Transfer to X
“She almost kneeled”: The reactions to the Weidel conversation with Musk
Alice Weidel and Elon Musk talked on Musk’s Platform X and mostly exchanged right-wing keywords. The reactions of politicians and experts.
The live-streamed conversation between Elon Musk and Alice Weidel on Platform
Anyone who expected a brilliant performance from the German politician was disappointed. Many observers see Weidel as having missed an opportunity – with some relief. Weidel’s comments about Adolf Hitler, whom she described as a “communist” in the conversation, particularly caused a stir. This historically incorrect classification caused some horrified reactions.
Hitler’s statement causes horror
“Hitler was a communist… He murdered the communists,” wrote Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) on X. Lauterbach described the conversation as “stammering, especially from Weidel.” From his point of view, it was not an exchange of equals: “Weidel serves the tech billionaire and asks about the colonization of Mars. She almost kneeled.” Lauterbach’s conclusion: “Embarrassing.”
His party colleague Ralf Stegner told the “Rheinische Post”: “This is a farce and corresponds to Erdogan’s election rallies in Germany.” The talk was “not for Democrats”. The historian Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk analyzed Weidel’s statement about Hitler and came to the conclusion: “This historical revisionism represents a new stage in the radicalization of the AfD.”
Unconvincing performance from Weidel
Weidel’s English with a clear German accent and her sometimes unprofessional demeanor caused malice. Every now and then she laughed nervously, and in the end she ended the conversation rather impetuously. Former AfD politician Marcus Pretzell, of all people, gave Weidel a bad report: “The conversation today did more damage to Weidel than the last five ÖRR inquisitions.” He gave the AfD leader a “4-” for the performance.
Political scientist Carlo Masala, professor of international politics at the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich, found the conversation “worse than any discussion between two drunks in your corner bar.” The Cologne politics professor Thomas Jäger summed up that Musk was “superior” to his interlocutor in every phase: “She vacillated and wavered and couldn’t find a common thread. You get the impression that she was completely unprepared.” Weidel “did not take advantage of the opportunity to present the AfD as a party for a good future for Germany.”
Elon Musk: His companies, his family – the richest person in the world in pictures
Elon Musk was born in Pretoria in 1971 as the son of model Maye Musk and mechanical engineer Errol Musk. His father raised him with merciless harshness. The parents divorce early. Elon Musk is an introverted child and is subject to bullying. At the age of ten he taught himself to program, and just two years later he sold the first computer game he developed for $500. At the age of 17, he emigrated to Canada, where his mother originally came from, to avoid military service in South Africa. Soon afterwards he went to the USA, where he studied physics and economics at the University of Philadelphia. Elon Musk’s mother Maye shared the photo from the sandbox on Twitter and jokingly wrote: “Three-year-old Elon Musk: ‘I can build a truck that’s better than this one’.”
© Screenshot Maye Musk / Twitter
Back
Further
Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki sees online talk, which is generally viewed critically, as freedom of expression in practice. “Freedom of expression depends on the exchange of opinions,” said the FDP politician at the Blankenese New Year’s reception in Hamburg. “The 20 percent of AfD voters are part of our country and must not be excluded. If more than half of the people in Germany believe that they can no longer express their opinions freely, then we have a democracy problem.”
Alice Weidel and Elon Musk confirm their statements
Elon Musk himself shared some excerpts from the conversation on X after the broadcast and reiterated what he had previously claimed in posts and a guest article in “Welt am Sonntag”: “Only the AfD can save Germany.”
Alice Weidel defended her controversial statement about Adolf Hitler in an interview with RTL and ntv. “I am an economist and it is completely clear to us that Adolf Hitler was a leftist,” said Weidel. She doesn’t deviate from that.
Transparency note: Like ntv, stern is part of RTL Deutschland.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
