 "Donald Trump speaks with JD Vance before taking their oaths of office during the Inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington on January 20. AP")
US President Donald Trump on Friday defended his Vice President JD Vance’s fiery speech at the Munich Security Conference, reiterating that Europe is “losing its freedom of speech”. Speaking to the reporters from the Oval Office, Trump said that his second-in-command delivered a “brilliant address”.
“I heard his speech, and he talked about freedom of speech. And I think it’s true in Europe, it’s losing, and they are losing their wonderful right of freedom of speech," Trump told the reporters on Friday. The POTUS also pointed out that immigration is the major challenge, the continent of Europe is currently facing, linking it as the main cause behind all the crimes in European nations.
“He talked about 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 averred. “I thought his speech was very well received,” he added.
Vance’s Europe slander steals the show at a summit intended for Ukraine
On Friday, Vance delivered a fiery and provocative speech at the Munich Security Conference, criticising European politicians, institutions and courts for what he described as a retreat from democratic principles.
“I believe that dismissing people, dismissing their concerns or, worse yet, shutting down media, shutting down elections or shutting people out of the political process protects nothing,” he said, expressing concern over alleged warnings of cancelling elections in Germany if the far-right AfD wins.
He went on to draw a peculiar comparison when he said: “Trust me, I say this with all humour if American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg scolding. You guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk.” Vance was referring to Musk’s open support to German and UK far-right parties and the billionaire’s live stream on X with AfD leader Alice Weidel, provoking discussions over possible electoral interference ahead of snap elections on February 23.
Vance’s speech at the summit received backlash from several European leaders, especially politicians from Germany. Social Democrat Boris Pistorius, Germany’s defence minister, sharply criticised Vance’s address.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“I must respond to the speech we heard earlier from the US vice president,” Pistorius said, adding that while European democrats take a firm stance against right-wing extremism, they remain fully committed to basic rights and freedoms. However, the whole ordeal took away attention from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which was supposed to be the main highlight of the summit.
With inputs from agencies.