The Munich Conference is a place where people come together to act. Yes expressed himself about one of the most important security measures, the famous historian Timothy Snyder last year. In February 2024, he accused then Senator J.D. Vance of inaction, who instead of communicating with the Ukrainian delegation “secluded himself in his room and looked for the words “women” and “dolphins” on the Internet.” Last year, Vance received a lot of criticism for being weak and unmotivated. This year he faced a wave of outrage from German politicians and journalists for a controversial speech that offended Europeans.
While Trump is planning a meeting with Putin to possibly end the war in Ukraine, his Vice President Vance is detonating a real diplomatic bombshell at the Munich Security Conference. This is how the German publication assessed the American’s speech Frankfurter Rundschau. “With the help of cowboy expressions, the Vice President of the USA J.D. Vance criticized European politicians and compared them to the Soviet Union“, – the German publication emotionally responded to Vance’s diplomatic prank “The mirrors”.
What did JD Vance say?
In very general terms, Vance declared that Europe in its current political format does not share the values inherent in the United States. There is no common denominator for understanding. Therefore, the USA is concerned not so much with an external threat (Russia or China), but with an internal one – the curtailment of democratic freedoms in Europe. What was criticized by J.D. Vance – let’s note briefly:
- the decision of the European courts to cancel the elections. At the same time, he cited the example of Romania, where the elections were annulled due to suspicions of Russian interference.
- restriction of freedom of speech. He illustrated this thesis with references to governments’ decisions to introduce censorship in social networks and criminal prosecution for speech. He cited as an example the case in Sweden, where a sentence was passed for burning the Koran, and he also mentioned arrests for anti-feminist comments in Germany.
- restrictions on religious freedoms. He gave the story of a British man who was fined for praying silently outside an abortion clinic, and details of prosecutions for the crime of praying in his own home in Scotland.
Note that these examples were given manipulatively and distortedly. In particular, the Scottish government has already denied Vance’s words about the presence of restrictions on prayer at home and explained the meaning of the law mentioned by Vance – it should protect women in such institutions from harassment.
Got it from J.D. Vance and “America before Trump”. The vice president accused the Biden administration of pressuring social media to censor information, particularly information related to the origins of COVID-19. He assured that under Trump the USA will fight for freedom of speech all over the world.
The peak level of migration and the undistributed “burden of NATO”
Harsh remarks were also made against the Europeans as allies, who, in Vance’s opinion, shirk proper responsibility for their own security. Vance addressed European politicians with irony, noting that they ignore the issue of fair distribution of the financial burden in NATO. He emphasized that Europe should invest more actively in its own defense, as the US focuses its attention on other regions. By asking a rhetorical question: “What exactly do you want to protect?“, he hinted at the lack of a clear democratic position among European governments.
Vice President Trump did not avoid the topic of migration, saying that Europe and the United States are currently experiencing an unprecedented influx of immigrants, which, in his opinion, has led to an increase in crime and terrorism. He also blamed the German government for the recent terrorist attack in Munich, stressing that citizens are against open borders but their views are being ignored.
At the same time, Vance manipulatively used statistics, comparing the level of immigration in 2021 and 2022, but kept silent about the main factor of the sharp increase – the massive influx of Ukrainian refugees due to a full-scale war.
Vance also accused European authorities of manipulating the concept of “disinformation” to suppress uncomfortable opinions. He stated that the exclusion of opposition politicians from discussions (as at the Munich conference) shows the fear of dissent.
In conclusion, he stated that security is impossible without respect for one’s own constituents. He called on European governments not to be afraid of alternative views, even if they contradict the official line, and stressed that a successful democracy can only exist through open dialogue.
Boris Pistorius called Vance’s speech “unacceptable”
The American’s speech did not go without a sharp response. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is tough criticized Vance’s speech, emphasizing that it is precisely the democratic values that he questioned that allow him to openly make such statements. “We are also fighting for you to be able to speak freely against us today. This is how our democracy sees itself,” Pistorius said.
“This is how our democracy sees itself“, Pistorius said. He also criticized Vance’s other statements. “In our democracy, every opinion has a voice. Our democracy allows extremist parties like the AfD to run their election campaigns perfectly fine. No one pursues them. And unlike other countries, in Germany the mass media that spread Russian propaganda also have the right to participate in all press conferences”.
This was an allusion to the repeated denial of access to journalists from the Associated Press news agency to events in the White House. The reason was that the agency does not adhere to the new designation “American Gulf” for the “Gulf of Mexico” proposed by Trump.
“We are confident enough both as Europeans and as Germans to say: we don’t want to listen to this anymore“, – he added. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is unacceptable“.
After that, the whole hall burst into loud applause.
It is clear that this was a test foray into Europe by Trump, but it did not pass.
“Intellectual low flight” by J.D. Vance
After Vance’s speech, VDP MEP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann said that transatlantic relations could be in jeopardy. She noted that the liberal world is in grave danger. According to her, Vance’s speech was “intellectually low” and had no place at an international security conference. She indicated that Vance’s main message was that “fake news and lies should be treated as alternative opinions” and that US support would be cut off if Europe did not embrace these “values”.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock is outraged spoke out against the statement of the vice president of the USA J.D. Vance, according to which the exclusion of parties such as the AfD could threaten democracy. She noted: “If radical right-wing or Islamist groups call for a fight against our democracy, Europe is strong enough to fight them from within.” Burbok explained that she had to disagree with Vance, drawing attention to Russian President Vladimir Putin: “Our greatest enemy now is Putin’s Russia, because he has declared war on our European peace and democracy“. She added: “This is the moment of truth: everyone in the world must decide whether they are on the side of the free world or on the side of those who fight against it“.
“Alternative” thoughts from Vance as a manifestation of post-truth
Speech by J.D. Vance at the Munich conference became another manifestation of political rhetoric, in which the concepts of truth and facts are replaced by subjective interpretations. His statements about democracy, freedom of speech and the role of Europe in world security contained numerous manipulations and distortions of reality, which were noted by both European politicians and media analysts.
The term “alternative facts”, first used during Trump’s previous term by his press secretary Sean Spicer, has become a symbol of the political practice where facts are replaced by narratives favorable to the authorities. Vance, by offering “alternative opinions”, tries to draw the same line – to justify falsification, manipulation and even outright misinformation under the guise of the right to free speech. However, Vance’s political opponents gave him a clear answer: the right to an opinion does not mean the right to impose an alternative reality.
