US Vice President in Munich: Key takeaways from his speech

J.D. Vance stated that the Donald Trump administration is concerned about European security.

"Trump administration believes that we can come to a reasonable settlement between Russia and Ukraine. The threat that I worry about the most is not Russia, is not China, is not any other external factor. What I worry about is the threat from within," he said, before claiming that Europe supposedly does not share common democratic values with the US.

Threat of election annulment 'shocks the American ear'

Vance criticized former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, who recently "sounded delighted that the Romanian government had just annulled an entire election" and suggested that the same could happen in Germany.

"These сavalier statements are shocking to American ears," he emphasized.

According to him, for many years, it was said that everything the West funds and supports is done in the name of democratic values — from policies on Ukraine to digital censorship.

"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," the US vice president noted.

Free speech opponents lost the Cold War

Vance also criticized what he sees as restrictions on free speech in Europe. According to him, during the Cold War, defenders of democracy stood against much more tyrannical forces in Europe. Those who imposed censorship shut down churches, and annulled elections were certainly not the good guys.

"Thank God they lost the Cold War. They lost because they neither valued nor respected all of the extraordinary blessings of liberty, the freedom to surprise, to make mistakes, invent, to build. As it turns out you can't mandate innovation or creativity just as you can't force people what to think, what to feel, or what to believe. And we believe those things are certainly connected. Unfortunately, when I look at Europe today it's sometimes not so clear what happened to some of the Cold War winners," Vance added.

He sharply criticized EU content moderation rules, German police for raiding citizens suspected of posting anti-feminist comments online as part of the fight against misogyny on the internet, and Sweden’s plans to prosecute an activist who burned the Quran.

He also mentioned the United Kingdom, elaborating on a case where a person was accused of violating buffer zones around abortion clinics and referencing Scottish government leaflets on the same topic.

Democracy is weak if it can be destroyed by digital ads

Vance returned to the issue of annulled elections in Romania, stating that they were overturned "based on the flimsy suspicions of an intelligence agency and enormous pressure from its continental neighbors." He also criticized the notion that democracy can be destroyed with a few hundred thousand dollars and digital advertising from another country.

"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," Vance remarked.

In his view, the organizers of the Munich Conference should have allowed populist politicians to participate — figures with whom "we don't have to agree with everything or anything that people say but it is incumbent upon us to at least participate in dialogue with them."

Europe fears its own voters

J.D. Vance believes that European countries are afraid of their own voters.

"If you're running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you nor for that matter is there anything that you can do for the American people who elected me and elected President Trump," he said.

He also referenced Brexit and other elections where people vote for political leaders who promise to end uncontrolled migration. According to him, shutting out certain voices does not protect anything and is the surest way to destroy democracy.

"If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg's scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk," Vance quipped.

Final message to Europe: Do not fear what the people say

The US vice president urged European leaders to accept what their people are saying, even if they disagree with it.

"To me, the great magic of democracy. It's not in these stone buildings or beautiful hotels, it's not even in the great institutions that we built together," he said.

Toward the end of his speech, he quoted Pope John Paul II’s words from his 1978 address:

"Do not be afraid. We shouldn't be afraid of our people even when they express views that disagree with their leadership," he added.

Follow RBC-Ukraine for live updates on key events from the Munich Security Conference.

Earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking at the Munich forum, commented on negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, stating that Vladimir Putin must demonstrate that he no longer seeks to destroy Ukraine.

She also emphasized that the European Union will have a seat at the negotiating table.