Vice President-elect J.D. Vance defended a far-right, anti-immigrant German political party after billionaire Elon Musk revealed plans to use his social media platform to promote the group.
A spokesperson for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party confirmed this week that Musk planned to host a discussion with AfD’s chancellor candidate Alice Weidel.
On Tuesday, Vance pushed back on the idea that AfD was a “Nazi-lite” party, calling it “slander.”
“American media slanders AfD as Nazi-lite, But AfD is most popular in the same areas of Germany that were most resistant to the Nazis,” Vance wrote on X.
Along with his post, Vance shared a column titled “Only the AfD Can Save Germany,” penned by Musk, which encouraged Germans to vote for the party.
“I’m not endorsing a party in the German elections, as it’s not my country and we hope to have good relations with all Germans,” the vice president-elect claimed. “But this is an interesting piece.”
His claim was quickly challenged by James Jackson, a journalist in Germany, who tweeted a map that apparently debunked the claim of Nazi resistance.
The German government accused Musk of election interference after the article was published.