Donald Trump’s resounding victory could signal troubles for Germany’s coalition government, according to media reports – Image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
In a country where Donald Trump is deeply unpopular, German media were busy explaining how and why the billionaire won the US election. One newspaper ran an opinion piece headlined with the English profanity “F—.”
Donald Trump’s US election victory dominated German headlines on Wednesday, even as the country faced its own domestic political crisis.
The election was seen as a referendum on issues like migration and economic policy at home, but also pivotal for geopolitical issues around the world.
Germany’s most widely-read tabloid Bild said the election outcome was “the last warning signal for our government” as it attempts to overcome voters’ grievances similar to those in the US.
The will of the people
Much of Germany’s media was focused on contextualizing Trump’s victory for readers in a country where he is deeply unpopular.
An opinion poll held days before the vote found that 74% of Germans supported Kamala Harris whereas only 11% supported Trump.
Yet Trump was “exactly the man that Americans wanted,” according to one of Germany’s newspapers of record, the Munich-based Süddeutsche Zeitung.
“They want Trump,” added the US correspondent for Der Spiegel.
In another SZ article about the makeup of the incoming Trump administration, the newspaper also declared that “one of the most powerful people in the world will soon be Elon Musk.”
What Trump’s win means for Germany
Bild attempted to decipher the “hidden meanings” of different world leaders’ congratulations messages to Trump.
It said Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s message signaled to Germans that he wanted to “avoid the impression that closeness and sympathy for Biden could stand in the way of future German-American relations.”
National broadcaster ARD’s flagship news program, Tagesschau, said on its website that “the outcome of the US election is likely to mean further shocks for German politics.”
It also said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was concerned about Trump’s unwillingness to support Ukraine going forward.
Tagesshau pointed to one lone reaction that “stood out among the worried and critical voices” in Germany. The leader of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), said Trump’s victory was a clear statement against immigration, economic decline and “misguided climate ideology.”
A sense of impending doom
Other newspapers were more blunt.
“Why though?” was asked by the left-wing newspaper Die Tageszeitung, using the English phrase for a headline at the top of its homepage.
Weekly newspaper Die Zeit also ran an article with a single, uncensored English word as its headline: “F—.”
Image: DW/X/Online-Screengrab
In the article, the author compared their experience watching the US election to seeing a mushroom cloud on the horizon.
“When Trump was president last time, he could not stop raving about the size, power and functionality of his red button,” the author added.
On the same website, other articles about Trump’s win had titles including “The nightmare” and “Now he can do what he wants.”
Trump is set to be inaugurated on January 20. (DW/NAN – 07-11-24)
Kallstadt has around 1,200 residents – Image: Getty Images/T.Lohnes
What Trump’s ancestral village in Germany thinks of him
Donald Trump’s ancestors came from a tiny German wine village. We asked locals what they think of the US presidential candidate – and found out that the “Drumpfs” are long gone.
Kallstadt in the idyllic region of Rhineland-Palatinate is home to just 1,200 people. The village’s website calls itself a “gourmet wine destination” and a quick glance at the phone book reveals that the town is full of traditional wine cellars and sampling rooms with old-fashioned German names like “Saumagenkeller,” “Weinkabinett,” and “Zum Bacchus.”
The beverage is a favorite not only among locals, but also among international tourists. In Kallstadt, there are twice as many wine tasting seats available as there are residents, says one local.
Günther Anthon from Kallstadt’s transportation association is usually the first point of contact for tourists and curious journalists. Like many others in Kallstadt, Anthon helps visitors out in his free time as a volunteer. When asked about the ancestors of the famous US presidential candidate and multi-millionaire Donald Trump, he explains that the name “Trump” is very common in both the Palatinate region and Bavaria.
“But they don’t all belong to the same family trees,” says Anthon. “It’s like with the Meiers and Müllers – they’re not all related to each other.”
Kallstadt is an idyllic wine village in central-western Germany – Image: Getty Images/T.Lohnes
No one wants to talk about Trump
There are no longer any residents in Kallstadt with the famous family name. Although many locals are actually distantly related to the businessman with platinum comb-over, generations of marriages have added other family names to the mix.
According to the local phone book, there are 10 or 12 Trumps located just outside of Kallstadt. But no one in the rural wine region is interested in talking about the American presidential race.
“I can’t say anything about what’s going on in America. We have nothing to do with that,” one young vintner said rather squarely.
After dozens of calls, our first impression seems to be repeatedly confirmed: The Trumps in the Palatinate region of Germany are fed up with their distant relative in the US. No one seems to be happy to comment. Everyone wants to remain anonymous.
When asked whether the local residents were talking about Donald Trump, one middle-aged Mr. Trump responded, “No one dares to say what they really think. And that’s the problem. At least not in public. Behind closed doors, it’s a different story.”
Nevertheless, Donald Trump seems to have inherited at least one facet of the regional mentality: “We like to express our opinions loudly,” admits one Kallstadt resident, who didn’t give his name.
No #drumpf in Kallstadt
The global hype surrounding the hashtag #drumpf, which was started by Last Week Tonight comedian John Oliver, is something that no one in Kallstadt can understand.
Donald Trump’s grandfather immigrated to the United States in 1885 at the age of 16. That, of course, makes the candidate’s tirades over Mexican immigrants in the US all the more ironic. But his grandfather didn’t use the name Drumpf. Although that had been the original spelling of the family’s name, it had already been changed during the reign of Napoleon around the turn of the 19th century, according to the transportation association in Kallstadt.
While Günther Anthon agrees that, like Donald Trump, the locals also “wear their heart on their sleeve,” no one wants to have anything to do with him.
“Hopefully this hype will ease up soon.”
(DW/NAN – 07-11-24/February 6, 2019)
