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It was a remarkable performance by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) during her trip to the US. A smile played on her lips as she waited for her counterpart’s second question. She was actually going to be interviewed by journalist Bret Baier. But suddenly he disappeared from the scene.

She had just called for support for Ukraine. “If Putin were to win this war, what a signal it would send to other dictators around the world, like Xi.”she said, referring to the Chinese head of state. A sentence that was subsequently discussed controversially on social media. “Ukraine must win this war. Freedom and democracy must win.”

After a few seconds of silence, correspondent Rich Edson appeared. The interview continued. Annalena Baerbock can actually be happy with her performance. The Secretary of State had set aside six meaningful minutes (though nothing surprising) for the interview.

But what also caused controversial discussions: the interview was not broadcast on a news channel such as CNN, where German Chancellor Olaf Scholz regularly appears, but on the right-wing Trump channel Fox News. The audience: decidedly conservative.

Why did Baerbock choose this channel of all people?

Annalena Baerbock is criticized for her statement about Ukraine

Baerbock first traveled to Texas, where she arrived in a self-driving electric Volkswagen. The trip apparently went smoothly, unlike their damn trip to Australia a few weeks ago.

During her trip to the US, the Secretary of State made efforts for days to explicitly contact the Republicans. That’s why she already met Governor Greg Abbott in Texas. A hardliner on abortion and immigration.

On her next stop in Washington, Baerbock met with numerous Republican representatives and senators at the Capitol. Among them was Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

She met no Democrats.

Baerbock is building relationships with Republicans

The US primary campaign is currently in full swing. Donald Trump has a good chance of becoming president of the United States again.

The interview on Fox News can be seen as Baerbock’s last straw to connect with the part of American society that her party otherwise rarely speaks to during its trip to the US.

Nevertheless, some on the X platform, formerly Twitter, expressed their incomprehension that Baerbock called for support for Ukraine on the right-wing channel Fox News.

“She really seems to think she can influence American politics and the primaries.”writes one user.

Another user wrote: “Is Baerbock actually the German Foreign Minister or the assistant to the President of Ukraine?”

Another user followed a similar line, directly describing Baerbock as a “Ukrainian foreign minister.”

Baerbock has chosen the format well

However, Baerbock had chosen the channel and time of the interview well. Although Fox News has been accused of having long since abandoned journalistic standards, the secretary of state did not have to fear any serious danger in venturing into right-wing territory.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s offering is considered a regular daytime news channel with a strong conservative slant. In the evening, the extreme right-wing commentators take over. Usually they don’t leave out any conspiracy theory or right-wing propaganda.

However, journalist Bret Baier managed to largely avoid all of the channel’s major scandals and make a name for himself as a serious journalist. His replacement Edson is also considered one.

At Watson’s request, security expert Erik Brown even recommends establishing diplomatic relations with Republican senators, representatives and other government representatives. This could counter future actions a re-elected Trump might take – such as the threat to withdraw from NATO.

This means that if Trump relies on the approval of Congress, at least individual Republicans who have a different opinion can vote against his plans. Not a panacea, as Brown makes clear, but at least a glimmer of hope.

Brown cites Annalena Baerbock’s attempt to start a conversation with Texas Republicans as a positive example.