Michaelis describes Trump’s imaginative and prescient as one centered on the “most focus of energy with the president on the expense of Congress and the [U.S.] states.” According to the doc, key democratic establishments, together with the legislature, regulation enforcement and the media, threat an erosion of their independence and might be “misused as a political arm.”
The memo additionally highlights the involvement of Big Tech firms, which Michaelis claims might be granted “co-governing energy.”
Publicly, Germany’s overseas ministry has taken a cautious tone, acknowledging the democratic alternative of U.S. voters and expressing a willingness to work with the Trump authorities. The ministry hasn’t responded to a request from POLITICO for touch upon the leaked memorandum.
“We will work carefully with the brand new U.S. administration within the pursuits of Germany and Europe,” the ministry mentioned in a press release to Reuters.
The ambassador’s inside evaluation is way extra essential. A lingering unease inside Berlin in regards to the broader implications of Trump’s home insurance policies might sign a turbulent starting for U.S.-German relations underneath the interim authorities led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats and Baerbock’s Green Party.
This unease isn’t new — Trump’s first time period noticed contentious disputes over commerce tariffs and Germany’s failure to satisfy NATO targets for protection spending. The warning from Michaelis suggests the stakes are actually even greater.