Vice President JD Vance spoke at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, warning that Europe’s biggest threat isn’t Russia or China, but its own crackdown on free speech and democratic values.
In his first major international speech, Vance warned that Europe’s crackdown on speech poses a greater risk to the West than foreign adversaries.
“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,” Vance told the gathered officials. “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’s remarks drew mixed reactions—some applauded his call for democratic renewal, while others pushed back against his criticism of European speech laws. Vance specifically condemned European laws that restrict political dissent and religious expression, pointing to incidents such as the banning of some populist lawmakers from speaking at the conference.
He also dismissed concerns from European officials about American billionaire Elon Musk engaging in their continent’s political discussions. “If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg scolding, you can survive a few months of Elon Musk,” Vance quipped, aiming the 22-year-old Swedish climate activist.
A Crackdown on Free Speech?
Vance’s warning was not merely rhetorical—he backed up his concerns with examples of what he called Europe’s dangerous drift toward censorship. He pointed to the case of Adam Smith-Connor, a British anti-abortion activist fined £9,000 for silently praying outside an abortion clinic. He also highlighted a directive from the Scottish government warning citizens not to engage in even private prayer inside their own homes near similar clinics.
“The government urged readers to report any fellow citizens suspected guilty of thoughtcrime in Britain and across Europe,” Vance said. “Free speech, I fear, is in retreat.”
European Union officials have also pushed for social media crackdowns, particularly during times of civil unrest. According to Vance, these policies amount to political suppression under the guise of combating “hate speech.” He warned that Europe’s censorship mirrors the losing side of the Cold War.
“EU Commission commissars warned citizens that they intend to shut down social media during times of civil unrest: the moment they spot what they’ve judged to be ‘hateful content,’” Vance said. “Were they the good guys? Certainly not. And thank God they lost the Cold War… Unfortunately, when I look at Europe today, it’s sometimes not so clear what happened to some of the Cold War’s winners.”
The Migration Crisis
Beyond free speech, Vance also sounded the alarm on Europe’s migration policies, tying them directly to recent violent incidents. Just one day before his speech, an Afghan migrant drove a vehicle through a crowd in Munich, injuring 30 people. Vance blamed Europe’s migration policies for enabling such attacks.
“Almost one in five people living in this country moved here from abroad. That is, of course, an all-time high,” Vance noted, drawing a parallel to similar demographic shifts in the United States. “And we know the situation. It didn’t materialize in a vacuum. It’s a result of a series of conscious decisions made by politicians all over the continent and others across the world over the span of a decade.”
The vice president credited the Brexit movement as a rare example of European democracy still functioning properly. “Agree or disagree, they voted for it,” he said. “And more and more, all over Europe, they’re voting for political leaders who promise an end to out-of-control migration.”
A New Sheriff in Town
Vance did not shy away from acknowledging that the U.S. under the Biden administration had its own issues with free speech suppression, particularly when it came to silencing dissent during the COVID-19 pandemic. But he assured European leaders that those days were over.
“In Washington, there’s a new sheriff in town,” he said, echoing a phrase that has become a rallying cry for the Trump administration’s return to power. “Just as the Biden administration seemed desperate to silence people for speaking their minds, the Trump administration will do precisely the opposite, and I hope that we can work together on that.”
The speech was met with predictable pushback from European politicians, including German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who pushed back on Vance’s argument. “Free speech does not mean that anyone can say anything,” Pistorius said—a statement that, to many in the room, only proved Vance’s point.
Vance’s message was clear: suppressing speech endangers democracy.