US Republicans have attacked Germany’s right-wing AfD following party co-leader Alice Weidel’s criticism of US President Donald Trump over Venezuela and Greenland.
The report comes from The Pioneer, a digital platform widely read among decision-makers and opinion leaders in Germany.
The rupture occurred during a press conference held by Weidel on January 13, when she criticised Trump’s foreign policy: “Donald Trump has broken a fundamental campaign promise—namely, not to interfere in other countries,” she said.
“He must explain this to his own voters; that must be said very clearly.”
According to Weidel, the US Government’s primary objective in Venezuela and Greenland is to secure resources.
“We can only hope that this does not disrupt the peace negotiations in Ukraine,” she concluded.
While Republicans — particularly those close to Trump — are normally politically aligned with the AfD, some have now openly turned against Weidel.
Benjamin Wolfmeier, spokesperson for Republicans Overseas Germany, the group’s organisation in Germany, told The Pioneer on January 15: “We at Republicans Overseas Germany are very surprised by the about-face Ms Weidel made.”
Wolfmeier accused Weidel of reinforcing “the false narratives of the left-wing press”.
This was a breach of trust that would “certainly not remain without consequences”, he said, raising the question of whether Weidel could still be called a close associates of US Vice President JD Vance.
Last year, Vance attended the Munich Security Conference, where he met Weidel.
On that occasion, he openly criticised the German establishment and the functioning of German democracy, particularly regarding its treatment of the AfD.
He explicitly condemned the political cordon sanitaire — or “firewall” — surrounding the party.
In recent months, several AfD politicians have travelled to the US to meet members of the MAGA camp, warning Republicans that German democracy is under threat from government-influenced domestic intelligence services targeting the AfD.
In early January, likely in response to these signals, the Trump administration said it was considering sanctions against senior officials in Germany’s intelligence services.
It remains unclear how Republican support for the AfD will continue after Weidel’s statements. They have exposed the German party’s split over its foreign policy direction, caught between MPs favouring a Eurasian axis including Russia and transatlantic-oriented lawmakers.
Weidel has attempted to navigate between these factions and is not fully aligned with either.
The AfD’s defence policy spokesperson, Rüdiger Lucassen, aligned with the transatlantic wing, offered a different view from Weidel.
On Venezuela, he said the party supports “an interest-driven and realistic foreign policy. By arresting the Venezuelan dictator, the United States is implementing exactly that”.
He directly challenged Weidel’s concerns on Ukraine: “From this perspective, I do not see any threat to the peace efforts in Ukraine, but rather a strengthening of the American negotiating position.”
Meanwhile, members of Germany’s governing parties are attempting to capitalise on the AfD’s tensions with Republicans. The CDU/CSU policy spokesperson, Jürgen Hardt, told The Pioneer: “The CDU/CSU has been the long-standing partner of the Republican Party.”
He described the AfD as a Trojan horse for dictators such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s President Xi Jinping.
If “members and senators of the Republican Party, with their long tradition of freedom and democracy”, recognise this, “they will turn away from the AfD”, Hardt said.
