Musk’s AfD endorsements have prompted a major backlash in Germany, with mainstream political leaders arguing they amount to election interference. Given Musk’s ties to United States President-elect Donald Trump, one opponent suggested that interference may be coming from the incoming American administration.

The German government must clarify “whether the repeated disrespect, defamation and interference in the election campaign were also expressed in the name of the new U.S. government,” Rolf Mützenich, a prominent politician from Germany’s Social Democratic Party, told German outlet Spiegel.

A spokesperson for the German government also accused Musk of “trying to influence the federal election,” adding: “Freedom of opinion also covers the greatest nonsense.”

While Musk has offered repeated endorsements of the AfD, Trump’s second-in-command, Vice President-elect JD Vance, said Thursday that he would not endorse a party in the upcoming German election.

“I’m not endorsing a party in the German elections, as it’s not my country and we hope to have good relations with all Germans,” Vance wrote in a post on X. But despite insisting on his neutrality, the vice president-elect added that Musk’s opinion piece was “interesting” and defended the AfD against what he described as American media’s “slanders” of the party as “Nazi-lite.”

It’s unclear whether Musk’s endorsement of the AfD will help the party’s election chances. The AfD is currently polling in second place at 19 percent. Germany’s conservative alliance is in first with 30 percent, putting Friedrich Merz, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union, in pole position to become the next chancellor.