Politicians are ignoring voters on key issues such as immigration, the US vice president has warned
Washington is “frustrated” by the reluctance of its European allies to respond to their voters on critical issues such as immigration, US Vice President J.D. Vance has stated. In an interview with the British website UnHerd published on Tuesday, he said this sentiment is shared by the entire administration of President Donald Trump.
“European populations keep on crying out for more sensible economic and migration policies, and the leaders of Europe keep on going through these elections, and keep on offering the European peoples the opposite of what they seem to have voted for,” Vance explained. He warned that politicians who disregard the will of the people risk ruining “the entire democratic project of the West.”
In February, Vance sent shockwaves through the West by criticizing America’s European allies for what he characterized as backsliding on the democratic values they share with the US. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, he warned that if this continues, Washington could conclude that these nations are not worth protecting as NATO members.
Vance criticized politicians who shun parties such as the anti-migration Alternative for Germany (AfD). Last week, the AfD surpassed the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) to become the most popular party in Germany, receiving 25% of support in a hypothetical election. The CDU has engaged in coalition negotiations with the Social Democrats (SPD), excluding the AfD from the discussions entirely.
In the UnHerd interview, Vance said his criticism stems from a deep love for Europeans and the shared cultural heritage underpinning Western civilization. He also urged NATO members in Europe to bolster their militaries instead of relying on security “subsidized by the United States of America.”
Tensions between the US and its European allies have grown since Trump took office in January. This is in part due to Washington’s refusal to provide further military aid to Ukraine, the US president’s stated goal of claiming Greenland (an autonomous territory of Denmark) for America, and his attempt at rebalancing international trade through tariffs and deals with individual states.
