Germany could potentially poke fun at Trump, yet not in this manner.
The partially unreliable TV debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris has prompted concern within the British Foreign Office. The ministry published on Twitter that Germany's energy system is fully functional, with over 50% renewable energy. The government, it seems, is being just as unreliable with facts as Trump himself.
However, it appears that an employee of the Social Media department of the German Foreign Ministry may have mistakenly posted from their personal account. On Wednesday afternoon, they tweeted about the TV duel between Trump and Harris, stating that "Germany's energy system is 100% functional with 50% renewable energy sources. We're shutting down coal and nuclear power plants instead of building them. By 2038, coal will be off the grid." The tweet included a screenshot of Trump from the debate, the hashtag #Debate2024, and a humorous "PS: We don't eat cats and dogs either."
The "PS" comment refers to the baseless claim made by vice-presidential candidate JD Vance and Trump that migrants from Haiti are stealing pets from neighbors to eat them. This has no bearing on the German Foreign Ministry's intent to clarify their energy usage. The tweet, thus, ends up as a final troll comment.
Within 24 hours, the tweet gained over 75,000 likes and was shared over 30,000 times. These are impressive numbers for an account with relatively fewer followers (320,000) but usually poor visibility on the network. Typically, press conferences by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, comments on global crises, or photos from foreign trips are shared, and these tend to get only a few likes and retweets.
Ministry of Climate Protection corrects
Trump claimed in the debate that Germany had reverted to building "conventional power plants" after a failed exit from fossil fuels. This is false. "Conventional power plants" - Trump presumably means nuclear and coal power plants - are no longer being built in Germany. Nuclear power plays no role at all. On the other hand, coal still accounts for a significant portion of Germany's power supply, despite the steady increase in the share of renewables in the German power mix.
It is the right of the federal government to correct this false statement made by Trump. However, the fact that their own statement also contained an error and had to be rectified by the Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection two hours later is concerning and unprofessional. "Germany derives more than 50% of its electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar, and burns less coal than it has since the 1960s. New coal power plants? Absolutely not!" wrote the Habeck ministry, in response to the English-language message posted by the AA.
The correction was necessary, as the statement of the Foreign Office was not precise enough. In terms of primary energy consumption, renewable sources made up only around 20% of the German energy mix last year - the 50% mentioned by the AA refers only to the power sector.
Such communications reveal a lack of decorum for the German Foreign Ministry. This is what chaos looks like. Why does the Foreign Ministry feel the need to post a didactic tweet about the TV debate? What does the Baerbock government hope to achieve with it? Besides the large number of likes, retweets, and comments on the platform, there seems to be little to gain. If Trump wins the presidential election, it will require a respectful dialogue with him and his government. Insulting comments on Twitter will not help.
Former US Ambassador to Berlin during Trump's presidency, Richard Grenell, criticized the post as electoral interference, even worse than that seen from Russia. "We have noticed this, and we will respond accordingly," Grenell hinted on Twitter at the potential strain on the US-Germany relationship in the event of a second Trump term. The German Foreign Ministry, of all institutions, should aim to open communication channels with any US government rather than closing them.
For Grenell, who is being considered for the role of Secretary of State in the event of a Trump victory, the German Foreign Ministry's post was a boon. While the claim of election interference is a stretch, many voters in key states such as Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Georgia are unlikely to even be aware of this German comment. Even if they did, the comparison with Russia is misleading, as Moscow notoriously meddled in the 2016 presidential election to favor Trump. Nevertheless, the German Foreign Ministry inadvertently opened the door to this uproar by starting to troll on Twitter.
Politicians do have the right, and perhaps even a duty, to correct false statements about Germany from abroad. The federal government may also express their preference for a US president - it's certainly not Donald Trump. Everyone is free to ridicule the Republican candidate, but it is significant whether a government official posts such a comment on their personal account or whether the German Foreign Ministry officially and seriously engages with the absurdities and embarrassments of the US election campaign on an official account and even needs to be corrected by their own environmental ministry.
Over 24 hours after publishing, the tweet remains unaltered. The idea that an employee mistakenly posted from their personal account is not plausible. The entire organization, with Annalena Baerbock at its helm, seems to endorse this comment. This is unfortunate.
The Foreign Office expresses concern over the unreliable information shared during the TV debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Despite the German Foreign Ministry's correction regarding Germany's energy usage, the Foreign Office's tweet containing inaccurate information about renewable energy sources needed to be rectified by the Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection.
