German far-right lawmaker calls for US-German nationalist alliance at MAGA gala
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German politician Markus Frohnmaier, from the Alternative for Germany, at the New York Young Republican Club’s gala in New York City, the US, on Dec 13.
PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW YORK/BERLIN – A senior German far-right lawmaker called for an alliance between US and German nationalist parties at a MAGA gala where he was being honoured, buoyed by a new US security strategy praising Europe’s patriotic parties.
Mr Markus Frohnmaier was among some 20 state, federal and European Union lawmakers from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) to attend the annual black-tie gala hosted by the New York Young Republican Club on Dec 13.
The showpiece gala has become a gathering point for MAGA-aligned Republicans and international far-right figures in recent years, with US President Donald Trump himself headlining it two years ago.
Many European leaders fear the Trump administration’s growing backing for the continent's far right parties could lend them greater legitimacy and help propel them to power. The anti-migrant AfD is already polling first in nationwide German surveys ahead of five state elections in 2026.
The US strategy document published last week frames Europe as stifling free speech and political opposition, and says Washington should focus on “cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory”.
“The alliance between American and German patriots is the nightmare of the liberal elites – and it is the hope of the free world,” Mr Frohnmaier said in a speech at the gala.
“Let us reclaim our culture, let us reclaim our nations, and let us make the West whole again.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking earlier on Dec 13, acknowledged Europe had to brace for a fundamental shift in its relations with the United States, adding the era of Pax Americana was largely over.
Mr Frohnmaier, the foreign policy spokesman of the AfD’s federal parliamentary group, met with US Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers prior to the gala.
Ms Rogers last week published a video criticising alleged incidents of censorship throughout Europe.
Politicians from mainstream German parties have accused the AfD of “anti-German diplomacy”, for railing against what it calls political oppression.
The AfD was classified earlier in 2025 by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency as a right wing extremist organisation.
Germany’s other parties refuse to work with its lawmakers – a pact the AfD says is undemocratic.
Ties between the New York Young Republican Club and the AfD stretch back several years, but they have deepened and drawn increasing attention in recent months.
The tenor who sang the US national anthem at the gala sang the taboo first stanza of Germany’s national anthem – used by the Nazis to assert German superiority – at a reception the club held for two visiting AfD lawmakers in October.
Mr Frohnmaier said he had invited US State Department officials and lawmakers to attend a congress in Germany in February, the same month leaders usually descend on the country for the Munich Security Conference.
The US State Department did not immediately reply to a request for comment. REUTERS
