BURSTSen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Friday joined outrage over Elon Musk’s endorsement of the far-right German political party Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has been criticized as a neo-Nazi group, ahead of February elections in the country.
Musk, the tech billionaire and close ally to President-elect Trump, posted on his social platform X that “only the AfD can save Germany,” triggering backlash in the U.S. and from Berlin.
“The out of touch billionaire running the incoming Trump Administration announced last night that he enthusiastically supports the neo-Nazi party in Germany,” Murphy posted on X, alongside a screenshot of Musk’s tweet.
“WTF,” Murphy added. “NONE OF THIS IS OK, EVERYONE. NONE OF THIS IS NORMAL.”
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill), an outspoken Trump critic, slammed Musk as a “drug addled billionaire” who “thinks he runs the world.”
“Literally is a neo-Nazi party. Not even joking,” Kinzinger posted on X alongside Musk’s post.
Musk has demonstrated enormous influence with Trump since spending millions on his presidential campaign, and has played an informal role in foreign policy throughout the transition period.
His endorsement of the AfD came alongside a video of a far-right German commentator slamming the leading candidate to become Germany’s next chancellor, the conservative Friedrich Merz. AfD is reportedly polling in second place in opinion polls.
Elections are set to be held in the country on Feb 23 after the government headed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz collapsed.
Scholz slammed Musk’s remarks, saying “freedom of speech also means you can say things that are not right and do not contain good political advice,” Politico reported.
AfD leaders welcomed Musk’s backing.
“Yes! You are perfectly right!” Alice Weidel, the AfD’s chancellor candidate, posted on X shortly after Musk’s missive.
She pointed Musk to an interview she gave to Bloomberg about how, as she put it, “socialist [former German Chancellor Angela] Merkel ruined our country, how the Soviet European Union destroys the countries economic backbone and malfunctioning Germany!”
AfD leader Björn Höcke has been accused of ”whitewashing” Nazi crimes and has criticized Germany’s Holocaust memorial in Berlin — a recognition of the horror of the more than 6 million Jews and others murdered — as a “monument of shame.”
Last month, the party said it would eject members with suspected ties to militant groups after police arrested three members for plotting an armed revolt.