According to Talking Points Memo (TPM), former President Donald Trump recently gave the keynote address at the annual gala held by the New York Young Republican Club. The event reportedly had in attendance American far-right politicians and European right-wing extremists.
Notable politicians mentioned include Reps. Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, and Paul Gosar from the United States, as well as European politicians like Gerald Grosz from Austria, Susanna Ceccardi from Italy’s far-right Lega party, and Maximilian Krah from Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has been criticized as being “neo-Nazi.”
Gerald Grosz, formerly associated with Austria’s far-right Freedom Party, initially joined a political party established by Anton Reinthaller, a former leader of the Nazi Party and SS officer.
Grosz and his colleague Jorg Haider, whose father had a Nazi background and praised Hitler’s regime, later became part of an offshoot of the Freedom Party.
Despite their diverse nationalities, Grosz, Ceccardi, and Krah are described as comrades-in-arms by TPM due to their shared commitment to nationalist ideals and opposition to immigration.
The presence of these far-right politicians at the event has raised concerns and criticism from some quarters.
“Donald Trump rubbing elbows with Nazi-linked groups might be surprising if Trump’s last month wasn’t defined by him parroting Hitler and Mussolini, and promising to rule as a dictator so he can rip away Americans’ freedoms and round up millions of Americans into detention camps,” said Ammar Moussa, who is the rapid response director for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign.
The New York Young Republican Club’s association with global far-right figures aligns with international political scholars’ observations about the modern GOP, suggesting that it has more in common with authoritarian-leaning parties in other countries than with its counterparts in G7 countries.
“The American people rejected Trump and his MAGA attacks on democracy in 2020, and it’s why he’s going to lose again next November,” Moussa added.
