JD Vance appears to defend Germany’s far-right AfD party

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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?”

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.

Criticism of Vance
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.”