German envoy warns Trump 'driven by vengeance' — reports

German media outlets reported late on Sunday that the country's ambassador to the US, Andreas Michaelis, had recently penned a diplomatic write-up in which he warned of the threats US democracy will face under the incoming president, Donald Trump, and his team.

In the five-page confidential cable report sent to the German Foreign Ministry and the office of Chancellor Olaf Scholz last week, Michaelis stated that a second Trump term represents serious threats to the system of democratic checks and balances outlined in the US Constitution.

What does Germany's US ambassador think is at stake?

Michaelis voiced serious concern about the future of US democracy, writing, "Fundamental democratic principles, along with checks and balances, will be largely undermined, the legislature, law enforcement and media will be robbed of their independence and misused as a political arm, and Big Tech will gain co-governing authority."

First seen by news agency DPA on Sunday, the leaked cable was later picked up by other German media outlets.

In the paper, Michaelis wrote that he expects Trump to affect a "maximum concentration of power in the hands of the president at the expense of Congress and the states."

Michaelis went on to write that Trump's policy "of maximum disruption, the breaking up of the established political order and bureaucratic structures as well as his plans for revenge ultimately mean a redefinition of the constitutional order." 

German Foreign Ministry offers 'no comment,' says US an 'important ally'

Michaelis, who will represent Germany at Trump's inauguration on Monday, said he sees the incoming president as a man driven by a "desire for vengeance," musing that he will "largely sap" the US of its democratic principles.

The Foreign Ministry in Berlin stated that it does not comment on "internal documents, analyses and embassy reports," but made clear that the US is "one of our most important allies."

It further said that Berlin is intent on working "in close collaboration with the new American administration in the interests of Germany and Europe."

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that Germany would continue to work with the US, "but of course we also want to continue to stand up for our own interests."

Asked about Michaelis' report, Baerbock told public broadcaster ZDF that the ambassador had been doing his job and that Trump had already stated much of his agenda openly.

js/wd (AFP, AP, dpa)