Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer
Vice President JD Vance met with Alice Weidel, leader of Germany’s far-right party, during a visit to Munich on Friday. The meeting took place just nine days before the German election, following his address to European leaders at a security conference in Munich.
During his speech, Vance stated that there was no need for “firewalls.” His meeting with Weidel, co-leader of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, raised concerns as mainstream German parties have refused to work with AfD, a stance referred to as a “firewall.”
Polls place AfD in second place with about 20% support heading into the February 23rd election. News of the meeting surfaced after a top German official pushed back against Vance’s criticisms of European democracy. Germany’s defense minister rejected Vance’s comparisons to authoritarian governments, calling them unacceptable.
Vance voiced concerns about threats to free speech across Europe. “On the other side of the Atlantic, it looks more and more like old entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet-era words like misinformation and disinformation,” he said. “They simply don’t like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion or, God forbid, vote a different way—or even worse, win an election.”
