WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS
The German ambassador to the United States has warned that the new Trump administration will try to strip the independence of US police forces and the media and give big tech companies “co-governance power,” according to a confidential document seen by Reuters.
The document, signed by Ambassador Andreas Michaelis on January 14, outlines Donald Trump’s plan for his second term in the White House that would lead to “a redefinition of the constitutional order – the maximum concentration of power by the president over Congress and the states.”
“Basic democratic principles, as well as checks and balances, will be greatly undermined, the legislature, law enforcement and the media will be stripped of their independence and abused, and big tech companies will be given co-governance power,” Michaelis wrote in a note.
Trump’s transition team did not comment on the German ambassador’s assessment.
The outgoing government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz has largely refrained from publicly criticizing Trump since his election victory, but the ambassador’s assessment shows the frank and sharp opinion of a senior German official.
The document cites the judiciary, and in particular the U.S. Supreme Court, as central to Trump’s efforts to implement his agenda.
Michaelis sees control of the Justice Department and the FBI as crucial to Trump’s pursuit of political and personal goals, including mass deportations, retaliation against perceived enemies, and legal impunity.
Michaelis also envisions a “redefinition of the First Amendment,” saying that Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, the owner of X, are already taking action against critics and media companies that do not cooperate.
“One is using lawsuits, threatening prosecution and license revocation, while the other is manipulating algorithms and blocking accounts,” the document says.
Musk's new endorsement of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of the February 23 election has sparked outrage in Berlin, but the government has not abandoned his platform. Berlin has had a rocky relationship with the United States during the first Trump administration, facing high tariffs and criticism for failing to meet NATO defense spending targets.
