With November 5 just weeks away, there’s a lot of international interest in the results of the presidential election.
WKAR recently hosted a journalist from Germany through an exchange program called RIAS Berlin Commission.
Jana Münkel is a radio host for Deutschlandradio in Berlin. During her trip, she visited Michigan State University’s campus, attended a rally with First Lady Jill Biden and tried some apple cider and donuts at a local cider mill.
During a tour of the WKAR studios, WKAR's Sophia Saliby sat down with Münkel to talk about her visit to Michigan and how Germans are watching the American presidential election.
Interview Highlights
On her visit to Washington D.C.
I think the most interesting meeting was at Heritage Foundation. We got the possibility with our fellowship group to go into that building and discuss Project 2025 with them. And I mean, [it] was not always easy to see how they really use the vocabulary they use in that Project 2025 document, but it was great just to be inside and to see what books do they have in the shelf, for example, like books that are not woke, I would say, for example. So, that was like the most interesting thing. And I think another highlight was to see the President, himself, at the White House. We got to go to the press briefing room, and after that, we watched him, like running to his helicopter and going away to get to people concerned by the hurricane.
On what Germans are watching for when it comes to the November 5 election
In Germany, people are really concerned about this polarization that's taking place. And people in Germany have the feeling that facts are not that important anymore. And we see that discussion in Germany as well right now, because there are right wing parties, even extreme right parties, that are pretty successful in some elections. And it's interesting to see because the people in Germany are looking to the United States of America to see how this discussion is handled here and to learn something from it, in a way.
On what she learned in Michigan
You showed me around Lansing. And I learned that if you have your hand, that's the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. And if you put your finger just in the middle of your hand, that's where Lansing is. And I'm really glad to have the possibility to be here. And yeah, thank you so much for having me and for showing me around. That was really a pleasure.
Interview Transcript
Saliby: With November 5th just weeks away, there’s a lot of international interest in the results of the presidential election.
For the past few days, WKAR has been hosting a journalist from Germany through an exchange program called RIAS Berlin Commission.
Jana Münkel is a radio host for Deutschlandradio in Berlin. During her trip, she visited Michigan State University’s campus, attended a rally with First Lady Jill Biden and tried some apple cider and donuts at a local cider mill. During a stop at the WKAR studios, we sat down for an interview. I started by asking her about her job in Germany.
Münkel: Yeah, I'm a host in German national radio, in Deutschlandradio, so I'm hosting a news show, so it's running from Monday to Saturday at noon for one hour. And I have a guest from politics, from think tanks, from media, and this guest is coming to my studio, and we're talking about the news of the day.
So, it's pretty nice because we have a couple of songs, after every issue there's a song playing, so we can relax a little and, yeah, discuss a little not on air, but yeah, so it's five topics, five news issues on air with one guest. And I really love it. And sometimes, we even have people in the studio or even online that can participate and chat with us. So, sometimes it's even more interactive.
Saliby: You went to Washington D.C. last week. What was your favorite thing that you did there?
Münkel: Yeah, we met lots of people there, like journalists, also people working in think tanks, for example. And I think the most interesting meeting was at Heritage Foundation. We got the possibility with our fellowship group to go into that building and discuss Project 2025 with them. And I mean, [it] was not always easy to see how they really use the vocabulary they use in that Project 2025 document, but it was great just to be inside and to see what books do they have in the shelf, for example, like books that are not woke, I would say, for example. So, that was like the most interesting thing.
And I think another highlight was to see the President, himself, at the White House. We got to go to the press briefing room, and after that, we watched him, like running to his helicopter and going away to get to people concerned by the hurricane. So, that was another highlight.
Saliby: How are Germans watching this election in America?
Münkel: I have the feeling that Germans are maybe a little more concerned about this election than Americans. I mean, we talked with many Americans, and everyone was a little concerned, but it was more like an analytic way, I guess, to have a look on those elections. And in Germany, people are really concerned about this polarization that's taking place. And people in Germany have the feeling that facts are not that important anymore.
And we see that discussion in Germany as well right now, because there are right wing parties, even extreme right parties, that are pretty successful in some elections. And it's interesting to see because the people in Germany are looking to the United States of America to see how this discussion is handled here and to learn something from it, in a way.
Saliby: And, I have to ask, what did you learn about Michigan over these past few days? Because this is your first time here.
Münkel: Oh, I learned a lot from you, Sophia, because you have been such a great host. I learned, for example, that Michigan is an apple state, that apple farms are really a thing, and apple picking farms and apple cider, I really like that.
And I learned that there's a big difference between the cities and the rural areas, so people are maybe having another perspective on issues when they live in rural areas, then people from the big cities.
And I learned another thing, like, yeah, you showed me around Lansing. And I learned that if you have your hand, that's the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. And if you put your finger just in the middle of your hand, that's where Lansing is. And I'm really glad to have the possibility to be here. And yeah, thank you so much for having me and for showing me around. That was really a pleasure.
Saliby: Jana Münkel is a host for Deutschlandradio. She's been here with us for the past few days with WKAR. Thank you for visiting us.
Münkel: Thank you for having me.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
