Vance slams EU leaders for ‘running in fear’ of its own voters

The US vice president has cited the cancelled Romanian presidential elections as an example

US Vice President J.D. Vance has criticized European leaders for fearing their own voters and failing to uphold democratic values, citing the recent annulment of Romania’s presidential election.

Addressing the Munich Security Conference on Friday, he said that Europe’s greatest threat comes from within, condemning what he called the suppression of free speech.

Vance cited the cancelled Romanian presidential elections, saying that they were annulled “on the flimsy suspicions of an intelligence agency and enormous pressure from its continental neighbors.”

He questioned the notion that democracy could be undermined with digital advertising from a foreign country, saying that if you believe that, then your democracy “was not very strong to begin with.”

He further urged European Union leaders to “embrace what your people tell you,” even when it is “surprising” and they do not agree.

“If you’re running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you, nor, for that matter, is there anything that you can do for the American people who elected me and elected President Trump,” Vance stated.

According to the US vice president, the “cavalier” statements from Brussels officials “sounding delighted” about the cancelled presidential elections in Romania or expansive content moderation powers or other free speech restrictions in the US, Germany and Sweden were “shocking to American ears.”

Vance also dismissed any criticism of Elon Musk’s alleged interference in European elections, stating “if American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg’s scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk.”

Musk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, sparked controversy in Germany by endorsing the AfD party in this month’s federal election, claiming that “the entire fate of Europe” depends on its outcome. In response, the German government accused the billionaire of election interference, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz asserting that freedom of speech does not extend to promoting “extreme-right positions.”