JD Vance Rides In: What Europe Should Expect from Trump's Enforcer-in-Chief
His recent intervention at the Munich Security Conference, together with his harsh rebuke of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, sent shockwaves throughout the Old Continent.
On May 7, 2025, some three months after his resounding performance at the Munich Security Conference, JD Vance received in Washington a few dozen European leaders, who were all on alert. 'When we arrived, everyone thought we were in for another rough ride,' says Lithuania's former Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis. False alarm: Once he'd settled back in his chair, the vice president of the United States gave his interlocutors a cordial smile. 'We're good friends,' he says, clearly eager to dispel the impression left by their previous meeting.
On Feb. 14 in Munich, instead of the traditional encouragement to spend more on their defense, Vance launched into an indictment that chilled the audience and sent shockwaves through the leaders of the Old Continent.
'In contrast,' Landsbergis says, 'his welcome a few weeks later gave us the impression that the administration wanted to put things right. Perhaps they realized that he had pushed the envelope a little too far, and that, despite their…
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