US Vice-President JD Vance speaks at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany February 14, 2025. [Photo/Agencies]
Although United States Vice-President JD Vance's 20-minute speech at the Munich Security Conference on Friday was the only address in the international security forum this year that was met with silence from the beginning to the end, it was arguably the one that produced the most animated response afterward.
Instead of taking advantage of the forum to introduce the Donald Trump administration's latest plan to end the Ukraine crisis, as anticipated, shortly after a 90-minute "cordial" call between the US leader and his Russian counterpart, or to explain to what extent the new US administration expects the European countries to boost their security spending, Vance shocked his European audience by launching a blistering attack on the US' European allies, accusing them of betraying their values, and ignoring people's concerns on immigration and free speech.
"It was a very weird 20 minutes ... Vance's speech went down very badly — unequivocally badly. It was extraordinarily poorly judged." That was how the BBC commented on the US vice-president's speech, which a US commentator told the United Kingdom media outlet "was all for US domestic consumption".
Vance might have gone too far in seeking to woo his domestic audience by "trying to pick a fight" with Europe, as the European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said, since it comes at a time when the EU countries already feel betrayed by the Trump administration on the Ukraine crisis, with the US administration hinting that a settlement can be realized through its direct talks with Moscow, omitting both Ukraine and the bloc.
In particular, Vance inappropriately singled out Germany, the host country of the conference, as the target for his lecturing of his European audience about the "values" the Trump administration upholds, just a week before Germany heads to its federal elections. The Alternative for Germany, a far-right and right-wing populist political party in Germany that is polling in second place is endorsed by Trump adviser and billionaire Elon Musk.
Understandably, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sharply rebuked Vance one day later saying Germany will not accept outsiders intervening in the country's elections — "That is not done, certainly not among friends and allies". Which makes one wonder whether the US will have any left after another four years of "America first".
No wonder when Vance tried to enliven the atmosphere during his Friday address with presumably an impromptu joke, "if American democracy can survive 10 years of (climate campaigner) Greta Thunberg scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk", he failed to raise a single laugh in the hall.
On the same day as Vance bombed his Munich debut, French President Emmanuel Macron urged Europe to respond to "the electroshock" triggered by the return of the Trump administration to the White House with a new approach to defense and the economy.
But the French leader speaking to the Financial Times didn't expect that apart from the economy and security, the Trump administration would also try to dictate how the US' European allies should address their culture-war issues at home — key themes of Trump's campaign for the US presidency — in a bid to try and intervene in the domestic politics of the European countries.
That should serve to further highlight what Macron told the UK newspaper in his interview: "This is Europe's moment to accelerate and execute ... It has no choice. It is running out of road."
Although the EU conceived different solutions to cope with the possible impact of the comeback of Trump since he won the 2024 US president election in November, it still seems to have been caught unprepared by the administration's indifference. It is high time the bloc reflected on its hitherto passivity in not only dealing with the US but also some other burning issues concerning its immediate interest, and sought to uphold its strategic autonomy in foreign policy.
