JD Vance appears to defend Germany’s far-right AfD party
Vance seemed to back the flagship policy of a party that has unsettled Germany’s Jews
Jacob Reses, second from the left, accompanies J.D. Vance to a meeting with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. on Nov. 16, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(JTA) — WASHINGTON — Vice President-elect J.D. Vance joined Elon Musk in appearing to defend the policies of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, and also seemed to take aim at a pro-Israel Washington think tank whose staffer had criticized the party.
Vance was responding to a post on X on Friday by Ivana Stradner, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies whose specialties include Russia and Ukraine. She said that Musk’s praise of Alternative for Germany, known as AfD, was “SO dangerous” both for Europe and the United States.
Vance responded sarcastically, implying an endorsement one of AfD’s core policies — stricter limits on immigration.
“It’s so dangerous for people to control their borders. So so dangerous. The dangerous level is off the charts,” Vance tweeted on Saturday. “I wonder how much money this person’s employer gets from the American taxpayer?”
AfD, which is known for its anti-immigrant and anti-European Union stances, and whose popularity has been on the rise in Germany, has unsettled the country’s Jews. Some of its members have downplayed the Holocaust.
On Friday Musk, one of the world’s richest people and an influential adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, set off a torrent of concerned comment on Friday when he said on X, which he owns, that “Only the AfD can save Germany.” Musk, who is poised to take a role in Trump’s White House, doubled down on Saturday, tweeting “AfD is the only hope for Germany.”
In addition to working at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Stradner is also a correspondent for KyivPost, which covers Ukraine. While neither organization receives U.S. government funding — though FDD, a nonprofit, gets certain tax benefits — Vance’s jibe at Stradner’s “employer” could rattle Jewish and pro-Israel foreign policy mavens who otherwise have welcomed Trump’s impending return to the White House.
FDD favors a more confrontational posture toward Iran, Russia’s ally in the Middle East. It is independent and nonpartisan, but its leaders have made clear they believe Trump will be more robust than Biden in dealing with Iran in the region.
FDD and the Trump-Vance transition team did not return requests for comment.
Rep. Daniel Goldman, a New York Democrat who is Jewish, took aim at Vance for boosting the party on the weekend of a deadly car-ramming attack on a German Christmas market. The alleged attacker, a Saudi national, posted a range of sentiments online, including some that reportedly backed AfD.
“Yesterday, a right-wing terrorist murdered 5 people in Germany and @JDVance and @elonmusk are endorsing the Neo-Nazi AfD party that inspired him,” Goldman said. “You know what’s dangerous @JDVance? The antisemitism and Neo-Nazi ideology you’re supporting.”
Trump’s selection of Vance as running mate unsettled some in the conservative Jewish foreign policy community because of his isolationist bent. Vance has opposed continued U.S. backing for Ukraine in its efforts to repel the Russian invasion. He has said that Israel is an exception to his desire to pull America back from its involvement in foreign conflicts.
It’s not clear yet what Trump’s Ukraine plans are, other than a desire to quickly broker a peace.
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