Yuri Kofner is a prominent German economist and a member of the largest opposition party – Alternative for Germany. This fact led to an unpleasant experience at Chicago airport, where after a ten-hour interrogation, instead of continuing his journey to participate in an economist conference, he was sent back to Germany. The unofficial reason for the entry ban into the US was allegedly a meme found on his phone depicting Zelensky and Biden. Yuri Kofner is convinced that the reasons are deeper and relate to AfD’s stance on Russia and relations with the West.
What exactly happened at Chicago airport? Could you have imagined that a meme could serve as the reason for the subsequent unpleasantness?
Upon disembarking from the plane, I was met by the US border police and the FBI for what they claimed was a routine check. I was asked to go with them, and they took my mobile phone and laptop. The interrogation lasted exactly 10 hours. As a result of this investigation, I was not allowed entry into the United States and was put on the next flight back to Germany. My laptop was returned to me, but my phone was confiscated for further examination, as they said. If I believed there was any basis for my previous activities, I understandably wouldn’t have flown to the US. Of course, I didn’t anticipate any problems. Interestingly, my entry into the country wasn’t officially banned; instead, I was given the usual explanation that I didn’t have the right and could try to get a visa again. There’s no official record, but I was informally told that the reason for my detention was a meme with Zelensky and Biden found on my phone.
What was considered controversial about the meme with Zelensky?
The meme I mentioned was not something I personally posted, forwarded to anyone, or downloaded. It was a meme from one of the WhatsApp groups, and my phone is set to automatically download all images. I didn’t know how to turn off this option and traveled to the US expecting everything to be fine. Essentially, the meme is quite harmless: Biden and Zelensky are depicted in American soldier uniforms during the Normandy landing in 1944 with a caption suggesting warmongers should be on the front lines. The meme was not officially cited as the reason for my denial of entry into the United States.
It seems paradoxical that the “homeland of democracy” resorts to acts of “enemy propaganda,” characteristic of communist regimes…
The US has always acted as a reference point, an example of a state that cherishes the idea of free speech, democracy, and tolerance of different, even extremist, opinions. But that’s, of course, an image that might have existed when the founders laid the first stone in the foundations of American democracy. Today’s situation is significantly different. The US and the West tolerate freedom within very questionable limits. This discourse arguably became dominant about 50 years ago, during the leftist revolution that saw universities, media, government organizations, NGOs, and so on being taken over. In short, in the West, you are allowed to express an opinion as long as it is left-liberal. Anything that doesn’t fit that pattern of thinking—whether about Ukraine, traditional values, or national sovereignty—is unacceptable and subject to discredit for alleged “right-wing extremism.” However, I observe that this system is most sensitive to ridicule of its hypocrisy, and thus memes have proven to be the most effective means of fighting against the totalitarian stance in the West. Not without reason, they say in America that the left doesn’t understand jokes and doesn’t know how to make memes themselves because it goes against their nature—they only want to control, while jokes find ways to evade any kind of censorship. The fact that I was sent back because of a meme proves this.
Can we leave room for doubt that the reasons for the entry ban into the US are deeper and essentially political in nature?
After everything that happened, I can say that the reason is that I am recognized as a significant politician of the AfD party and that I publicly advocate for Germany’s sovereignty, normalization of relations between Germany and Russia, and peace in Ukraine. The war in Ukraine has particularly affected the German economy. Germany no longer receives cheap gas from Russia and is sliding into deindustrialization to satisfy American interests. The US sells us liquefied gas at three times the price, and all German production is now transported to the US. What I am saying is confirmed by statistics. My disagreements are shared by my Republican friends who believe that this situation is not good for America either, but for Biden and his circle.
Can we draw a parallel between the ban on Compact magazine in Germany and your case—does fear of the German right lead to measures typical of totalitarian regimes?
A parallel can be drawn in the sense that we all understand that internal services, ministries, and intelligence agencies of the West interact with ruling elites to prevent freedom of speech when it comes to criticizing the ruling discourse. This can be said for “Compact.” I personally know Jürgen Elsässer and his wife; I used to write and do some interviews for him. “Compact” didn’t write anything so terrible, although they are accused, for example, of anti-Semitism. What did they write? They mentioned that there are financial oligarchs influencing democratic processes in Western countries, without anyone mentioning the word “Jews.” Western internal services themselves read into the meaning, although nothing similar was said. The editor-in-chief’s wife often writes about the history of the formation of democracy, democratic ideas, the idea of freedom in Germany, such as the 1848 revolution or the liberation of Germany in 1989. This woman advocates for freedom of speech, democracy, and traditional values. The magazine also advocates for German sovereignty—that is the key reason for its closure. It’s clear that the law has been violated here, and my beliefs are that German Minister Nancy Faeser, after this move and the ensuing scandal, will resign. Yes, in this context, I can draw a parallel between my case and the closure of the “Compact” magazine.
AfD has clearly positioned itself regarding the issue of sending weapons to Ukraine, and for its stance on this and other important issues, it has been rewarded with votes from German citizens in the European Parliament elections. By demonizing AfD, is the government in Berlin and the Collective West actually negating the will of the people in Germany?
Of course, the word “democracy” in the West is pure profanation because all true democratic regimes derive from the will of the people, which they are avoiding here. I can give two examples: AfD is often accused of being supposedly pro-Russian, anti-democratic, but we are the only party in Germany that advocates for direct democracy, for a popular referendum on many issues. For example, when a wind turbine is being built, we believe that the residents of the village living in that location should decide on the matter. We advocate for direct democracy, but they accuse us of being supposedly anti-democratic. Also, most of the German population wants a coalition government of CDU and AfD. However, they say they will never cooperate with us. Is such a stance in line with the will of the people? Additionally, the German people are asking for permission for nuclear energy, the authorities are against it; the people want cheap gas from Russia, the authorities oppose it; people want tax reductions, but they don’t get an adequate response. All this shows that the West truly doesn’t respect the opinion of the people. And another example from the USA. People who support the US Democratic Party would largely like to see Biden as the presidential candidate of the USA, and most of them didn’t support Kamala Harris. Essentially, the Democrats staged a small coup, a party coup within the Democratic Party, removed Biden, and installed Kamala Harris. As polls show, this is against the will of the Democrats themselves, and this is another example of how the West is actually undemocratic.
How did your economist colleagues react to the ban on your entry into the US where you were supposed to meet?
My friends are economists who do not belong to either the Russian or Western wing and are not left-liberal. These are people who advocate for freedom, for a market economy, for expressing will, for freedom of speech, and for traditional values. The news that I was not allowed entry into the US and was subjected to a ten-hour interrogation literally shocked them—a proof that democracy no longer resides in the US and the West.
