At the conference on Friday, February 14 (Munich, Germany), Vice President J.D. Vance launched what The Guardian’s Patrick Wintour called “a brutal ideological assault” against Europe, attacking the values the United States used to share with Europe but which Vance and the other members of the Trump administration are now working to destroy.
Vance and MAGA Christian nationalists reject the principles of secular democracy and instead align with leaders like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. They claim that the equal rights central to democracy undermine nations by treating women and racial, religious, and gender minorities as equal to white Christian men. They want to see an end to the immigration that they believe weakens a nation's people and for the government to reinforce traditional religious and patriarchal values.
After the rise and fall of German dictator Adolf Hitler, Germany banned Nazi propaganda. It set limits on hate speech, banning attacks on people based on racial, national, religious, or ethnic background, as these forms of speech are central to fascism and similar ideologies. That hampers the ability of Germany’s far-right party Alternative for Germany, or AfD, to recruit before the upcoming elections on February 23.
From Heather Cox Richardson, February 17, 2025
Many generations ago, I spent six weeks with Lars in Norway fishing, competing on the pitch, and picking blueberries. Surprisingly, we've kept in some contact over the years. This past weekend, we reconnected and spent most of the time discussing Vance's speech in Munich, Germany, on Friday.
Here's the conversation:
Lars said, "So, Vance reinforces the stereotype of "The ugly American.""
I asked him what he means.
"Didn't you hear late last week that Vance chastised Europe's leaders at a conference in Munich, suggesting that free speed is in retreat across the continent?"
Oh yeah, I heard about that. I guess I was trying to ignore any crazy things this administration is doing. "What exactly was his point?"
Vance seems unhappy with Germany's attempt to deny the AfD party a seat at the Bundestag table. There's an election on February 23 in Germany, and Vance feels that most Germans and political parties want to marginalize this group.
He continues, "Vance said that no democracy could survive telling millions of voters that their concerns are invalid or unworthy of even being considered." It seems like he's leaving out the part where Nazism has infiltrated the AfD.
"Yes, but this a big deal. With a somber tone, Vance scolded German leaders in Munich for not giving more "freedom of speech" to the AfD. (The AfD has been classified as extremist by German intelligence.) And he does this on German soil." Vance didn't even meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and instead met with the co-leader of the AfD party.
Vance is trying to convince the German public and Europeans overall that the current German government cannot address this issue. He's delusional if he thinks the majority of Germans are gullible like the Americans, electing a felon as Prez and someone with 1.5 years of government experience as VP.
Lars doesn't quite understand how the VP of the United States could say such things at the 61st Munich Security Conference and completely ignore Germany's history.
I don't trust Vance. "He uses the word "freedom" to chastise the German government. Freedom from rules? Freedom from government checks and balances? Freedom to be anti-immigration? He'd never rally behind the Social Democrats or the Christian Democratic Union in Germany; this is purely a power play. It's all transactional!"
I just read what Bill Kristol (conservative writer) said: "It's heartening that today the leaders of the two major parties in Germany are unequivocally anti-Nazi and anti-fascist. It's horrifying that today, the president and vice-president of the United States of America are not."
Lars states, "I don't think he wants to negotiate. Look at Trump and Vance in their first 28 days of office; how many executive orders have they made? How much study and research went into making these executive decisions?"
"I think I know why they're doing this. They're pushing the envelope to see how much power they can grab in the shortest amount of time. Trump hasn't proposed anything to Congress for a few reasons. It will negatively affect him if he does and it's not passed. And with his fragile ego, and his underdeveloped personality, that rejection is too difficult to withstand. Two, he's too lazy to do so. He wants glory and adulation without doing the work. Last week, he attended the Super Bowl, and this week, he's attending the Daytona 500. When will he roll up his sleeves and work for all Americans?"
Lars interjects, "President Musk is engaged at eliminating waste in our government, and 47 just took two unnecessary trips during his early administration. If I looked up "tone deaf" in Webster's, I'd see Trump's picture next to it."
We both wonder how many "Make America Great Again" hats will be displayed in Daytona.
I also think that Vance mentioned something about immigrants destroying the largest economy in Europe. This pertains to an Afghan asylum seeker who killed two and injured dozens in a car attack in Munich. He's taken a playbook from Fox News. Whenever a legal or illegal immigrant commits a crime, Fox News never lets that crime or tragedy go to waste. They use that as an example of the need to cease immigration. In other words, brown people need to go home.
Lars knows so much about the Murdoch media empire and all the tricks it uses to manipulate and confuse people. He's sad that so many Americans are unfamiliar with Murdoch's empire. Unfortunately, Fox has found a loyal and willing audience in the corporate media where the company thinks for the audience. He wonders if the "Fairness Doctrine" will ever be brought back and if it will be better equipped to handle false claims made by cable news companies.
I think that Herr Scholz should come to an American city and lecture Americans on our insane gun laws and blame this on a government of the few (oligarchy) in America. How would the Trump government feel about that? I'm sure many on Fox News would have a coronary if that happened (I'm not sure if they'd even cover it, as they only cover news that is beneficial to white nationalists and the MAGA party).
Would it be acceptable for the leader of France or Germany to come to a conference in Washington and complain about the state of the United States? What if they complained about a lack of free healthcare here? A lack of paid maternity for both parents and an inadequate public transportation network – notwithstanding a higher infant mortality rate. Not to mention lecturing Americans on a questionable safety net."
As I think silently, I'm confused about why he is so hostile to Europe, especially Germany. Vance considers Europe's departure from its fundamental values the most significant threat. What does that even mean? Because Germany has welcomed war refugees and other immigrants over the last 20 years? Would one of Vance's values be to have the AfD align with the US, another partner to control and manipulate? Most importantly, it would be another right-wing country in central Europe, a situation that the majority of Germans oppose.
Lars interrupts, "Vance even dared to tell those government officials in Munich that their most significant security was "from within" rather than China and Russia. He's pouting; he wants his cake and to eat it, too. He is trying to make Germany feel guilty about suppressing free speech and refusing to work with hard-right parties in government. Indeed, there are limits to what free speech represents (defamation, hate speech, contempt of court, etc.). Even a dead man would agree that living in Central Europe, your immediate worry is your neighbor, Russia. If you've read Russian history of over 120 years, be aware of Russia. In other words, sane Germans should tell the VP to "piss off" and don't interfere with our internal affairs."
JD Vance, Mind Your Own Business