‘A new sheriff in town’: JD Vance pushes Europe on migration, free speech

U.S. Vice-President JD Vance warned governments that internal threats to democracy are a greater threats than external antagonists like China and Russia.

In a blistering speech on Friday, U.S. Vice-President JD Vance told European leaders “there is a new sheriff in town under Donald Trump’s leadership” and warned governments that internal threats to democracy, like election cancellations and censorship, are greater threats to their countries than external antagonists like China and Russia.

“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,” Vance said, speaking at the Munich Security Conference. “What I worry about is the threat from within — the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.

“I’ve heard a lot about what you need to defend yourselves from and of course, that’s important. But what has seemed a little bit less clear to me … is what exactly you’re defending yourselves for?”

In his own remarks to the conference, Vance lectured European officials on free speech and illegal migration on the continent, warning elected officials that they risk losing public support if they don’t quickly change course.

He specifically targeted the December 2024 cancellation of Romania’s elections, which were annulled by the country’s top court after accusations of Russian meddling, dismissing worries of disinformation as “ugly Soviet-era words.”

“Dismissing people, dismissing their concerns … shutting down media, shutting down elections … protects nothing. It is the most surefire way to destroy democracy,” he said.

“If you’re running in fear of your own voters there’s nothing America can do for you.”

The vice-president also warned the European officials against illegal migration, saying the electorate didn’t vote to open “floodgates to millions of unvetted immigrants” and referencing an attack Thursday in Munich where the suspect is a 24-year-old Afghan who arrived in Germany as an asylum seeker in 2016.