Vice President JD Vance took the stage at the Munich Security Conference on Friday to dismiss fears of Russia meddling in Romania's elections—a move critics blasted as hypocritical, given his baseless claims of U.S. election fraud and support for Elon Musk, whose X has become a pro-Trump powerhouse.
"We're at the point, of course, that the situation has gotten so bad that this December, Romania straight up canceled the results of a presidential election based on the flimsy suspicions of an intelligence agency and enormous pressure from its continental neighbors," Vance said. "Now, as I understand it, the argument was that Russian disinformation had infected the Romanian elections, but I'd ask my European friends to have some perspective. You can believe it's wrong for Russia to buy social media advertisements to influence your elections. We certainly do. You can condemn it on the world stage even, but if your democracy can be destroyed with a few $100,000 of digital advertising from a foreign country, then it wasn't very strong to begin with."
Vance: You can believe it’s wrong for Russia to buy social media advertisements to influence your elections.. but if your democracy can be destroyed by a few hundred thousand dollars of digital advertising then it wasn’t very strong to begin with pic.twitter.com/FKBV568eIv
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 14, 2025
His remarks were met with immediate backlash.
Yes the democracy is weak and vulnerable to social media influence. It was easily noticeable during the latest election in USA when Elon Musk was so strongly influencing the outcome.
— Marek Najmajer (@marqoz) February 14, 2025
"Yes, democracy is weak and vulnerable to social media influence. It was easily noticeable during the latest election in the USA when Elon Musk was so strongly influencing the outcome," one user wrote.
Says the guy who shouts from the rooftop the US 2020 election was stolen.
— Tishygirl (@Tishy634249) February 14, 2025
"Says the guy who shouts from the rooftop the US 2020 election was stolen," another added.
He just described the American elections. Elon Musk, with just $300 million and X, has damaged American democracy, and yeah, America wasn't very strong to begin with.
— Dj Omega Mvp (@DjOmegaMVP) February 14, 2025
"He just described the American elections. Elon Musk, with just $300 million and X, has damaged American democracy, and yeah, America wasn't very strong to begin with," another commented.
U.S. intelligence agencies confirmed that Russia used cyberattacks, disinformation and social media manipulation to help Trump win in 2016. By 2020, officials warned the Kremlin was again interfering, using similar tactics to boost his reelection and erode trust in democracy. All the while, Musk has shaped X into a pro-Trump megaphone by reinstating banned accounts, amplifying right-wing voices and limiting dissent.
Vance's speech also downplayed threats from Russia and China, instead warning of Europe's "threat from within," accusing leaders of stifling free speech, suppressing immigration debates and sidelining right-wing parties. He also equated recent European election cancellations to authoritarian tactics reminiscent of the Cold War.
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