In a blistering speech on Friday, U.S. Vice-President JD Vance told European leaders “there is a new sheriff in town under Donald Trump’s leadership” and warned governments that internal threats to democracy, like election cancellations and censorship, are greater threats to their countries than external antagonists like China and Russia.
“The threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor,” Vance said, speaking at the Munich Security Conference. “What I worry about is the threat from within — the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.
“I’ve heard a lot about what you need to defend yourselves from and of course, that’s important. But what has seemed a little bit less clear to me … is what exactly you’re defending yourselves for?”
In his own remarks to the conference, Vance lectured European officials on free speech and illegal migration on the continent, warning elected officials that they risk losing public support if they don’t quickly change course.
He specifically targeted the December 2024 cancellation of Romania’s elections, which were annulled by the country’s top court after accusations of Russian meddling, dismissing worries of disinformation as “ugly Soviet-era words.”
“Dismissing people, dismissing their concerns … shutting down media, shutting down elections … protects nothing. It is the most surefire way to destroy democracy,” he said.
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“If you’re running in fear of your own voters there’s nothing America can do for you.”
The vice-president also warned the European officials against illegal migration, saying the electorate didn’t vote to open “floodgates to millions of unvetted immigrants” and referencing an attack Thursday in Munich where the suspect is a 24-year-old Afghan who arrived in Germany as an asylum seeker in 2016.
He stressed that Europe must “step up” in managing its own security, taking a combative tone during a time of increasing transatlantic discord around trade, defence and other issues.
And despite Trump’s top allies’ repeated attacks on journalists, Democrats and perceived critics, Vance hit out at his boss’ predecessor, former president Joe Biden, who Vance said “seemed desperate to silence people for speaking their minds.”
“There is a new sheriff in town under Donald Trump’s leadership,” Vance said. “We may disagree with your views, but we will fight to defend your right to offer it in the public square. Agree or disagree.”
NBC News reports the vice-president’s comments “were met with an icy reception and only scattered applause.”
The future of Ukraine was at the top of the agenda in Munich after a phone call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin this week, where they pledged to work together to end the conflict, but Vance did not bring it up.
Instead, he said Brussels had shut down social media over hateful content, and criticized Germany for what he described as raids against its own citizens for posting anti-feminist comments, Sweden for convicting a Christian activist and the United Kingdom for backsliding on religious rights.
The vice-president’s speech sparked immediate criticism in Europe.
“Vance’s attack on European democracy in Munich, perversely twisting the language of democracy itself should leave no doubt whatsoever that the aim of this administration is to destroy the EU and its liberal democracies,” Nathalie Tocci, director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali think tank, told Reuters.
Responding to Vance’s speech, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told the conference: “If I understood him correctly, he is comparing parts of Europe with authoritarian regimes. This is not acceptable.”
—With files from Reuters and The Associated Press
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