President Donald Trump celebrated the far-right Alternative for Germany party Tuesday after it scored a landslide victory in a regional election, praising the party’s rise and tying its success to voter frustration over immigration.
“Wow! The Populist Party in Germany just had a really big night,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “They finally got tired of the absolutely horrible Immigration rules and regulations which have hurt Germany so badly. THEY ARE ON THE RISE, and not going to take it anymore!”
Trump ended the post with “MGGA,” an apparent play on his “Make America Great Again” slogan.
The comments came two days after AfD secured just shy of a majority of the vote in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, more than doubling its support from the previous state election five years ago. It marked AfD’s first victory in a German state election and its strongest electoral showing to date.
The party finished ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s center-right Christian Democratic Union, which received just 17.2% of the vote after governing Saxony-Anhalt since 2002.
Despite its decisive victory, AfD did not secure the majority needed to govern alone, winning 39 of the state legislature’s 83 seats. The results put renewed pressure on Germany’s long-standing political “firewall,” under which mainstream parties have refused to enter coalitions with AfD. Merz said he was “shocked” by the results and that his party would not cooperate with it.
GERMAN RIGHT-WING PARTY SET FOR STRONG WIN IN REGIONAL ELECTION BUT UNCERTAIN OF GOVERNING
AfD has campaigned heavily against immigration and supports closer relations with Russia while opposing Germany’s military support for Ukraine. The party’s Saxony-Anhalt chapter has been deemed a right-wing extremist organization by the state’s intelligence agency. AfD rejects accusations that it is extremist and says the designation is politically motivated.
The victory builds on gains AfD has made nationally. The party posted its best performance in a federal election in 2025 and became the largest opposition party in Germany’s parliament. Its support has been particularly strong in the formerly communist eastern states.
