EXPLAINED: How the US is turning away from its ally Germany

Local Germany

17-02-2025

US Vice President JD Vance shook German officials when he spoke at the Munich Security Conference last Friday – voicing support for Germany's far-right AfD, and announcing the Trump administration's intention to pull military troops out of Europe.
Initial reports from the conference described German and European leaders as being shocked or even distraught after hearing's Vance's provocative speech.
Since then, the general consensus among observers is that the speech revealed clearly that the US is turning away from its European allies, and is instead leaning toward Russia's Vladimir Putin.
What is the Trump administration saying?
German leaders have been waiting to see exactly what Donald Trump's administration would mean for US-Germany relations, and the Vice President's speech at the Munich Security Conference seems to have finally made it all clear.
Speaking about a potential peace deal for Ukraine, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth turned heads on Thursday when he said that a return to Ukraine's pre-war borders was 'unrealistic'. He also ruled out Ukraine joining NATO.
Hegseth's comments were criticised, even by a high-level Republican defence expert, and he walked them back. So European leaders were keen to hear Vice President JD Vance speak on Friday, expecting him to clarify what the US would or would not be open to regarding negotiations for peace in Ukraine.
But Vance only muddied the waters further when he avoided talking about Ukraine and instead criticised what he saw as Europe's 'threat from within'.
US Vice President JD Vance (R) sits across from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) on the sidelines of the 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC) on February 14, 2025. (Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP)
In a long-winded speech, Vance chastised what he saw as censorship within Europe's democracies, and also downplayed Russian election interference.
'If your democracy can be destroyed with a few hundred dollars of digital advertising from a foreign country, then it wasn't very strong to begin with,' Vance said addressing claims that Russia had recently manipulated elections in Romania.
Regarding European defence, Vance made clear that the US intended to withdraw its support on the continent: 'we think it's an important part of being in a shared alliance together, that the Europeans step up while America focuses on [other] areas of the world...'
Vance also voiced support for Germany's far-right AfD party, saying democracy has 'no room for firewalls'. He also met with AfD leader Alice Weidel on Friday, and called on German parties to cooperate with the far-right party.
How have German leaders reacted?
Speaking shortly after the US Vice President, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius was among the first to respond to Vance's stunning barrage.
"This democracy was just called into question by the US Vice President," Pistorius said. He added that comparing European democracies to what happens in authoritarian regimes 'is not acceptable'.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and reasserted that in German politics there is "no cooperation with the extreme right".
Scholz was joined by his rival, Friedrich Merz who said, "I will not allow an American vice president to tell me who I can talk to here in Germany," and added that he would 'not tolerate such inference' in the German elections or in the following coalition talks.
EU leaders also responded with alarm.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X that "Europe's security is at a turning point…' and that the turn of events showed the need for more urgency and defence efforts in Europe.
What does it mean for Ukraine, Germany and Europe?
This week, a US delegation plans to meet high-ranking Russian representatives in Saudi Arabia to explore the possibilities of ending the war of aggression against Ukraine. But this looks set to be done over the heads of European leaders, and also without any representation from Ukraine.
Most EU leaders and those in Ukraine say Kyiv ultimately needs to agree to any terms if a worthwhile and lasting peace deal is to be sealed.
But with the Trump administration apparently more interested in appeasing Putin than in continuing to support Ukraine, Kyiv looks to be in a markedly weak negotiating position.
Furthermore, with the US planning to pull military support away from the region, some fear an emboldened Russia could provoke a new conflict in the future, even by attacking a NATO country.
Last year German Defence Minister Pistorius warned about what Putin could do next.
"We hear threats from the Kremlin almost every day ... so we have to take into account that Vladimir Putin might even attack a NATO country one day," Pistorius told German newspaper Tagesspiegel.
More recently Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky warned that "Putin will wage war against NATO."
Understandably, the US's apparent shift in allegiance seems to have jolted Europe into action.
Heads of government from Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain, as well as the heads of the European Council, the European Commission and NATO are meeting in Paris today to discuss Europe's defence.
It could be that Europe gets serious about its own defence going forward, ultimately reducing its reliance on the US. But how quickly or effectively that can happen remains to be seen.