Dresden, GERMANY – If you open a German news portal, you would think that the Germans could vote in the U.S. election, such is the impact of the hourly reports in German daily newspapers and broadcasters on current election events in the USA.
No wonder, because according to a survey by the German public broadcaster ZDF, over 90% of Germans consider the outcome of the election to be very important or important for Germany.
But with every news item, every new report about a statement by Trump and every new TikTok by Trump or Harris, the U.S. election seems more like a fever dream, like a comedy that Germans like to cite as a negative example of populism, divided societies and poor politics and debate culture.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance in particular have not made themselves popular in Germany – 83% of Germans support Kamala Harris, with only 10% favoring Donald Trump.
In addition, 71% also expect Trump’s victory to exacerbate global problems and crises. This is also no wonder when you look at Trump’s statements about his NATO allies. In view of the Ukraine war raging in Europe on NATO’s external border, Trump’s statements such as, “I will encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want to do” towards NATO countries.
He apparently wants to open us up for invasion.
Reports in The New York Times that said Trump privately threatened to leave NATO several times and called the alliance obsolete are causing unrest and concern.
The German economy and the German government are also preparing for a change in the German-American friendship in the event of a Trump victory.
In a survey of German trading companies, almost half stated that a Trump victory would have a negative impact on their business operations. As an exporting nation, Germany is also particularly concerned about Trump’s aggressive statements towards China. In the event of a new Trump trade war with China, German exports would suffer the most.
But Trump’s remarks about Hitler have probably finally put him offside in Germany.
Due to our own history, the German mentality is particularly sensitive to this era of national history. The lack of understanding of Trump’s statements is particularly deep and once again underlines the image perceived in Germany of Trump as a somewhat surreal, convicted felon and buffoon who now wants to, for the third time, become President of the United States.
Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly told The New York Times that he had often heard statements such as “You know, Hitler did some good things too” coming from Trump. And Kelly told the magazine The Atlantic that Trump once said that he wanted military officers as loyal as Hitler’s generals.
It is fitting that the majority of Trump’s German supporters are supporters of the German AfD party, which has been categorized as suspected right-wing extremist.
Germany – as a government and as a people – is thus currently hoping for a presidency for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. And while the German public is looking forward to this victory with optimism, a victory for Donald Trump would characterize German-American relations once again – and probably rather negatively.
Lina Marie Schulenkorf is a Senior Reporter with Youth Journalism International.
