Markus Frohnmaier accepted an award at a New York gala and framed the trip as strengthening ties with Donald Trump–aligned MAGA conservatives.Other AfD MPs on the trip included Anna Rathert, Jan Wenzel Schmidt and Kay Gottschalk, and Frohnmaier said he will host a February congress in Berlin inviting the State Department, members of Congress and U.S. lobby groups during the Munich Security Conf.Critics point to AfD's controversial past ties to pro-Russian networks as the party seeks U.S. backing to counter domestic pressure and potential legal moves against it.