German officials hit back at Vance over censorship lecture: 'Unacceptable'
Germany’s top government officials hit back at Vice President Vance over his Friday speech in Munich where he lambasted European leaders, accusing them of quashing speech they disagreed with and warned that mass migration is one the biggest problems facing the European continent.
“And what I worry about is the threat from within,” Vance said during his first international speech at the Munich Security Conference. “The retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.”
Vance’s remarks were not well received by Germany’s top officials who hammered the vice president over his free-speech critique and embrace of the country’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party.
“If I understood him correctly, he is comparing conditions in parts of Europe with those in authoritarian regimes,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Friday. “That is unacceptable, and it is not the Europe and not the democracy in which I live and am currently campaigning.”
“In our democracy, every opinion has a voice and it makes it possible for parties that are partly extremists such as the AfD, and they can campaign just as any other party,” Pistorius added. “This is democracy.”
In the speech, Vance said that Russia and China are not the biggest threats facing the content and briefly mentioned Ukraine as President Trump's administration works to secure a peace deal that would end the nearly three-year war. The former Senator also defended tech billionaire Elon Musk for expressing increased interest in German politics ahead of the country’s Feb. 23 election.
Vance added that mass migration is Europe's most pressing issue, later referencing the recent incident in Munich when an Afghanistan national ran a car into a crowd, killing at least 28 people.
“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. You don’t have to agree with me, I just think that people care,” Vance said on Friday.
Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz snapped back at Vance the next day, saying the U.S. vice president’s remarks around the AfD, which supports curbing migration, were “not appropriate, especially not among friends and allies. We firmly reject that.”
Vance met with AfD’s leader Alice Weidel on Friday in Germany. Musk, who penned an op-ed in support of the party, participated virtually at AfD’s rally last month.
"Never again fascism, never again racism, never again aggressive war,” Scholz said during his Saturday address. “That is why an overwhelming majority in our country opposes anyone who glorifies or justifies criminal National Socialism.”
When addressing Vance's criticism of Europe’s speech laws, Scholz said that "today's democracies in Germany and Europe are founded on the historic awareness and realization that democracies can be destroyed by radical anti-democrats.”
The chancellor added that is the reason why “we've created institutions that ensure that our democracies can defend themselves against their enemies, and rules that do not restrict or limit our freedom but protect it."
Trump defended his vice president from the White House, agreeing with the assessment that Vance relayed to European officials at the conference.
“I heard his speech and he talked about freedom of speech. And I think it’s true in Europe, it’s losing. They’re losing their wonderful right of freedom of speech. I see it. I mean, I thought he made a very good speech, actually, a very brilliant speech,” Trump said on Friday.
The commander-in-chief said that Europe needs to be “careful” regarding immigration.
“And Europe has a big immigration problem. Just take a look at what’s happened with crime. Take a look at what’s happening in various parts of Europe,” the president said. “I thought his speech was very well received, actually. I have heard very good remarks.”
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