Donald Trump wants “maximum disruption” – German ambassador warns

Andreas Michaelis lived in England for a long time and is a declared rugby fan. In this sport it’s part of going where it might hurt. The German ambassador in Washington has now also behaved according to this motto on the diplomatic stage. A confidential letter he wrote to the federal government was leaked to the public – and Michaelis suddenly finds himself in the middle of the dispute over Germany’s difficult relationship with the new President Donald Trump.

The new president is aiming for one “maximum disruption” the political situation in the USA, says the letter signed by Michaelis, which became known at the weekend. Democracy and the rule of law came under massive pressure, said the ambassador. The letter is a confidential analysis, dated January 14th, addressed to Michaelis’ boss, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

In fact, there is hardly anything in the paper that other experts have not already warned about. But of course it takes on particular weight when the official German side gives it as an assessment to its own government. And in Berlin one has to fear that the fairly frank analysis will not make the restart of relations, on which their own protection depends just as much as the future of Ukraine, easier.

If the ambassador takes part in Donald Trump’s inauguration this Monday as an official representative of Berlin, it may well be that someone in the rotunda of the Capitol wants to know from him what Michaelis actually wrote down.

The ambassador will survive it, his physiognomy is robust, and he is used to dealing with tough boys since he had a fellow student named Boris Johnson during his studies at Oxford, who years later met him on his inaugural visit as British Prime Minister in Berlin, much to the astonishment of everyone then Chancellor Angela Merkel also recognized: “Hi Andreas!”.

Michaelis is 65 years old, Washington is his last stop as a diplomat before retirement. He does not need to do important things in order to recommend himself for higher tasks. The Hanover native and father of three children has already had most of these in the 36 years of his career. Michaelis, a Middle East expert by training, was the first press spokesman for Green Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, later ambassador to Singapore, Israel and Great Britain, and twice State Secretary in the Foreign Office.

His analysis of the future government in the USA now reads more as if the diplomat, shortly before retirement, did not want to be accused of not having adequately warned his superiors.

Michaelis has been working in Washington since August 2023. He had a close working relationship with Joe Biden’s government. Michaelis was intensively involved in the negotiations on the exchange of Western prisoners and Russian human rights activists for convicted Russian citizens in the West, as people in the know later reported.

Now, under the new administration, the ambassador clearly fears for the preservation of America’s established system of separation of powers, also known as checks and balances. Trump’s agenda means one “maximum concentration of power in the president at the expense of Congress and the states”the Reuters news agency quotes from the memo. The ambassador warns that the legislature, law enforcement and the media are being robbed of their independence and being politically abused. Big tech companies received “co-government power”. By this, Michaelis means, among others, Elon Musk, the owner of the news platform X, formerly Twitter, who is supposed to sort through the bureaucracy for Trump.

The ambassador is not alone in this warning. Outgoing President Joe Biden also warned against one in a farewell message a few days ago “oligarchy”in which a few super-rich people determined politics. Where only a few would have control, “democracy is faltering”said Biden.

Three days after the report was sent to Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz also publicly expressed unusual criticism about Elon Musk’s activities, particularly his support for extreme right-wing parties in Europe.

Michaeli’s letter goes on to say that criminal prosecution could become a political instrument. Trump had repeatedly announced to his opponents, especially during the election campaign, that he would retaliate. For example, he made crude threats against former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney.

Central to the implementation of Trump’s goals such as mass deportations, retaliation and ensuring his legal inviolability are the controls over the Ministry of Justice and the Federal Police FBI, writes Michaelis. In conflicts with states that have great powers in the USA and are reluctant to be talked into by Washington, Trump has extensive options, for example through emergency regulations. Domestic military deployment for police tasks is also possible.

The ambassador obviously doesn’t suck up his analyses. As early as October 2023, Trump announced mass deportations if he was re-elected because “Millions and millions of people.” “sick thoughts” lived in the USA, as well “Jihadists, fascists and communists”. The “New York Times” reported a few days ago that the first major raid against migrants was to take place the day after the inauguration of the new president in Chicago – as a signal that Trump was serious about his announcements. Trump’s future border protection representative Tom Homan confirmed such considerations, which would now be revised after they became known in order not to endanger the officials.

However, Michaelis also sees a glimmer of hope in the US Supreme Court. Even though the Supreme Court recently expanded presidential power, even the biggest critics expected that it would prevent the worst. In fact, the court, which is majority Republican, recently, contrary to expectations, also ruled against Trump when it rejected an urgent application from his lawyers who wanted to prevent the verdict from being announced in the New York trial over hush money paid by Trump.

The Foreign Office did not want to comment on Michaelis’ letter because they generally do not comment on internal matters. “Of course, we will also work closely with the new US administration in the interests of Germany and Europe”the statement said. However, the Foreign Office had already attracted criticism during the election campaign in the USA when it made fun of a statement by Trump that immigrants eat dogs and cats.

The Trump camp did not immediately respond to reports of the letter. Nevertheless, Michaelmas is likely to have a restless weekend. The ambassador is a big fan of Union Berlin, who wanted to make a new attempt on Sunday to end their series of defeats in the Bundesliga.