JD Vance faces backlash for attacking Greta Thunberg while defending Elon Musk in Europe

MUNICH, GERMANY: Vice President JD Vance called out environmental activist Greta Thunberg in an attempt to joke about Elon Musk's growing prominence within the United States federal administration in front of European leaders on Friday, February 14, reported the Daily Mail.

Vance was delivering his address to the Munich Security Conference at the time, where he derided European governments on issues such as free speech, immigration, and democratic values.

JD Vance's crack at Greta Thunberg

Great Thunberg has been in the crosshairs of conservatives in the US for being vocal about environmental issues and encouraging protests across the world against climate change.

In his speech, Vance brought up the 22-year-old Swedish national while defending tech billionaire and DOGE chair Musk, saying, "Trust me, 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's statement did hint that Musk's presence beside the commander-in-chief Donald Trump was temporary and only a matter of months.

JD Vance's message for European leaders

JD Vance pointed out in his speech that Europe has him "worried" about "the threat from within." While he believed the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could come to a "reasonable settlement," that Europe needed "to step up in a big way to provide for its own defense.”

“The retreat in Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values it shares with the United States of America," shared Vance. "We see European courts canceling elections, and senior officials threatening to cancel others, we also ask if we are holding ourselves to an appropriately high standard. I say ourselves because I fundamentally believe we are all on the same team. We must do more than talk about democratic values, we must live them,” he added.

The 40-year-old VP criticized instances such as a man in the UK being arrested for defiantly praying outside an abortion clinic, and another getting locked up in Sweden for burning Korans.

“Free speech in Europe is, I fear, in retreat,” he stated, adding, "In Washington, there’s a new sheriff in town, and under Donald Trump’s leadership we may disagree with your views but we will fight for your right in the public square to agree or disagree."

Internet trolls JD Vance's comparison

Netizens on the social media platform X reacting to JD Vance's statement called out the VP for comparing the young environmental activist with the richest man in the world seemingly influencing US policies. The following tweets demonstrate their takes.

"Really going to bat for his boy Elon... It would be nice instead if he went to bat for the American public," wrote a user.

"Greta Thunberg wasn’t setting government policy and cutting spending," shared another.

"He's admitting Greta scares him," quipped someone else.

"I swear these guys are tanking our country just because Greta Thunberg hurt their feelings," jibed one individual.

"Greta isn't a billionaire, doesn't own a social media company, was at the time a minor, and a private citizen," pointed out one person.

"This is the kind of comparison a 5th grader would make," chided yet another.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.