Vance Attacks European Allies Ahead of Historic German Election

Vice President Vance visits Munich, commanding European leaders to stop attacking free speech.

In early May of 1945, American troops arrived at Dachau—the first concentration camp opened by the Nazi Party in 1933—liberating the prisoners that remained there. As they drew closer to the camp, the men found more than 30 railroad cars filled with decomposing bodies that had been transported to the camp. Almost 80 years later, the Vice President of the United States paid a visit to this same site. His visit included a brief speech accompanied by the laying of a wreath with his wife. Vice President J.D. Vance said that although he had “read a lot about the Holocaust in books,” visiting the camp in person “really [drove] home what unspeakable evil was committed and why we should be committed to it never happening again.” 

However, in the next few days, it starts to become questionable whether the Vice President truly understood the meaning of the German phrase “never again.” The Vice President left Dachau for the Munich Security Conference, a security conference attended annually by many world leaders, where the true purpose of his visit to Europe was suddenly revealed. Many expected him to speak about peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Instead, he used the opportunity to comment on German politics only nine days before a major election in the country where the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD; Alternative for Germany), a far-right party whose political aspirations include remigration, leaving the European Union, and more, received the second-most votes of any political party. The Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV), Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, labeled the party as extremist in March of 2020, and current Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently criticized AfD party members for attending a meeting where a “master plan” was created to deport migrants. 

Vice President Vance added his opinion on the election, commenting that the threat he is most worried about for Europe “is not Russia—it’s not China—it’s not any other external actor.” Instead, the Vice President said that he is most worried about “the threat from within;” that is, Europe’s departure from free speech. He additionally criticized the refusal of several German parties to form a government coalition with AfD, a tactic referred to as a “firewall.” “Europeans, the people, have a voice. You can embrace what your people tell you, even when it’s surprising, even when you don’t agree.” Neither of these statements was met with applause. 

The Vice President’s speech was not void of any merit; he called on Europeans to step up in defending themselves while allowing America to focus on “areas of the world that are in great danger.” However, many European leaders passed this over, favoring instead to respond to the Vice President’s more poignant comments. The weight of his argument was given to deaf ears, and any hopes for Europe defending itself will have to be reiterated in order to bring about the change the administration wants. 

Vance also attempted to include levity in his speech. “And trust me, I say this with all humor. If American democracy can survive ten years of Greta Thunberg’s scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk.” No one laughed. This comment was in reference to Elon Musk’s video call with a crowd of 4,000 AfD supporters earlier this year, where he said that the AfD “really [was] the best hope for Germany,” only a few days after his controversial gesture at the Trump Inauguration that many considered to be a Nazi salute.  

On the second day of the Munich Security Conference, Chancellor Olaf Scholz responded. He mentioned the irony of the Vice President’s visit to Dachau and his mention of the words “never again” being followed by a defense for the AfD. For Scholz and many Germans, “never again” means not allowing any political group reminiscent of the country’s dark past to receive the space to express such ideas. “A commitment to ‘never again’ cannot be reconciled with support for the AfD,” Scholz explained. Chancellor Scholz also disliked what he claimed to be “election interference” by the American. “That's why we will not accept it if outsiders intervene in our democracy, in our elections, and in the democratic formation of opinion and favor of this party.”

When asked if the chancellor found anything worth reflecting on in the speech, he answered, “You mean all this very relevant discussions about Ukraine and security in Europe?”  His sarcastic response highlighted the disconnect between the Vice President’s comments and the main topic of the security conference. The chancellor’s answer reflected the feelings of many fellow European leaders, evidenced by the round of applause and laughter immediately following his remarks. 

Every visit to Europe is a litmus test for gauging what the Trump administration’s relationship with the European Union will look like. The core concern of the Trump administration—or, at least, what it would seem to be in this visit—is to advocate worldwide for the right to free speech and allow any party that is elected, such as the AfD, to play a part in the government unopposed by state control. The question is now if Germany will listen to him. The AfD received the second-most votes of any political party in the German federal elections this past Sunday, but incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the victorious CDU has already promised to not form a coalition with the far-right party, sustaining the “firewall” Vance criticized. It seems as if Chancellor Merz will be sticking to what many of his predecessors before him did: refuse to work with the far-right.