The owner of Politico has praised the “inspiring message” of JD Vance’s speech that was met with horror in Europe, as he berated the continent’s politicians for their “whiny” response to the US vice-president.
Mathias D?pfner, chief executive of Axel Springer, said many people had “intentionally misunderstood” Vance’s address at last weekend’s Munich Security Conference, in which he stunned the audience by claiming restrictions on freedom of expression in Europe were a greater threat to the region than Russia or China.
The US vice-president also called for an end to the political isolation of the far-right just over a week before German federal elections, in which the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is expected to secure a historic second-place finish.