European elites ‘horrified’ at how JD Vance spoke to them

Vice President JD Vance spoke at the Munich Security Conference. The European leaders who were there expected Vance’s speech to focus on security, including the war in Ukraine. However, Vance called the European leaders out for attacks against free speech. He compared their use of “misinformation” and “disinformation” to Soviet propaganda efforts. Many European leaders were “horrified”.

From Financial Times:

European officials in Munich were horrified at what they saw as Vance’s unfair and untrue claims, and his linking of US support to the allegations.

“It was mad, totally mad,” said one senior European diplomat. “And very dangerous.”

Some officials compared the speech with Vladimir Putin’s address at the same event in 2007, where the Russian president warned that Nato expansion risked conflict with Moscow.

“He lectured us, he humiliated us,” said a senior EU diplomat. “The mood in the room was exactly like the Putin 2007 speech?.?.?.?it was outrageous.”

Vance also took aim at policies permitting mass migration in Europe, directly connecting the bloc’s immigration policies to an attack in Munich that injured 36 people on Thursday. “We saw the horrors wrought by these decisions yesterday in this very city,” he said.

A 24-year-old failed Afghan asylum seeker pleaded guilty to carrying out the attack, authorities said on Friday, as they suggested a likely Islamist motive.

Vance said: “More and more all over Europe, they are voting for people who promise to put to an end uncontrolled migration.”

He added: “Dismissing their concerns … shutting people out of the political process, protects nothing. In fact, it is the most sure-fire way of destroying democracy.”

Additional Reading:

Foy, H., Schwartz, F., Chassany, A., & Pitel, L. (2025, February 14). JD Vance hits out at Europe’s ‘threat from within’. Financial Times. Link.

Category: International Affairs, Veterans in the news