JD Vance has controversially suggested that Europe’s ‘biggest threat’ is not Russia or China but its ‘migration policies’, as his war of words with the continent continues.
The Vice President was speaking to Newsmax’s Rob Schmitt when he shared his bizarre opinions on the main peril facing people on the continent. Vance also appeared to take aim at France where right-wing politician Marine Le Pen was recently found guilty of embezzlement and prevented from running for president for five years.
He said America’s relationship with Europe would be “stressed” and “tested” if, in his words, “they keep on trying to throw opposition leaders in jail“. Despite previously sharing his disdain for Europe in leaked Signal chat messages, Vance claimed he “loved” the people of the continent. But he said they needed to address threats “from within”.
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Vance told Newsmax: “I actually think it’s a pro-Europe speech. We love Europe, we love European people. Of course, it’s so important culturally in the world, and also America came from Europe fundamentally, but we have to appreciate that the greatest threat to Europe is not China or Russia. The greatest threat to Europe is from within. It's migration policies that destroy the fundamental cultural bedrock of Europe. It’s economic policies that make them less competitive, it’s national security policies.”
Vance then suggested that while European leaders frequently claimed Russia was their largest threat, they had failed to put forward enough defense cash to counter its aggression.
He said: “On the one hand, their leadership... say that Russia is the biggest threat in the entire world. Meanwhile, they buy billions and billions of dollars of Russian gas and they spend one percent of their GDP on defence, while we’re spending three or four percent of our GDP. The rhetoric in Europe just doesn’t match the reality."
Vance then appeared to turn his sights on France, without naming the country directly, following a decision by a court to ban Le Pen from running for office. His comments seemed in step with Trump, who claimed in a post today on Truth Social that the right-wing politician had been the victim of a “witch hunt”.
Vance went on: “They start trying to throw presidential candidates and political leaders off the ballot. Look, that is not good. It’s not good for Europe, it’s not good for the United States of America. We want our friends to share our values, and the Europeans. They are absolutely 100% our friends, but that relationship, we’re just saying, it’s going to get stressed, and it’s going to get tested if they keep on trying to throw opposition leaders in jail and they stop respecting their own borders.”
Vance later came back to his central point about the necessity for Europe to have tough immigration policies. He said: “Here’s the thing if Europe disrespects its own borders. If you have a Syrian national with terrorist ties who gets into Germany, we know that doesn’t stop in Germany. Eventually, people start to make their way all across the world. National borders are in the interests of everybody, certainly of Europe and the United States.”
Some on social media panned Vance for his odd comments. One wrote: “JD Vance who has never lived in Europe somehow knows what is best for Europe. All while his own country is in economical distress due to the actions of his barely functioning running mate.”
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