JD Vance compared Elon Musk with Swedish environmental crusader Greta Thunberg while launching a blistering attack on European leaders in a speech at a security conference in Germany.
The vice president berated European governments on free speech, immigration, and democratic values, insisting they should listen more to the voice of voters.
“And trust me, I say this with all humor,” he said. “If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunburg scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk.”
The crack was met with silence and Donald Trump’s running mate got muted applause as he demanded more from leaders at the Munich Security Conference to protect their borders while the United States handled the rest of the world.
Participants in the packed room were stunned as Vance departed from the usual security topics to launch a series of stinging criticisms against America’s European partners.
He started by saying: “While the Trump administration is very concerned with European security and it believes we can come to a reasonable settlement between Russia and Ukraine and we also believe that it is important in the coming years for Europe to step up in a big way to provide for its own defense.”
But he went on to detail what he saw as a lowering of democratic values in Europe.
What he was most worried about in Europe, he said, was “not about Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor. What I’m worried about is the threat from within.
“The retreat in Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values it shares with the United States of America.”
Perhaps surprisingly, considering Donald Trump’s continuing claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged, Vance began by calling out Europe for allowing the 2024 Romanian election to be canceled, citing Russian interference.
“We see European courts canceling elections, and senior officials threatening to cancel others, we also ask if we are holding ourselves to an appropriately high standard. I say ourselves because I fundamentally believe we are all on the same team.
“We must do more than talk about democratic values, we must live them.”
He said to consider the Soviets in the Cold War who “censored dissidents, that closed churches, that canceled elections. Were they the good guys? Certainly not. And thank God they lost the Cold War.”
He said that when he looked at Europe today “it’s sometimes not so clear what happened to the Cold War’s winners.”
Vance attacked Brussels for talks about shutting down social media during times of civil unrest and singled out a case in the UK when a man was arrested for praying near an abortion clinic in defiance of the law.
He also criticized German raids on citizens suspected of posting anti-feminist messages online and a man arrested in Sweden for Koran burnings.
Vance used the UK’s Brexit vote as an example of a situation where a government should listen to the mandate of its citizens.
“Free speech in Europe is, I fear, in retreat,” he said before blasting the Biden administration for dismissing the lab leak theory during the pandemic.
“In Washington, there’s a new sheriff in town, and under Donald Trump’s leadership we may disagree with your views but we will fight for your right in the public square to agree or disagree,” he added.
He claimed that “old entrenched interests” were increasingly playing a role in Europe.
“The good news,” he added, “is that I believe your democracies are substantially less brittle than many people apparently fear.”
