Large far-right German delegation to visit Washington, Trump ally says

A spokesperson for the AfD said he could “neither confirm nor deny” whether that number of the party’s politicians is in fact set to travel to the U.S. next month. The spokesperson of the AfD’s parliamentary group in the Bundestag said the number of federal lawmakers traveling to the U.S. capital would not be that high.

Luna has taken an active interest in German far-right figures’ claims that they are being persecuted in Germany for their views, recently telling POLITICO that “the German government’s recent actions against its own citizens resemble the authoritarianism of the Soviet Union prior to its fall more than Russia does today.”

Some Trump administration officials have also spoken out in support of the AfD.

When Germany’s federal domestic intelligence agency declared the AfD to be an extremist organization earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the move “tyranny in disguise.” During the Munich Security Conference, U.S. Vice President JD Vance urged European mainstream politicians to knock down the “firewalls” that shut out far-right parties from government.

Germany’s postwar constitution allows domestic intelligence agencies to surveil political parties, actors and organizations deemed extremist — and to make it theoretically possible to ban such parties. These restrictions were intended by the drafters of the West German constitution to prevent a repeat of the Nazi rise to power, when anti-democratic forces were able to subvert democracy from within.

AfD leaders see the invitation to Washington as an opportunity to win more legitimacy domestically for their claims of persecution. Luna invited AfD co-leader Alice Weidel to Washington at the end of last month via a post on X. Weidel reacted postively and said she would reach out to discuss further arrangements.