The greatest threat to Europe is not Russia, but the threat that comes from within, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said on Friday at the Munich Security Conference. In an unusually direct address to some of the United States\u2019 closest allies, Vance criticized European leaders for censoring free speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
J.D. Vance stated that the threat to Europe that concerns him most is not Russia or China, but that \u201cEurope is abandoning its core values, those it shares with the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was surprised when a former European commissioner enthusiastically spoke on television about how the Romanian government annulled entire elections. He warned that if things don\u2019t go as planned, the same could happen in Germany,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. Vice President described this as \u201cshocking to American ears,\u201d as everything the U.S. has \u201cfunded and supported for years was done in the name of shared democratic values.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen we see European courts canceling elections and high officials threatening to annul others, we must ask ourselves whether we are upholding that high standard,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRemember who censored dissenters, closed churches, annulled elections during the Cold War.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vance criticized Brussels for shutting down social media platforms over what they deemed hate speech, Germany for allegedly targeting its own citizens over anti-feminist comments, Sweden for convicting \u201ca Christian activist involved in burning the Quran whose friend was killed,\u201d and the United Kingdom for violating religious rights, citing the example of a Briton who was silently praying outside an abortion clinic and received a suspended sentence and fine. He added that in Scotland, people living near abortion clinics are banned from praying even in their own homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He reminded European leaders of the \u201ctyrants from the Cold War era.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cConsider which side in that fight censored dissenters, closed churches, and annulled elections. Were they the good guys? Certainly not. But thank God they lost the Cold War, because they neither valued nor respected the blessings of freedom. Freedom to surprise, to make mistakes, to invent, to build. As it turns out, you cannot mandate innovation or creativity any more than you can force people to think or do what you want,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Loudest Advocates of Censorship Came from the U.S.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking on what he called weakened freedom of speech in Britain and Europe, Vance noted that the loudest advocates of censorship came from his own country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe previous administration threatened and bullied social media companies into censoring so-called disinformation. Disinformation like, for example, the idea that the coronavirus likely leaked from a lab in China; our government encouraged private companies to silence those who dared to state what turned out to be obvious truth,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He announced that he came to Europe with an offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s a \u2018new sheriff in town\u2019 in Washington. And under Donald Trump\u2019s leadership, we may not agree with your views, but we will fight to defend your right to express them publicly,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We Must Talk to Political Leaders Even If We Disagree With Them<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Vance argued that \u201cour democracies are far less fragile than people think\u201d and will be even stronger \u201cif we allow people to say what they think.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhich brings us back to Munich, where the organizers of this conference banned parliamentarians representing populist parties from both the left and the right from participating in discussions. We don\u2019t have to agree with everything or anything these people say. But when political leaders represent an important electorate, it is on us to at least engage in dialogue with them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vance criticized the use of \u201cugly words from the Soviet era, like disinformation,\u201d as a cover for simply not liking how someone else thinks, votes, or wins elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n