Michaelis describes Trump’s vision as one focused on the “maximum concentration of power with the president at the expense of Congress and the [U.S.] states.” According to the document, key democratic institutions, including the legislature, law enforcement and the media, risk an erosion of their independence and could be “misused as a political arm.”
The memo also highlights the involvement of Big Tech companies, which Michaelis claims could be granted “co-governing power.”
Publicly, Germany’s foreign ministry has taken a cautious tone, acknowledging the democratic choice of U.S. voters and expressing a willingness to work with the Trump government. The ministry hasn’t responded to a request from POLITICO for comment on the leaked memorandum.
“We will work closely with the new U.S. administration in the interests of Germany and Europe,” the ministry said in a statement to Reuters.
The ambassador’s internal assessment is far more critical. A lingering unease within Berlin about the broader implications of Trump’s domestic policies could signal a turbulent beginning for U.S.-German relations under the interim government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats and Baerbock’s Green Party.
This unease is not new — Trump’s first term saw contentious disputes over trade tariffs and Germany’s failure to meet NATO targets for defense spending. The warning from Michaelis suggests the stakes are now even higher.