In a rare act of diplomatic restraint, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz cancelled a scheduled call with President Trump hours after Trump publicly celebrated the far-right AfD party's regional election victory in Germany — a gesture small in form but large in meaning. The episode surfaces a deeper tension in the transatlantic relationship: the question of where a foreign leader's commentary ends and interference in another nation's democratic life begins. Germany, still carrying the weight of its own history with political extremism, finds itself navigating a moment where its closest ally appe
Merz cancels Trump call after president celebrates far-right AfD election win
The call that did not happen spoke volumes about the strain.
Mark
So Trump posted something celebrating the AfD, and Merz cancelled their call. But Merz's office wouldn't say that's why. How do we know the two things are connected?
Mimi
The timing is the connection. The call was scheduled. Trump posted his celebration in the morning. By afternoon, the call was off. Merz's spokesman said it wasn't a scheduling issue—that's the only explanation they offered. In diplomacy, that kind of silence is usually the point.
Luke
Right, but they didn't confirm the link. They said Merz has objected to foreign interference in general. That's a standing position, not necessarily a response to this specific post.
Mimi
True. But why mention that general objection right after cancelling a call with Trump, hours after Trump endorsed the AfD? The spokesman was drawing the line without saying it explicitly.
Mark
What did Merz actually say about the AfD that day?
Mimi
He called their remigration policy ethnic cleansing. He said if they succeeded, Germany's hospitals, care homes, and restaurants would close. He was very specific about the economic damage.
Luke
And that was in parliament, before Trump's post?
Mimi
Yes. Merz was already in combat mode with Weidel. Then Trump amplified the AfD's message from outside.
Mark
So Trump essentially sided with Merz's domestic opponents.
Mimi
Exactly. And did it publicly, in a way that strengthened the AfD's hand.
Luke
Though we should note: Trump didn't name Merz or attack him directly. He praised the AfD's immigration stance. Merz's office didn't say Trump was the reason for the cancellation—they just refused to deny it.
Mark
What's the risk for Merz if he keeps taking Trump calls?
Mimi
Every call becomes a question about whether he's endorsing Trump's view of German politics. And Trump has just shown he'll use those conversations as cover to publicly back the AfD.
Luke
Though Merz also needs the US relationship. Germany depends on NATO, on American security guarantees. Cancelling one call is a signal, but it's not a break.
Mark
So this is a warning shot.
Mimi
A very quiet one.
Il Polso
- Trump's Truth Social post — praising the AfD's 'really big night' and signing off with 'MGGA' — landed in Berlin like a provocation, publicly endorsing a party that German courts and intelligence services have flagged as a threat to constitutional order.
- Merz had spent that same morning in the Bundestag accusing the AfD of pursuing ethnic cleansing through mass deportation, warning that removing millions of working immigrants would collapse Germany's hospitals, care homes, and skilled trades.
- Defence Minister Pistorius sharpened the stakes further, alleging AfD ties to Moscow and raising the pointed question of why the CIA director had recently visited Russia — framing the far-right surge not just as domestic politics but as a security threat.
- Merz's cancellation of the Trump call was his government's clearest signal yet that foreign cheerleading for German extremism crosses a line — even as Berlin works to preserve a functional relationship with Washington.
- The incident lands at a fragile moment: Merz's approval has fallen sharply since taking office, voters are drifting toward the AfD, and Trump's intervention now publicly undercuts the chancellor's own strategy of containing the far right.
In a rare act of diplomatic restraint, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz cancelled a scheduled call with President Trump hours after Trump publicly celebrated the far-right AfD party's regional election victory in Germany — a gesture small in form but large in meaning. The episode surfaces a deeper tension in the transatlantic relationship: the question of where a foreign leader's commentary ends and interference in another nation's democratic life begins. Germany, still carrying the weight of its own history with political extremism, finds itself navigating a moment where its closest ally appears to be cheering for forces its own chancellor has called a vehicle for ethnic cleansing. The call that never happened may say more about the state of the Western alliance than many that did.
Friedrich Merz cancelled a scheduled phone call with Donald Trump on Wednesday, offering no scheduling excuse — the timing made the reason plain. Hours earlier, Trump had posted on Truth Social praising the AfD's strong performance in a Saxony-Anhalt regional election, calling it a 'really big night,' criticising Germany's immigration policies, and signing off with 'MGGA' — a deliberate echo of his own political brand, transplanted onto German soil.
The post amounted to a public endorsement of a party that has become the most powerful far-right force in a German state since the Nazi era. Merz had spent that same morning in the Bundestag confronting AfD leader Alice Weidel directly, accusing the party of pursuing ethnic cleansing through its remigration agenda. He was specific about the consequences: mass deportations would hollow out Germany's workforce, shuttering care homes, hospitals, and skilled trades that depend on immigrant labour.
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius added a security dimension, warning of an 'acute' Russian threat and alleging AfD links to Moscow that he described as tantamount to treason. He pointed to recent Russian provocations across Europe and asked pointedly why the CIA director had recently travelled to Moscow — 'certainly not for matryoshka dolls or the ballet.'
Merz's spokesman acknowledged the chancellor had consistently objected to foreign interference in German elections. The implication required no elaboration. Senior Social Democrat Dirk Wiese called Trump's comments 'unacceptable interference' outright.
The cancellation arrives at a difficult moment for Merz. His support has eroded significantly since taking office, economic stagnation has driven voters toward the AfD, and he has already hardened his own immigration positions in an attempt to reclaim that ground. Trump's public celebration of the very party Merz is trying to contain cuts directly against that strategy — and forced a response. The call that did not happen on Wednesday was a small gesture, but in the current state of transatlantic relations, its silence carried considerable weight.
Friedrich Merz, Germany's chancellor, cancelled a scheduled phone call with President Donald Trump on Wednesday afternoon. His office would not explain why, but made clear it had nothing to do with scheduling. The timing was pointed: the cancellation came hours after Trump posted on Truth Social celebrating the Alternative für Deutschland party's strong showing in a regional election over the weekend.
Trump's message was effusive and direct. He called the AfD's performance in Saxony-Anhalt a "really big night" and praised the party for rejecting what he described as Germany's "absolutely horrible Immigration rules and regulations." He closed with MGGA—an apparent nod to his own "Make America Great Again" slogan, adapted here to German politics. The post was a public endorsement of a far-right party that has become the strongest force of its kind in a German state since the Nazi era.
Merz had spent the morning in the Bundestag, Germany's parliament, engaged in a fierce confrontation with Alice Weidel, the AfD's leader. The chancellor pulled no punches. He accused the party of pursuing "ethnic cleansing" through its "remigration" campaign—a euphemism for mass deportations. Merz laid out the practical consequences with specificity: if millions of working immigrants were forced to leave, Germany's skilled trades would collapse, care homes would close, hospitals would shut down, restaurants would disappear. He framed the AfD's rhetoric as a force actively dividing German society.
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius reinforced the message from a different angle. He warned of a "real, serious, acute" threat from Russia and accused the AfD of links to Moscow that amounted to treason. He pointed to recent Russian provocations—drone attacks near Leipzig, a fighter jet in Estonian airspace, espionage operations across Europe. Then he made a cryptic reference: why, he asked, did CIA Director Radcliffe travel to Moscow just under two weeks ago? "Certainly not to buy matryoshka dolls or go to the ballet." The AfD, he said, were the ones ready to hand Germany over to Putin.
The cancellation of Merz's call with Trump was a rare diplomatic gesture in an era of frequent transatlantic friction. Merz's spokesman noted that the chancellor had objected repeatedly, in general terms, to foreign interference in German domestic politics and elections. The implication was clear without being stated outright: Trump's celebration of the AfD crossed a line. A senior Social Democrat politician, Dirk Wiese, called Trump's comments "unacceptable interference" with German politics.
Merz himself has struggled politically. His support has plummeted in the sixteen months since taking office at the head of a coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats. Economic growth has stalled, the cost of living remains high, and voters have drifted toward the AfD. In response, Merz has hardened his own stance on immigration and border policy, trying to reclaim ground from the far right. But Trump's intervention—a foreign leader publicly cheering on the very party Merz is trying to contain—undercut that strategy and forced his hand.
The cancellation was small in gesture but significant in meaning. It signalled that even as Merz seeks to manage Germany's relationship with a Trump administration, there are boundaries. A US president endorsing a far-right German party, using language that echoes the party's own slogans, was one of them. What happens next in the relationship between Berlin and Washington remains to be seen, but the call that did not happen on Wednesday spoke volumes about the strain.
Citazioni salienti
The term 'remigration' is nothing but a synonym for ethnic cleansing based on origin and skin colour.— Friedrich Merz, German Chancellor, in parliamentary debate
You need to realize that these are the very people ready to hand us over to Putin tomorrow.— Boris Pistorius, German Defence Minister, referring to the AfD
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Politics & Governance