Vance meets German AfD party leader, attacks Europe over free speech

U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Friday took a swipe at European governments for what he described as their censorship of free speech and their political opponents, while largely avoiding the question of how to resolve the Ukraine war. Speaking to European political leaders, military officers and diplomats at the Munich Security Conference, Vance surprised the audience by dismissing the risk of Russian political interference in Europe, taking a similar stance to U.S. President Donald Trump, who has railed against claims by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia had interfered on his behalf in the 2016 election.
Vance adopted a confrontational tone, accusing European politicians of what he said was a fear of their own people and warned them that the real threat against their democracy was not from Russia or China. “The threat I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe 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 its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America,” Vance said. He said Brussels had shut down social media over hateful content, and criticized Germany for what he described as raids against its own citizens for posting anti-feminist comments, Sweden for convicting a Christian activist, and United Kingdom for backsliding on religious rights.Vance specifically targeted the December cancellation of Romania’s elections, which were annulled by the country’s top court after accusations of Russian meddling, dismissing worries of disinformation as “ugly Soviet-era words”.
Vance questioned Washington’s support and funding of what was billed as a defense of democracy and support of Ukraine in the name of shared values. “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,” he said.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance met the leader of a German far-right party during a visit to Munich on Friday, nine days before a German election. Vance met with Alice Weidel, the co-leader and candidate for chancellor of the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party, his office said.
News of the meeting came after top German officials pushed back hard against Vance’s complaints about the state of democracy in Europe, with the defense minister calling it “unacceptable” to draw a parallel with authoritarian governments. He and Chancellor Olaf Scholz defended German mainstream parties’ firewall.