Vance scolds Europe

Yesterday, Vice-President J. D. Vance attended the Munich Security Conference, opened negotiations with Ukraine that hopefully will lead to peace, and finally held meetings with Germany’s political parties. That meant all of Germany’s political parties, including Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany, AfD). Those three acts, taken together, created a scandal in Germany and throughout Western Europe. But they also indicate that Vance, like his boss Donald Trump, have no patience with the “liberal rules-based world order.” Nor does Vance care about what conventional, legacy, or unabashedly left-wing media think of him or America.

What Vance said at the Munich Conference

Vice-President Vance’ remarks at the Munich Conference set the tone for his two subsequent acts. The best summaries of his speech come from The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Wire. TGP provided this partial transcript, and added the emphasis depicted below:

More and more all over Europe, they’re voting for political leaders who promise to put an end to out-of-control migration. Now, I happen to agree with a lot of these concerns, but you don’t have to agree with me. I just think that people care about their homes, they care about their dreams, they care about their safety and their capacity to provide for themselves and their children, and they’re smart.

I think this is one of the most important things I’ve learned in my brief time in politics, contrary to what you You might hear a couple of mountains over in Davos, the citizens of all of our nations don’t generally think of themselves as educated animals or as interchangeable cogs of a global economy. It’s hardly surprising that they don’t want to be shuffled about or relentlessly ignored by their leaders. It is the business of democracy to adjudicate these big questions at the ballot box.

I believe that dismissing people, dismissing their concerns, or worse yet, shutting down media, shutting down elections, or shutting people out of the political process protects nothing. In fact, it is the most surefire way to destroy democracy. Speaking up and expressing opinions isn’t election interference.

Even when people express views outside your own country, and even when those people are very influential.

Trust me, I say this with all humor, if American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg’s scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk. But what no democracy, American, German, or European, will survive is telling millions of voters that their thoughts and concerns, their aspirations, their pleas for relief, are invalid or unworthy of even being considered. Democracy rests on the sacred principle that the voice of the people matters. There’s no room for firewalls. You either uphold the principle or you don’t.

Vance referred here to Elon Musk’s recent travels to Europe and advocacy, and financing, of Reform UK and AfD. But this wasn’t his entire speech by any means. The Daily Wire additionally quoted him:

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, and 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.

For years, we’ve been told that everything we fund and support is in the name of our shared democratic values, everything from our Ukraine policy to digital censorship is billed as a defense of democracy. But when we see European courts canceling elections and senior officials threatening to cancel others, we ought to ask whether we’re holding ourselves to an appropriately high standard — and I say ourselves, because I fundamentally believe that we’re on the same team, we must do more than talk about democratic values.

Vance described the arrest of Adam Smith Connor for praying outside an abortion clinic in the UK, and new Scottish laws that seem to criminalize prayer even in the privacy of one’s own home within designated “safe abortion access zones.” Such zones extend outward from abortion facilities to a radius of two hundred meters (218.72 yards).

The Daily Wire captured his speech in this stream. (Start about 27 minutes in, and watch for 18 minutes.)

Watch as Vice President J.D. Vance addresses the Munich Security Conference. In his second major speech in Europe this week, Vance is expected to outline America's priorities toward Europe, with a focus on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Live at 8:15AM ET. https://t.co/Rnorkf2pkc— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) February 14, 2025

The day before, when he gave an interview to The Wall Street Journal about negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine War, the Journaldeliberately misconstrued some of his remarks. The Daily Wire captured what he actually said:

A: I think certainly, look, there are instruments of pressure, absolutely and again, if you look at President Trump’s approach to this, the range of options is extremely broad, and there are economic tools of leverage. There [are], of course, military tools of leverage. There’s a whole host of things that we can do. But fundamentally, I think the president wants to have a productive negotiation, both with Putin and with Zelensky.

Q: So just want to make sure I understand you correctly. You’re saying that even though the possibility of a Ukraine NATO accession at the end of this process, or even the presence of U.S. troops in Ukraine is not officially off the table?

A: I think the President has been very clear that he doesn’t like the idea of moving Ukraine in[to] NATO. He’s been very clear about that. I also think the president is very clear that whenever he walks [into] a negotiation, everything is on the table.

The Journal posted:

Exclusive: Vance pledged to hit Russia with sanctions and potentially military action if Putin won’t agree to a peace deal that guarantees Ukraine’s independence.

Exclusive: Vance pledged to hit Russia with sanctions and potentially military action if Putin won’t agree to a peace deal that guarantees Ukraine's independence https://t.co/ro5RonHzvb— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) February 14, 2025

William Martin, Vance’ communications director, pushed back – hard.

This is pure fake news. Compare the transcript of Vance’s conversation with WSJ to the headline being run here. The Vice President didn’t make any threats. He simply stated the fact that no one is going to take options away from President Trump as these negotiations begin.

This is pure fake news. Compare the transcript of @JDVance's conversation with WSJ to the headline being run here.

The Vice President didn’t make any threats. He simply stated the fact that no one is going to take options away from President Trump as these negotiations begin. https://t.co/OSOo7ECBqr pic.twitter.com/MiAynLJZsi— William Martin (@wsmartin218) February 14, 2025

The original Journal post received a Community Note linking to Martin’s post, but that Note does not appear today.Republican strategist Andrew Surabian also rejoined:

Holy crap. Read the headline Wall Street Journal printed next to the actual transcript of the interview with Vance. This is one of the most intentionally dishonest things I’ve seen in a long time. When Did The Wall Street Journal turn into the Huffington Post?

Holy crap. Read the headline Wall Street Journal printed next to the actual transcript of the interview with @JDVance. This is one of the most intentionally dishonest things I've seen in a long time. When Did @WSJ turn into the Huffington Post? pic.twitter.com/9J8TuzwFmv— Andrew Surabian (@Surabees) February 14, 2025

A very good question. Here is how Vance answered it:

President Trump is the ultimate deal maker and will bring peace to the region by ending the war in Ukraine. As we’ve always said, American troops should never be put into harm’s way where it doesn’t advance American interests and security. This war is between Russia and Ukraine.

The fact that the WSJ twisted my words in the way they did for this story is absurd, but not surprising considering they have spent years pushing for more American sons and daughters in uniform to be unnecessarily deployed overseas.

The fact that the WSJ twisted my words in the way they did for this story is absurd, but not surprising considering they have spent years pushing for more American sons and daughters in uniform to be unnecessarily deployed overseas.— JD Vance (@JDVance) February 14, 2025

Meeting with a populist party

But Vance’ meeting with leaders of all political parties, including AfD, dropped the loudest thunderclap. Reuters reported confirmation of the meeting from an AfD spokesman. They also clarified what Vance’ term firewall meant. It refers to a policy, called Der Brandmauer, according to which no other party will work with AfD. Alice Weidel, AfD leader, said this:

US Vice President J. D. Vance calls for an end to the firewall! The Trump administration has also recognized that a migration turnaround can only be achieved with the AfD. Merz must now show whether he really wants an end to the deadly migration crisis. Therefore AfD!

US-Vizepräsident @JDVance fordert ein Ende der Brandmauer! Auch die Trump-Regierung hat erkannt, dass es eine Migrationswende nur mit der AfD gibt. Merz muss jetzt zeigen, ob er wirklich ein Ende der tödlichen Migrationskrise will. Deshalb AfD! pic.twitter.com/x0Ikin8aky— Alice Weidel (@Alice_Weidel) February 14, 2025

German elected officials were apoplectic, after both Vance’ remarks and his meeting with AfD. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said:

This democracy was just called into question by the U.S. Vice President, not just the German democracy but that of Europe as a whole. If I understand him correctly, he compares the condition of Europe with what prevails in some authoritarian regimes … this is not acceptable.

This search result reveals many articles with frankly unhinged content. (“Insane!” screams one, about Vance’s speech.) They make unfounded reference to ties with the old National Socialist German Workers’ Party. Some of the more sober articles do admit that AfD is gaining popular support. They also mention that Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary, is friendly toward AfD.

Summary

J. D. Vance has vindicated President Trump’s judgment in selecting him as a running mate. He did indeed scold Western Europe, and of course the elites there resent that.

Vance also spoke the truth. Conditions in Europe and especially the United Kingdom do strongly resemble the atmosphere in an authoritarian regime. Of note is that Vance did not hesitate to denounce “officials in my own country” for similar behavior. By which, of course, he meant the Biden administration, which he accused of co-opting “private companies” into becoming State actors.

The overreaction to his visit will likely only help the AfD get that many more seats in the Bundestag. Notice also that he referred directly to Der Brandmauer – The Firewall – as a wrongheaded policy. Vance is correct again. A constitutional republic, with representative assemblies and democratic elections to choose them, cannot afford firewalls. Those who propose them, have indeed decided that the voice of the people does not matter.

America is already finalizing a (thus far) bloodless revolution against that kind of attitude. Maybe Europe needs a similar revolution.