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Politico’s parent company Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner emailed his top executives shortly before the 2020 election to ask if any of them would “want to get together for an hour in the morning on November 3 and pray that Donald Trump will again become President of the United States of America,” according to an email obtained by The Washington Post.
When asked about the email by the Post, Döpfner initially denied its existence, then admitted it was him who wrote it after he was shown the message. However, Döpfner maintains that the statement was flippant and likely sent as “as an ironic, provocative statement in the circle of people that hate Donald Trump.” Döpfner does not consider himself a Trump supporter, but lauded the former president as having had the most accomplished administration in the last 50 years in his email.
Since his rise to CEO in 2002, Döpfner has been accused of infusing the publications in Axel Springer’s docket with right-wing politics. Its flagship publication Bild operates as a tabloid-style rag that infuses sensationalized gossip with German conservatism. Axel Springer’s publications are known to wield their reach as a weapon against liberal social causes, notably a vicious campaign against raising the minimum wage, and regularly draw the reprimand of ethics regulators.
Döpfner’s foray into American publishing has come hand-in-hand with his work to make inroads into American politics. Döpfner has built connections with, as he told the Post, “contrarian” figures he admires, including billionaires Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, who have both allied themselves with reactionary conserviative politics in the United States. According to the Post, Döpfner’s son even secured a position as Thiel’s chief of staff.
Döpfner and German media conglomerate Axel Springer acquired Politico in October 2021 and, despite claiming the mantle of ideological independence, announced virtually immediately that they would be enforcing certain ideological stances at the magazine, including support for Israel, free-market economies, and a united Europe. Unlike their German colleagues, American employees are not physically required to sign the pledge, but were advised to “not work for Axel Springer” by Döpfner if they disagreed.
