'I call it the force of super-geniuses'

'The Vice President didn’t make any threats'

Vice President JD Vance called out European leaders in a speech Friday at the Munich Security Conference, arguing that Europeans must commit to free speech and fair elections if they are to have societies worth fighting for. “The crisis this Continent is facing, the one I believe we all face together, is one of our own making,” Vance said at the three-day conference in Germany. “If you’re running in fear of your own voters, there’s nothing America can do for you.” Vance used the security conference speech not to talk about external threats, but to express the Trump administration’s strong disapproval of what it sees as an assault on democratic values throughout Europe. Speaking just minutes after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke proudly of her plans to expand the European Union’s economic ties with Ukraine, Vance came with a stern message. “While the Trump administration is very concerned with European security … the threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe—it’s not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor. And what I worry about is the threat from within,” Vance said. “The retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States.” The vice president proceeded to harshly criticize the European elite for their aloof reaction to Romania canceling its presidential election just days before the scheduled vote—a cancellation supposedly motivated by fears of Russian social media influence. OMG.VP JD VANCE: If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg's scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk. pic.twitter.com/qLvQsYLttY— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 14, 2025 “I was struck that a former European commissioner [Thierry Breton] went on television recently and sounded delighted that the Romanian government had just annulled an entire election. He warned that if things don’t go to plan, the very same thing could happen in Germany, too,” Vance said, adding: “These cavalier statements are shocking to American ears. For years, we’ve been told that everything we fund and support is in the name of our shared democratic values.” Vance proceeded to draw a parallel between Western European leaders and the Eastern Bloc of old. “The Cold War positioned defenders of democracy against much more tyrannical forces on this Continent. And consider the side in that fight that censored dissidents, that closed churches, that canceled elections,” Vance said. 'In Britain and across Europe free speech, I fear, is in retreat' US Vice President JD Vance spoke at the Munich security conference and took a swipe at Brussels, Germany, Sweden and the UK.https://t.co/Ci0hPtWFvG? Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/X1aVj7aSSX— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 14, 2025 “Were they the good guys? Certainly not. And thank God they lost the Cold War. They lost because they neither valued, nor respected all the extraordinary blessings of liberty.” Vance went through a laundry list of Western European infringements on free speech, including German police raids against citizens accused of “posting anti-feminist comments,” as well as the prosecution of a British man who prayed next to an abortion clinic. “To many of us on the other side of the Atlantic, it looks more and more like old, entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet-era words like ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation,’ who simply don’t like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion,” he said. The vice president urged European leaders to respect the legitimacy of political parties that seek to curb mass immigration, citing the car-ramming attack in Munich on Thursday by an Afghan asylum-seeker that left at least 36 people injured. “I believe there is nothing more urgent than mass migration. Today, almost one in five people living in this country moved here from abroad. That is, of course, an all-time high … it’s the result of a series of conscious decisions made by politicians,” said Vance.  Vice President JD Vance urged European leaders Friday to recognize all voices in politics in his speech, alleging that Europe was retreating from democratic values. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images) “We saw the horrors wrought by these decisions yesterday in this very city … . Why did this happen in the first place?” Vance asked. “An asylum-seeker, often a young man in his mid-20s, already known to police, rams a car into a crowd and shatters a community. How many times must we suffer these appalling setbacks before we change course and take our shared civilization in a new direction?” Vance urged leaders not to dismiss the concerns of Europeans who now seek to curb mass migration. “More and more, all over Europe, they’re voting for political leaders who promise to put an end to out-of-control migration. 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,” he said. He closed with a harsh reprimand of European leaders. “It is the business of democracy to adjudicate these big questions at the ballot box. I believe the 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,” Vance said. The post In Munich Speech, Vance Excoriates European Leaders on Censorship, Mass Migration Policies appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. At the Munich Security Conference on Friday, US Vice President JD Vance delivered a forceful rebuke of Europe’s handling of free speech and democracy, accusing several governments of undermining fundamental rights. His remarks, which took direct aim at some of America’s closest allies, painted a troubling picture of increasing restrictions on individual liberties across the continent. Vance was particularly critical of the United Kingdom, arguing that its policies have placed religious freedoms at risk. “And perhaps most concerningly, I look to our very dear friends, the United Kingdom, where the backslide away from conscience rights has placed the basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular, in the crosshairs,” he said. He suggested that political and legal developments in Britain were eroding core democratic values. https://video.reclaimthenet.org/articles/vance-munich-92.mp4 The Vice President also expressed deep skepticism over Western security priorities, downplaying concerns about Russian political interference — a topic that has long dominated discussions among European and American officials. Echoing a stance frequently taken by President Donald Trump, Vance challenged the prevailing narrative around foreign meddling, instead turning the focus inward. “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,” he stated. “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.” Despite the ongoing war in Ukraine being a major topic at the conference, Vance largely avoided the issue. His attention remained on what he described as internal threats to democracy within Europe. He criticized Brussels for suppressing social media platforms under the pretense of fighting hate speech, accused Germany of using state power to silence dissenting opinions, and condemned Sweden for prosecuting a Christian activist. “Across Europe, free speech, I fear, is in retreat,” he warned. His critique was not limited to Europe. Vance also took aim at the previous US administration, arguing that President Joe Biden’s policies contributed to censorship on social media. “I will admit that sometimes the loudest voices for censorship have come not from within Europe, but from within my own country, where the prior administration threatened and bullied social media companies to censor so-called misinformation. Misinformation, like, for example, the idea that coronavirus had likely leaked from a laboratory in China.” He framed the upcoming Trump administration as a direct contrast to what he described as government-enforced digital suppression. “So I come here today, not just with an observation, but with an offer. And just as the Biden administration seemed desperate to silence people for speaking their minds, so the Trump administration will do precisely the opposite.” “There is a new sheriff in town, and under Donald Trump’s leadership. We may disagree with your views, but we will fight to defend your right to offer it in the public square.” Vance also took aim at a recent election controversy in Eastern Europe. “Now, we’re at the point, of course, that the situation has gotten so bad that this December, Romania straight up canceled the results of a presidential election based on the flimsy suspicions of an intelligence agency and enormous pressure from its continental neighbors.” He questioned the justification for this decision, stating, “Now, as I understand it, the argument was that Russian disinformation had infected the Romanian elections.” He further challenged the notion that minor interference from foreign actors should be seen as an existential threat to European democracies. “You can believe it’s wrong for Russia to buy social media advertisements to influence your elections. We certainly do. You can condemn it on the world stage, even. But if your democracy can be destroyed with a few hundred thousand dollars of digital advertising from a foreign country, then it wasn’t very strong to begin with.” Still, Vance struck a note of optimism, expressing confidence in the resilience of European institutions — provided they resist the growing impulse toward censorship. “Now, the good news is that I happen to think your democracies are substantially less brittle than many people apparently fear. And I really do believe that allowing our citizens to speak their mind will make them stronger still.” If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post JD Vance Criticizes European Censorship Policies at Munich Security Conference, Warns of Democratic Backsliding appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

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