Trump confidant Grenell calls Germany's AfD landslide victory 'a great victory'

(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Na-ri Baek = A pro-Trump figure who served as ambassador to Germany during the first Donald Trump administration praised the landslide victory of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the German state legislative elections as a "great victory."

Richard Grenell claimed on the 6th (local time) through social media

“With the government-supported German media (mostly broadcasters) collapsing, the (German) people are ready for change, no matter what they (AfD) are called,” Grenell added.

The next day, on the 7th, he sarcastically said, "The far-left 'socialists' in Germany are very angry right now," and added, "The name 'socialist' was also used by the Nazis." The official name of the Nazi Party is the National Socialist German Workers' Party.

This is how Manuela Schwesig, the Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a member of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), responded to an

Grenell is a close associate of President Trump, serving as ambassador to Germany in the first Trump administration and as ambassador on special missions to North Korea and Venezuela in the second Trump administration. He temporarily served as executive director of the Kennedy Center, a representative performance venue in Washington, D.C., but resigned a few months ago.

In the Saxony-Anhalt state legislative election held on the 6th, the AfD won a landslide victory, winning 43.8% of the vote. It is unclear whether it will succeed in taking power in the provincial government for the first time since its founding, as it failed to secure a majority of seats, but it is attracting attention as it is a significant signal of the spread of the far right in Europe.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk also wrote "Well done!" in German to X after the AfD's election victory. Musk has publicly supported the AfD.

President Trump also posted graphics of the AfD's landslide victory on social media. Although no separate mention was made, there were observations that he indirectly showed a welcoming stance.