BERLIN – During his speech at a conservative event near Washington, D.C., U.S. Vice President JD Vance expressed his disapproval of Germany’s free speech regulations, particularly in relation to hate speech laws, which he connected to the presence of American military personnel in the country.
Vance pointed out that German legislation imposes restrictions aimed at preventing extremism, including a longstanding prohibition on Holocaust denial and glorifying Nazi ideologies.
These legal frameworks are intended to mitigate hate speech and incitement, resulting in a significant crackdown where authorities actively monitor online platforms for inappropriate content and have detained individuals accused of sharing harmful posts.
“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,” Vance asserted while addressing attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event.
The U.S. European Command reports that American forces are deployed throughout Germany, notably at strategic locations like Ramstein Air Base.
Vance’s statements followed his earlier comments at the Munich Security Conference, where he had previously addressed the issues related to democracy and free expression in Europe, leading to criticisms from several European officials, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
“Obviously we’re going to continue to have important alliances with Europe,” Vance remarked in his conversation with CPAC moderator Mercedes Schlapp, while emphasizing that the future robustness of these alliances would rely on the direction of social values in both regions.
Additionally, Vance suggested that “Germany’s entire defense is subsidized by the American taxpayers,” highlighting the financial implications of maintaining U.S. military forces abroad.
