Vice President J.D. Vance delivered a stark warning to Europe as its nations adopt strict speech laws, reminding them U.S.-E.U. ties are based on ‘shared values’ and censorship is not among them.
Taking the stage at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday morning, Vance opened the three-day event with a rousing speech similar to the one he delivered last week at the Munich Security Conference.
Vance appeared quickly at ease with the friendly crowd as he flashed smiles, pumped his fist and thanked the MAGA-friendly onlookers in a Trumpian fashion.
Mercedes Schlapp, the event’s organizer, sat across from the VP as she peppered him with questions about the Ukraine-Russia war, the state of Europe and the flurry of executive actions taken in the administration’s first month.
The vice president also launched into a critique of one of America’s closest partners.
He noted how the U.S. is losing commonality with some European states over their approach to freedom of speech.
Specifically, Vance talked about restrictive online censorship laws, noting how E.U. support of these measures will alienate them from America while Trump is at the helm.
‘We’re going to continue to have important alliances with Europe, but I really do think the strength of those alliances is going to depend on whether we take our societies in the right direction,’ Vance said.
‘So the point that I try to make to our European friends, and I think that they are friends. I believe that, I know President Trump does, is that friendship is based on shared values.’
The Republican VP continued: ‘You do not have shared values if you’re jailing people for saying we should close down our border. You don’t have shared values if you cancel elections because you don’t like the result, and that happened in Romania. You don’t have not have shared values if you’re so afraid of your own people that you silence them and shut them up.’
The former Ohio senator also talked about how reliant Europe is on the U.S. for defense, and that Americans won’t be eager to help defend countries who do not share their values.
‘Germany’s entire defense is subsidized by the American taxpayer,’ Vance noted. ‘There are thousands upon thousands of American troops in Germany today.’
‘Do you think that the American taxpayer is going to stand for that? If you get thrown in jail in Germany for posting a mean tweet, of course they’re not.’
He and Trump are working towards being the most peace-loving administration of modern times, Vance said.
The 40-year-old Republican also teased that he believes peace is closer now in Europe than in any time during Joe Biden’s presidency.
‘It’s going to take a smart statesman to figure this stuff out, but we’ve got that in the White House, and I really believe that we’re on the cusp of peace in Europe for the first time in three years, because we have leadership from the Oval Office, and we haven’t had it in four years in this country.’
Schlapp also asked Vance to address how healthy the relationships between the U.S. and its allies in Europe are.
‘I’ll tell you the goals that animate President Trump’s policy, it’s really simple, he wants the killing to stop,’ Vance said of Trump’s foreign policy on the European war.
Vance pleaded that a peace deal with Russia and Ukraine would be in all party’s interests, particularly because it would benefit Americans, too, he argued.
‘It’s in the interest of Ukraine, it’s in the interest of Europe, but most importantly, peace is in the interest of the American people,’ Vance stated. ‘And he’s going to fight for it for the remainder of his administration, wherever war breaks out.’
‘He’s going to be the president of peace,’ the VP continued.