Vice President JD Vance tried to defend Elon Musk’s interference in the federal government by making a poorly received joke at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Friday.
https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3li5hkskewv2m
“I say this with all humor, if American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg’s scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk,” Vance said.
He then paused for laughter. But there was only dead silence.
Aside from Vance’s terrible comedic skills, the two situations aren’t remotely comparable.
Musk is by far the wealthiest person on the planet. He owns one of the largest social media networks, has earned billions from government contracts, bankrolled the presidential campaign of the current president, and regularly amplifies antisemites, racists, and misogynists.
Thunberg is an environmentalist and activist attempting to stop the climate crisis. She started her protests when she was in her teenage years, and she’s now 22. She has pushed for a reduction in harmful carbon gases, while Musk makes vehicles that are repeatedly recalled for safety issues.
Musk is the head of a team dismantling key portions of the U.S. government—while making money from that same government.
Thunberg has repeatedly cited peer-reviewed scientific research about climate change, which President Donald Trump has claimed is merely a “hoax” from China. By comparison, Trump, Musk, and Vance are constantly offering up easily checked falsehoods in lieu of a coherent argument.
The bad joke wasn’t the only Vance fumble in Europe.
While covering for Musk on his trip, Vance boosted far-right extremists in Germany, meeting with the leader of Alternative for Germany, or AFD—a party the country’s domestic intelligence service considers so extreme that it warrants surveillance. The party is well known for its antisemitism, ethno-nationalism, and use of Nazi slogans.
Not only did Vance meet with the leader of AfD, he also publicly argued it is an eligible political partner.
“I can tell you plainly: There can be no security if you are afraid of the voices, the opinions, and the conscience that guide your very own people,” he said in his speech at the Munich Security Conference.
“[W]e don’t have to agree with everything or anything that people say. But when political leaders represent an important constituency, it is incumbent upon us to at least participate in dialogue with them,” he added.
Germany’s other political parties have formed a consensus not to work with AfD.
“I don’t think it is right for foreigners, including those from friendly foreign countries, to interfere so intensively in an election campaign in the middle of an election period,” a spokesperson for the German government said in response to Vance’s remarks.
Unsurprisingly, Musk has also made recent overtures to AfD, which shares his and Vance’s opposition to immigrants. “Only the AfD can save Germany,” Musk wrote in a post on X.
During the recent presidential campaign, Vance earned a reputation for being “weird.” Despite protests from Republicans, his behavior as vice president is only boosting that perception.
