Germany’s ambassador to the US has warned his superiors in Berlin that US President-elect Donald Trump will seek to “undermine democracy” in his second term.
In a leaked document revealed by Reuters, dated January 14 and signed by Ambassador Andreas Michaelis, Germany’s ruling left-wing government was informed that Trump would seek to gain control of key institutions of power to enact his agenda.
Trump, Michaelis added, will also bring in US Big Tech companies to help him implement his agenda.
“Basic democratic principles and checks and balances will be largely undermined, the legislature, law enforcement and media will be robbed of their independence and misused as a political arm, Big Tech will be given co-governing power,” he wrote.
The ambassador said the aim of the administration would be “maximum disruption” and that it sought “a redefinition of the constitutional order – maximum concentration of power with the president at the expense of Congress and the federal states”.
Michaelis also said Trump would likely seek a “redefinition of the First Amendment”, accusing both the Republican and his close associate, US billionaire X-owner Elon Musk, of moving against their political opponents.
“One is using lawsuits, threatening criminal prosecution and licence revocation, the other is having algorithms manipulated and accounts blocked,” he claimed in the memo.
Europeans have one of the most downbeat views of a second Trump presidency, poll finds.
Many people in other regions of the world “believe the president-elect is committed to ending wars in Ukraine and the Middle East”, said the ECFR. pic.twitter.com/9VGBzsj96t
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) January 17, 2025
German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock defended Michaelis after the leak, insisting that he was acting in a proper manner.
She added that Germany would act in what she said was its own interest while interacting with the new Trump administration.
“It is precisely the ambassador’s job to make clear what Germany must prepare for in the future,” she insisted in an interview with German state-owned media.
Outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has taken aim at Trump over his suggestion the US could invade and annex Greenland, adding in an interview on January 20 that the European Union must now work to build its “own strength”.
“As Europeans, we stand for the rules that we have long agreed on internationally. One rule is that borders must not be moved by force. After recent statements from the USA, I made it clear that this applies to everyone,” he said.
Germany has taken an increasingly hostile stance regarding the incoming Trump administration, responding with anger at statements made by Musk that the populist-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was the “only party” that could “save Germany”.
German officials have also continued to push for censoring the AfD, which is perceived as close to Trump.
State-level media authorities in Brandenburg announced on January 20 that the party’s youth wing in the state would be forced to make one of their campaign videos unavailable for those under 16.
Authorities justified the move by saying that the video portrayed foreign individuals in a “stereotypical manner.”
COMMENT: Trump’s America may not be about to embark on a spree of imperial conquest, but we have arrived at a juncture in world history when profound changes are becoming possible, writes @GElefteriu. https://t.co/FlikhWCvBU
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) January 16, 2025
