U.S. Vice President JD Vance lambasted America’s European allies on Friday over their attitudes toward free speech, democracy, and mass migration.
During a speech at the Munich Security Conference, Vance told the assembled dignitaries that though the Trump administration was concerned about European security, the threat to Europe he worries most about “is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor.”
“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,” Vance said.
“In Britain and across Europe, free speech, I fear, is in retreat,” he said before adding “in the interests of comedy and truth” that some of the loudest voices calling for censorship had originated in the United States.
“Just as the Biden administration seemed desperate to silence people for speaking their minds, so the Trump administration will do precisely the opposite, and I hope that we can work together on that.
“In Washington, there is a new sheriff in town, and under Donald Trump’s leadership, we may disagree with your views, but we will fight to defend your right to offer it in the public square.”
After excoriating Europe for its lack of commitment to free speech and democracy, the vice president moved on to discuss what he called the most urgent issue facing the continent, mass migration, saying that “no voter on this continent went to the ballot box to open the floodgates to millions of unvetted immigrants.”
“Almost one in five people living in this country [Germany] moved here from abroad. That is, of course, an all-time high. It’s a similar number, by the way, in the United States, also an all-time high,” he said.
“The number of immigrants who entered the European Union from non-EU countries doubled between 2021 and 2022 alone. And of course, it’s gotten much higher since.”
Vance went on to cite yesterday’s car attack in the city where he was making his address, Munich, which saw 36 people, including a young child, injured, as an example of the consequences of mass migration, calling it a “terrible story we have heard way too many times.”
“An asylum seeker, often a young man in his mid-20s, already known to police, rams a car into a crowd and shatters a community,” he said.
“How many times must we suffer these appalling setbacks before we change course and take our shared civilization in a new direction?”
Vance warned European leaders that dismissing the concerns of the electorate, banning certain forms of media, closing off some people and parties from elections, or shutting them down altogether was the “most surefire way to destroy democracy.”
“Democracy rests on the sacred principle that the voice of the people matters,” he said. “There’s no room for firewalls. You either uphold the principle or you don’t.”
The staunch Catholic closed by quoting Pope John Paul II, saying, “Do not be afraid, we shouldn’t be afraid of our people, even when they express views that disagree with their leadership.”
