But AfD politicians argue that German mainstream politicians are the true antidemocratic forces and are seeking to suppress the will of the German people through the state apparatus. They have often found a sympathetic ear for that argument in MAGA circles.
When Germany’s domestic intelligence agency declared the AfD to be extremist, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the move “tyranny in disguise.” During the Munich Security Conference earlier this year, U.S. Vice President JD Vance urged mainstream politicians in Europe to protect free speech rights of anti-immigration parties and to knock down the “firewalls” that shut out far-right parties from government.
AfD politicians have repeatedly visited Washington in recent months to make the case that they are the victims of political persecution and to solicit American support. Last week, German right-wing influencer and AfD ally Naomi Seibt said she had applied for asylum in the U.S., claiming to be “facing persecution” in Germany for her views and saying she is the target of “severe government and intelligence surveillance and harassment.”
Lost in translation
During his Berlin speech, Bruesewitz suggested MAGA Republicans had faced a similar experience of persecution in the U.S., likening criminal indictments against Trump and past social media deplatforming of right-wing figures to the same kind of leftist, anti-democratic suppression AfD leaders claim to be facing.
“As I sit and watch what’s happening all over Europe with the censorship concerns, the same thing happened in America,” said Bruesewitz. “You can let it happen here. You have to protect free speech,” he added to a round of enthusiastic applause.
Not all aspects of Bruesewitz’s message were met with equal enthusiasm. His defense of Trump’s tariffs, which have hit Germany’s export-oriented industries particularly hard, did not win applause.