Biden and Blinken may associate acquiescence to Berlin with sophisticated diplomacy and may assume that Germany stands for the same values as the United States, but this would be a mistake. Simply put, Germany is neither a good ally nor does its leadership share the same liberal, democratic worldview as the United States. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, Angela Merkel’s immediate predecessor, joined Gazprom after leaving office. For Schröder, short-term monetary gain trumped principle. Increasingly, his career trajectory and cynicism may be the rule rather than the exception for German politicians as Russia and the money it offers encourages further “Schröderization” of German elites. Russian spy activity is as high now as it was during the Cold War as the Kremlin seeks to penetrate the German political class. Matthias Warnig, the Nord Stream 2 CEO for whom Blinken waived sanctions, was a former East German Stasi officer since the time when Russian President Vladimir Putin was a KGB officer assigned to Germany and remains Putin’s oldest German friend. Biden and Blinken shed crocodile tears for imprisoned Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, but they ignore that one of the reasons Putin is so furious at Navalny is that he blew the whistle on Putin’s relationship with the Nord Stream 2 CEO.