US Vice President JD Vance is aiming for European countries during his first international trip, denounces the leader of the rollback on free speech, loose migration policies and delinquent defence of defense commitments.
In a speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday, Vance announced that President Donald Trump’s administration will mark a pivot on US relations with European allies.
“There’s a new sheriff in town under Donald Trump’s leadership,” Vance told an audience of political leaders, military officers and diplomats at the annual meeting.
He accused European leaders of censoring social media, intervening in elections, and violating Christian rights.
“I believe that dismissing people, dismissing concerns, and even worse, shutting down the media, halting elections, or shutting people down from the political process will protect them,” Vance said. said. “In fact, it’s the surest way to destroy democracy.”
Vance’s remarks won quick denunciation from some officials. Shortly afterwards, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Vance’s claims could not be left unanswered.
“If I understand him correctly, he compares some of the conditions of Europe with those of the authoritarian regime,” Pistorius said. “That’s not acceptable. It’s not Europe, nor is it the democracy I live in and currently campaigning for.”
What did Vance say?
Several countries received jabs and swipes in Vance’s first major international speech.
For example, the US Vice President has singled out Romania for canceling elections in December on suspicion of Russian interference and accused Sweden of convicting hate crime activists to commit public burning of the Quran.
He also denounced the UK for a reversal of religious rights to the arrest of activists who refused to leave the protected area outside the abortion clinic.
Regarding Germany, the host country of the conference, Vance criticized the consensus among mainstream parties that it would not cooperate with German far-right, anti-immigrant groups alternatives (AFDs). That political isolation policy is known as a “firewall.”
“Democracy is based on the sacred principle that people’s voices matter. There’s no room for firewalls,” Vance said.
He added that such policies hindered dialogue and heavily accused European leaders of working to silence the voices of those they opposed.
“To many of us on the other side of the Atlantic now, it appears to be an old, entrenched profit that is increasingly hidden behind ugly Soviet-era words like “misinformation” and “disinformation.” Masu. From another perspective, we may express different opinions,” Vance said.
German Defense Minister Pistorius pointed out in his response that the AFD was able to spread the campaign and message just like any other German political party.
“Democracy doesn’t mean that the loud and minority is automatically right,” said Pistorius, a member of the German Social Democrat. He called the AFD “partially extremist.”
“Democracy must be able to protect itself from extremists who want to destroy it.”
Still, Vance himself was seen as embracing anti-immigrant rhetoric in his speech at the Munich Conference.
“Of all the pressing challenges facing the countries represented here, I believe there is no more urgent than a massive migration,” Vance said.
For example, he pointed to a Carlaming attack in Munich on Thursday, causing 36 people to be injured. The suspect is a 24-year-old Afghanistan.
“How many times do you need to suffer from these horrible sets before changing courses and leading shared civilizations in new directions?” Vance asked.
“Voters on this continent never went to the ballot box and opened the locks to millions of uninhabited immigrants.”
Wideer reset
The US Vice President’s first trip to Europe comes less than four weeks after Trump began his second term on January 20th.
Former President Joe Biden was trying to rebuild these ties following the end of Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2021. Recent consultations have focused heavily on shared security threats from Russia and China.
However, a rapid change in the opening week of Trump’s second term has shaken up European leaders.
Earlier this week, Trump announced that it had wiped out 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which are due to take effect on March 12th. He also ordered his advisors to calculate mutual tariffs on countries deemed to have unequal trade relations with the United States.
And change is extending beyond the economic ties of the United States. Trump also sought to promote negotiations to end the Russian war in Ukraine, a pivotal security issue for other parts of Europe.
On Wednesday, Trump made a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, raising concerns that European countries and Ukraine could stand by in debate to end Russian invasions.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses also has to accept that Ukraine will not ultimately become a member of NATO, and there is no chance that he will regain territory lost to Russia since 2014. He said.
Critics said the statement amounted to a major concession to Moscow ahead of formal peace talks.
Vance’s visit to Munich on Friday also included a meeting with Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky.
“Our first meeting – not the last, I’m sure,” Zelensky then pledged to “continue our meeting and work.”
At another meeting with German President Frank Walter Steinmeier, NATO Secretary-General Mark Latte and UK Foreign Secretary David Lamy, Vance called on European countries to boost defence spending.
The Trump administration is calling for NATO members to spend 5% of their gross domestic product on defense.
Today, many countries are struggling to meet their current 2% commitment. The US currently accounts for around 3.4% of GDP due to defence spending.
Vance said he wanted NATO to “share a little more burden in Europe” so that the US could focus elsewhere, particularly Asia.