JD Vance criticizes European democracy, says greatest threat is ‘from within’

European leaders reeled Friday after U.S. Vice President JD Vance lambasted the continent’s democratic institutions, warning that its greatest threats came from internal factors.

“The threat that I worry the most about vis a vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor. What I worry about is the threat from within,” he told the Munich Security Conference. 

“The retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United State of America,” he continued, to a chilly reception from delegates.

Global defense and security officials are gathered in Munich, Germany for the annual three-day conference. The future of Ukraine, peace talks with Russia and Europe’s evolving security and defense architecture are all at the fore of discussions.

Attendees had been hoping for details from Vance on U.S.-led peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, which were tabled earlier this week by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Instead they faced criticism from the American vice president over the health of their democracies, their migration policies and freedom of speech.

“In Britain and across Europe, free speech, I fear, is in retreat,” said Vance.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who addressed delegates shortly after Vance, called his remarks “unacceptable.”

“I had a speech I prepared today,” Pistorius said. “It was supposed to be about security in Europe. But I cannot start in the way I originally intended.”

“This democracy was called into question by the U.S. vice president,” he continued. “He speaks of the annulment of democracy and, if I understood him correctly, he compares conditions in parts of Europe with those in authoritarian governments.”

Specifically, Vance questioned a December presidential vote in Romania that was annulled after a pro-Russian ultranationalist candidate won an upset victory. Authorities described the ballot as the result of Russian meddling.

“There is no security if you’re afraid of the voices, the opinions and the conscience that guide your very own people,” Vance said. “If you’re running in fear of your own voters, there’s nothing the U.S. can do for you.”

Vance cited Brexit as the will of the people, and he criticized Sweden and Germany for their responses to politically charged domestic issues.

Of all the pressing issues faced by the nations represented in Munich, said Vance, none was more urgent than mass migration. 

“More and more, all over Europe, they are voting for people who promise to put to an end to uncontrolled migration,” said Vance.

The vice president’s comments landed especially hard in a country where migration and xenophobia are both potent forces shaping national politics.

On Thursday, at least 36 people were injured when a car rammed into a crowd in Munich, with officials saying Friday that a 24-year-old failed Afghan asylum seeker had admitted to carrying out the attack. It follows a prior attack on a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg in December.

Next week, Germans head to the polls for snap national elections, with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party expected to make considerable gains.