🌊 Roca Goes Inside the AFD

Did someone forward you this? Subscribe here free!

Once a week over the next month, we are giving away a free year of Roca Premium. To be eligible, you have to be a subscriber or signed up for a free trial. If you already subscribe, you’re automatically entered. If not, enter today by starting a free trial!

Another week of news at a breakneck pace. A lot happened – let’s run through it. 

The week starts with the blowback from VP Vance’s speech in Munich, where he declared that Europe’s greatest threat is neither Russia nor China, but the continent’s own creeping left-wing authoritarianism. The speech – which mainstream European officials deemed a right-wing attack on America’s closest allies – sent Europe into a tizzy. Overnight, many analysts and politicians declared, the US had transformed from Europe’s closest ally to its newest adversary. 

President Trump then launches negotiations with Russia, without giving the Europeans or President Zelensky a seat at the table. When Trump hears that Zelensky is livid about this, he accuses him of provoking Russia’s invasion. When Zelensky accuses Trump of peddling “disinformation,” Trump triples down, calling Zelensky a “dictator” who has played the US for billions of dollars. Subsequent reports suggest Trump was actually angry about Zelensky’s refusal to accept a mineral rights deal.

As this plays out abroad, Trump’s team continues its work at home. Kash Patel, a former prosecutor who has accused the FBI of plotting the January 6 riot, is confirmed as FBI director. DOGE starts working at the IRS – which proceeds to cut 6,000 staff – and the Social Security Administration. Trump floats a “DOGE dividend,” that would give 20% of the agency’s savings back to the American people. All of this has shocked Democrats. Defense Secretary Hegseth orders an 8% cut to the defense budget. Now Republicans are shocked too.

Amid this DC-focused news blitz, it would be a mistake to ignore other nations and their capitals. And that leads to this weekend’s deep dive. 

Germany holds a national election this Sunday. The Alternative für Deutschland (AFD) – the country’s most popular right-wing party since World War II – is polling at record levels and promising a German version of what Trump is doing to the US. Left-wing and centrist Germans are scared: AFD leaders have been investigated for holding extremist views and much of the media has deemed them modern-day Nazis. 

We at Roca generally don’t trust the media, so we went to Germany to meet the AFD for ourselves. What do they believe? Are they extremists? Or just normal right-wingers in a left-wing country? 

To find out, I (Roca co-founder Max Frost) spent two weeks traveling around Germany, attending AFD rallies, and staying with an AFD campaigner. Today, I share what I learned.

Editor’s Note

Never a dull moment for a news startup. In case you missed any of this week’s five deep-dives, you can access them below:

1. On the legal theory underpinning Trump’s actions;

2. On the corruption allegations in the SDNY;

3. On VP Vance’s Munich speech and its fallout;

4. On whether Vance’s claims that the UK is prohibiting prayer are true;

5. And how today’s DOGE compares to President Clinton’s from the 90s;

Also, some readers replied to a someone who said they were unsubscribing because of the readers’ perspectives we shared. Here’s a sample of those replies:

 Brendan wrote:

Stephanie wrote:

Ideological diversity is the key to running a nonpartisan news company, and we would not want to run this company without an ideologically diverse audience. We thank all of you who share your thoughts, consider others, and make Roca Nation what it is.

If you have thoughts on that, today’s email, or anything else, please share them here.

–Max and Max