Vance also compared European leaders to Cold War tyrants during his speech.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance delivered a scathing critique of European leaders at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, accusing them of stifling free speech and fearing their own citizens.

In a speech ostensibly focused on European security, Vance condemned what he described as excessive crackdowns on dissenting views. He criticized the U.K. for arresting a protester near an abortion clinic and Sweden for convicting an anti-Islam activist who burned Korans. He also accused European governments of pressuring social media companies to censor content, citing the Covid-19 lab leak theory as an example.

“It looks more and more like entrenched elites, hiding behind Soviet-era terms like misinformation and disinformation, simply dislike the idea of people expressing different opinions, voting differently, or even winning elections,” Vance said.

He warned that silencing alternative viewpoints is “the most surefire way to destroy democracy” and quipped, “If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk.”

Vance also likened today’s European leaders to Cold War-era autocrats, pointing to court decisions canceling elections and officials threatening to do the same. “Within living memory, the Cold War pitted defenders of democracy against much more tyrannical forces,” he said. “Consider the side that censored dissidents, closed churches, and canceled elections. Were they the good guys? Certainly not. And thank God, they lost the Cold War.”

He concluded by questioning whether Europe’s leaders still uphold the values of freedom and democracy, saying, “You can’t force people to think, feel, or believe a certain way. Unfortunately, when I look at Europe today, it’s sometimes unclear what happened to some of the Cold War’s winners.”

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