Leaked emails expose AfD's decade-long outreach to Trump and MAGA figures

A massive data leak of more than 420,000 AfD emails and documents, spanning from the party’s 2013 foundation to the present, reveals a sustained strategy to court Donald Trump and key MAGA operatives. Early communications detail the drafting of an obsequious telegram after Trump’s 2016 victory and a later request for his help in removing the UN “enemy-state” clause. The AfD, which surged to 12.6% of the vote in 2017 and now polls near 30%, is monitored by German intelligence as a suspected right-wing extremist, with several regional branches officially classified as extremist.

Senior figures such as Alice Weidel, Frauke Petry, and Björn Höcke discussed outreach to Steve Bannon, and the party’s foreign affairs team met US officials, including State Department staff and embassy diplomats, during both Trump terms. Recent contacts include AfD deputies attending Trump’s 2025 rally in Washington and meetings with US under-secretary Darren Beattie and his successor Sarah B Rogers. The party’s 2025 election programme calls for lifting sanctions on Russia and rebuilding Nord Stream, while most German parties maintain a “firewall” against coalition with the AfD.