The outlet also reported that Trump posed for a photo with Maximilian Krah, an AfD member of the European Parliament who went on the record earlier this year defending members of the Nazi party's infamous Waffen-SS unit. Krah's remarks were considered too extreme even for members of France's far-right National Rally, which said it would no longer sit with the AfD in European Parliament.

In one of the photos, Trump is seen posing with Rau, along with right-wing conspiracy theorist Leonard Jäger, far-right activist Beat Ulrich Zirpel, and Fabrice Ambrosini, who had to step away from a political post in 2021 for allegedly flashing the Hitler salute. Zirpel posted a video to Instagram in which Trump is seen greeting the group saying: "Where's my German friends?" The president-elect also shook their hands, and said "thank you, fellas" after they chanted "fight, fight fight!" (Trump's catchphrase after narrowly avoiding an assassination attempt in July.)

The AfD party — which is known for its ardent anti-immigration stance and Islamophobia — is expected to have a strong showing in Germany's upcoming parliamentary elections on February 23. Phillipp-Anders Rau was introduced to Trump by AfD official Jan Wenzel Schmidt, who has been a member of the Bundestag since 2021.

"I was convinced that Trump would become president again, and wanted to make contact with the Republicans early on,” Schmidt told the German newspaperBild. “Other parties are hectically setting out and we already have a good connection.”

Similar to Trump, the AfD has also opposed aid for Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia. Should the party win a plurality of votes in February, it's likely that Kyiv would lose an additional source of support, as the incoming Trump administration is also likely to cut off U.S. aid for Ukraine.