'Americans Felt Totally Embarrassed': Vance Gives 'Condescending Lecture' to Europeans

Feb 17, 2025 | Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) joins Ali Vitali to discuss Vice President Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference and to analyze the next era of foreign policy under President Trump.

JD Vance Stuns World with Embrace of Germany's Far-right Party

Feb 17, 2025 | Vice President JD Vance shocked leaders at the Munich Security Conference when he challenged Germany's decades-long approach to preventing political extremism and effectively boosted a far-right political party, sparking outrage. MSNBC's Paola Ramos breaks down the significance of Vance endorsing a extremist group on the international stage, and the broader emboldening of extremist movements in Europe by the likes of MAGA allies like Elon Musk.

Von der Leyen's Powerful Address at Munich Security Conference: A Bold Vision for Europe's Future!

Feb 14, 2025 | In her compelling speech at the Munich Security Conference 2025, President Ursula von der Leyen outlines Europe’s response to an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape. From the war in Ukraine to global competition, she emphasizes the urgency of strengthening Europe's defenses and economy. Hear her call for unity and action, and her vision of a stronger, more resilient Europe ready to face global challenges head-on.

History in the Making at MSC: A New World Order in One Weekend? | DW News

Feb 16, 2025 | The Munich Security Conference comes to an end today after a dramatic three days that showed fundamental rifts between the US and the EU.

US Vice-President JD Vance accused European leaders of retreating from their values and ignoring voter concerns on migration and free speech. Vance's speech came after President Donald Trump blindsided allies in possible Ukraine peace negotiations, by holding unilateral talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

It is likely to be remembered as the week that fundamentally altered the transatlantic alliance, and re-established US ties to Russia.

DW's Chief Political Correspondent Richard Walker provides some analysis of what happened and what to expect.


A fool is as a fool does. – © Mark Alexander

Europe's Leaders Fuming after Trump's Deal with Putin Leaves Strategic Void

Feb 14, 2025 | Donald Trump's deal with Putin has created a "strategic void between the US and Europe," says Tobias Ellwood who is at the Munich Security Conference.

Bill Browder: Dispatches from Munich

Feb 15, 2025 | Today, we’re joined by Bill Browder, a leading voice in global finance, human rights, and the fight against corruption. As the CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, Browder was once the largest foreign investor in Russia—until he was declared a threat to national security by the Putin regime for exposing corruption at the highest levels. His relentless pursuit of justice following the death of his lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, led to the Magnitsky Act, a landmark piece of legislation that targets human rights abusers with sanctions.

We caught up with Bill while he was at the Munich Security Conference, where he shared his insights on the war in Ukraine, the evolving U.S.-Russia relationship, and what the West must do to counter emerging global threats. His deep understanding of Russia’s power structures and global influence makes this a must-watch discussion.

Vance Shocks Europe With a Message That He Has Long Promoted at Home

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The vice president’s speech in Munich, expressing support for far-right, anti-immigration parties and criticizing suppression of conservative voices, was a global extension of his core political themes.

Vice President JD Vance’s defense of a divisive far-right political party in Germany was the latest jarring example of his willingness to embrace a provocative political issue and showed how hard-line immigration policy has emerged as the thread tightly knitting together a global patchwork of populist movements.

The thrust of Mr. Vance’s speech on Friday in Munich was a call for European leaders to broaden their tolerance for alternative viewpoints. But his address from inside a Bavarian hotel was certain to resonate back home among conservative and libertarian movements that have long seized on free speech battles in Europe to warn of dangers that could be looming for anti-immigration and anti-abortion activists in the United States.

Mr. Vance did not mention the far-right party, Alternative for Germany, by name, but the context was clear as he criticized a decision to bar certain political parties from the Munich Security Conference just over a week before Germany’s national election.

Although elements of the party, also known by its German initials, AfD, have been classified as extremist by German intelligence, it appears to be on track for its strongest showing yet in a parliamentary election amid anger over immigration and rising prices. » | Michael C. Bender | Reporting from Washington | Friday, February 14, 2025

German Chancellor Rebukes Vance for Supporting Party That Downplays Nazis

THE NEW YORK TIMES: At the Munich Security Conference, Olaf Scholz accused the U.S. vice president of unacceptable interference in Germany’s coming elections.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany on Saturday accused Vice President JD Vance of unacceptably interfering in his country’s imminent elections on behalf of a party that has played down the atrocities committed by the Nazis 80 years ago.

A day after Mr. Vance stunned the Munich Security Conference by telling German leaders to drop their so-called firewall and allow the hard-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, to enter their federal government, Mr. Scholz accused Mr. Vance of effectively violating a commitment to never again allow Germany to be led by fascists who could repeat the horrors of the Holocaust.

“A commitment to ‘never again’ is not reconcilable with support for the AfD,” Mr. Scholz said at the conference on Saturday morning, in an address opening the gathering’s second day.

Mr. Scholz said the AfD had trivialized Nazi atrocities like the concentration camp at Dachau, which Mr. Vance visited on Friday. The chancellor said Germany “would not accept” directives from outsiders about how to run its democracy — and certainly not to work with such a party. » | Jim Tankersley | Reporting from Munich | Saturday, February 15, 2025

A Secret Diary Chronicled the ‘Satanic World’ That Was Dachau: For two years, a prisoner in the German concentration camp kept a journal that would later be used to convict those who had persecuted him and killed his fellow prisoners. »

Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz hat absolut recht, JD Vance zu kritisieren. Es wäre viel besser gewesen, Vance hätte den Maul gehalten! Dasselbe gilt für das Mann-Kind Elon Musk. Die beiden haben viel zu viel über die Innenpolitik anderer Länder zu sagen. Tatsächlich haben sie zu Hause in Amerika genug Probleme zu lösen, ohne sich mit den Problemen im Ausland zu befassen. – © Mark Alexander

German Defense Minister Pistorius Rebuffs US Vice President Vance's Speech | DW News

Feb 14, 2025 | German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has heavily criticized JD Vance after the US vice president accused European governments of ignoring voter concerns on immigration and stamping down on free speech.

"Democracy was called into question by the US vice president for the whole of Europe earlier," Pistorius said at the Munich Security Conference. "He speaks of the annihilation of democracy. And if I have understood him correctly, he is comparing conditions in parts of Europe with those in authoritarian regions... that is not acceptable." Pistorius accused Vance of painting a distorted picture of democracy. With the German elections just over a week away, and the far-right AfD in second place in the polls, Pistorius poured scorn on the notion that free speech was being stymied. Democracy means that "extremist parties such as the AfD can campaign quite normally, just like any other party. However, democracy does not mean that the loud minority is automatically right and determines the truth," Pistorius said. Earlier, JD Vance said that free speech was "in retreat" in Europe while mass migration was a topic being underestimated by nations across the continent.

"Frenzy of Warmongering": Critics of Munich Security Summit Warn of Musk, Rising Fascism in Europe

Feb 14, 2025 | As the annual high-level Munich Security Conference gets underway, the Russia-Ukraine war is dominating the agenda, and we speak to two guests protesting the conference. Economist, progressive leader and former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis says the European project started with a noble goal of promoting peace but finds itself today "cornered" between Russian and NATO militarism. "Europe has been caught in a frenzy of warmongering," says Varoufakis.

We also speak with German lawyer Melanie Schweizer, who was suspended from her job at the German Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs after being doxxed in an article published in the German tabloid _Bild_, owned by media giant Axel Springer SE, for her pro-Palestinian online statements. She is running for German parliament with the progressive party MERA25 in this month's elections and warns the country's political establishment is increasingly adopting the rhetoric and policies of the far right. "We see fascism playing out in real time, and it's getting worse by the day," says Schweizer.


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'Everyone Here Is in Opposition to Putin, but One' | Bill Browder Reacts to Vance's Vilifying Speech

Feb 14, 2025 | "It is very hard for any of us to make sense of what the us policy is. If there is a us policy."

The US has Europe in a "state of shock" following Vance's speech at the Munich security conference where he failed to condemn "war criminal" Putin, says high profile Kremlin critic Sir Bill Browder.

JD Vance Goes after European Allies in Munich Security Conference Speech | DW News

Feb 14, 2025 | US Vice President JD Vance has used his speech at the Munich Security Conference to criticize what he called the "retreat" of free speech across Europe. "The threat that I worry most about, vis-a-vis Europe, is not Russia, it's not China, it's not any other external actor," Vance said. "What I worry about is the threat from within: the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values — values shared with the United States of America."

"Across Europe, free speech, I fear, is in retreat," he added. "Under Donald Trump's leadership, we may disagree with your views, but we will defend your right to offer it in the public square — agree or disagree."

Car Plows into Crowd on Strike in Suspected Terror Attack in Munich | DW News

Feb 13, 2025 | A vehicle has driven into a crowd of people in the southern German city of Munich. At least 28 people have been injured - two are seriously injured. Armed police rushed to the scene as did paramedics and emergency crews. Officials say the incident appears to have been an attack. The suspect is now under arrest. Police say they believe him to be a 24-year-old Afghan asylum-seeker. The crowd was made up of workers taking part in a strike. The incident comes as the city prepares to tighten security ahead of the three-day Munich Security Conference which starts tomorrow.

Driver who hit union rally in ‘suspected attack’ in Munich is Afghan asylum seeker, police say: Children among at least 28 hurt as incident expected to inflame tensions ahead of this month’s election »

World Leaders Gather in Munich to Avert Russia-Ukraine War

Feb 19, 2022 • Heavy fire in the east of Ukraine today has killed two soldiers, a reminder that the country has long been in a permanent state of war.

At the same time, there were increasingly stern words for President Putin from the world leaders gathered in Munich.

Ukraine's president was there to appeal for support, urging them to impose sanctions now before it is too late and warning that the world needs to learn the "terrible lessons from history".

Mike Pence Met With Silence; Angela Merkel Hammers President Donald Trump | Morning Joe | MSNBC

While speaking at the 55th Munich Security Conference, VP Mike Pence was met with silence after mentioning President Trump. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized the Trump administration's foreign policies.

Is the Honeymoon Over? Oksana Talks to Konstantin Kosachev, Russian Senator

The first European outing of the Trump team at the Munich Security Conference has left everybody wanting. The US allies - jittery over Trump's campaign pledges - weren't reassured by the lukewarm expressions of solidarity, while the Russians - hopeful of a new beginning - didn't hear much to support it. What is the Trump administration up to? To explore this, Oksana is joined by member of the Russian Parliament and Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council, Konstantin Kosachev.

Amanpour's Full Interview with Iran's Javad Zarif

Christiane Amanpour speaks with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany.

Munich Security Conference Ends with Opposing Views on the Middle East

The final day of the annual Munich security conference has been spent hearing speeches painting radically different pictures of the Middle East and its conflicts.

The foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia - along with Israel's defence minister - have all spoken and the landscape has changed dramatically.

Al Jazeera's Dominic Kane reports from Munich.

Sen. John McCain Hits Out at Trump in Speech

Mike Pence: "Radical Islamic Terrorism Has Fixated On The Destruction Of Western Civilization!"