JD Vance's Controversial Remarks at Munich Security Conference Ignite Tensions with European Leaders
U.S. VP JD Vance's critique of European democracies at the Munich Security Conference prompts sharp responses from German Chancellor Scholz and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.
Scholz's response appears to not only target Vance's criticism of Europe but also his reported meeting afterwards with Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leader Alice Weidel ahead of this month's elections.
JD Vance rebuked by Germany's Scholz
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Europe needs its own plan for Ukraine and for its own security or its future will be decided by other powers.
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It's hard, though, to imagine that as a positive outcome for a war that has already cost so much in terms of lives and treasure.
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The Trump administration has suggested to Ukraine that the U.S. be granted 50% ownership of the country's rare earth minerals, and signaled an openness to deploying American troops there to guard them if there's a deal with Russia to end the war, according to an NBC News report citing anonymous U.S. officials.
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Vance later met with the leader of the AfD — becoming the highest-ranking U.S. official ever to do so — while snubbing Germany's center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
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Zelenskyy seeks greater military and economic support from the European Union and has repeatedly warned that other parts of Europe could be vulnerable to Russia's expansionist ambitions.
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Zelensky has called for the creation of an "army of Europe" amid rising concern the US may no longer come to the continent's aid.
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The German leader, who faces a tough election at home next week, said Berlin will not accept “any solution” of the protracted conflict that only leads to a “decoupling” of European and US security.
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Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party, as well as Germany’s other mainstream parties, have ruled out working with the AfD, in a stance which has become known as a “firewall.”
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The comments came as European leaders have been trying to make sense of a tough new line from Washington on issues including democracy and Ukraine's future, as the Trump administration continues to upend trans-Atlantic conventions that have been in place since after World War II.
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Meanwhile, the Trump administration has come under scrutiny for the negotiations, fielding criticism that Ukraine is being pressured to give in to concessions after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that it wasn’t realistic for Ukraine to regain its pre-war borders with Russia.
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In recent months, President Donald Trump has expressed interest in striking a deal with Ukraine that would grant the U.S. significant access to its rare earth minerals, which are used to make a variety of technology products.
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Mainstream German parties say they won’t work with the party — in a longstanding stance to shun the extreme right in a country scarred by Nazism.
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Zelensky also stated that they won’t accept the product of any negotiations that they aren’t a part of.
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Vance pushed back against his own government, accusing it of pressuring private companies to silence those who dared to voice what was clearly the truth.
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But the message seems clear.
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Vice President Vance’s speech to the conference has ruffled quite a few feathers in Europe.
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Taken together, the moves confirmed predictions that Trump would take a different approach to Ukraine than former President Joe Biden, who steadfastly supported Kyiv in its war against Russia, and would distance the U.S. from its strong, decades-long ties with NATO, its alliance with dozens of European states.
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The retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.
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AfD is supported by 20% of Germans even though members of mainstream parties have vowed not to work with the party ― a stance AP says is known as "a firewall."
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There seems to be a willingness to engage with NATO on all of us increasing our investment in collective security and to engage with Ukraine in a way that sees value in the fight for freedom in Ukraine.
Widespread concern among U.S. allies in Munich about Ukraine policy, foreign aid
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The move, though not directly related to Russia, is likely to be seen as a key foundation for any lasting peace in the region, as it will anchor U.S. business interests within Ukraine and continue the flow of American-made weapons to Kyiv regardless of whether the United States ever agrees to offer a troop presence there.
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U.S. military strength is the key to achieving lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Zelenskyy, Vance talk peace for Ukraine and Russia
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For all its criticisms of Democrats' and neoconservatives' foreign adventurism, the 'America First' movement turns out to have plenty of crusades it wants to pursue abroad.
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There is also little chance that the interviewer misunderstood Vance's point.
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Vance’s speech, Rozen continued, “was not about Europe doing more to protect European security.
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Europe has been caught in a frenzy of warmongering, essentially.
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Vance’s communications director flat out denied the outlet’s allegation — asserting that the GOP vice president “didn’t make any threats” whatsoever.
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The threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor.
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The track Trump is taking also has rocked Europe, much as his dismissive comments about France and Germany did during his first term.
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The fact that the WSJ twisted my words in the way they did for this story is absurd, but not surprising considering they have spent years pushing for more American sons and daughters in uniform to be unnecessarily deployed overseas.
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With the Trump administration taking its wrecking ball to the constitutional order here in America, it’s easy to miss the damage being done not only in Europe but elsewhere.
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Summary
At the Munich Security Conference, U.S. Vice President JD Vance criticized European democracies, warning of a retreat from core values, provoking strong reactions from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Scholz defended Germany's democracy as elections approach, rejecting outside interference. Zelenskyy called for a European army amid concerns that the U.S. under Trump may shift its support dynamics. Trump's recent phone call with Putin discussed peace negotiations, raising worries about sidelining Europe in decisions regarding Ukraine's future. The rift in transatlantic relations underscores growing unease with the Trump administration's foreign policy direction.
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