Elon Musk has shown no qualms about weighing in on this weekend’s German election. Since endorsing the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party — declaring on Dec. 20 that “only the AfD can save Germany” — the billionaire White House appointee has posted about the party and its leader more than 70 times on his social media site X,

All other German parties see the far-right AfD as a threat to democracy, but the anti-immigration party has a powerful friend abroad: Elon Musk, the loudhailer voice of Team Trump.

As the world seeks ways to retaliate against U.S. tariffs, so-called "first buddy" Elon Musk appears to be high on the list of targets. Why it matters: Targeted retaliation is designed to give supporters of Donald Trump an incentive to try to persuade him to deescalate any trade war.