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JD Vance has suggested that American support for NATO should be predicated on the European Union not regulating Elon Musk and his X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter.

The Republican vice presidential nominee and Ohio senator claimed in an interview with YouTuber Shawn Ryan that a top EU official had threatened to arrest the billionaire if he allowed former President Donald Trump back on X.

“The leader, I forget exactly which official it was within the European Union, but sent Elon this threatening letter that basically said, ‘We’re going to arrest you if you platform Donald Trump,’ who, by the way, is the likely next president of the United States,” Vance said in the interview published last week.

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  • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    The fact checking in this article is perfect lol

    “So what America should be saying is, if NATO wants us to continue supporting them and NATO wants us to continue to be a good participant in this military alliance, why don’t you respect American values and respect free speech?” Vance asked. “It’s insane that we would support a military alliance if that military alliance isn’t going to be pro-free speech. I think we can do both. But we’ve got to say American power comes with certain strings attached. One of those is respect free speech, especially in our European allies.”

    Musk has been accused of banning several journalists since taking over Twitter, now X.

    “I’m not going to go to some backwoods country and tell them how to live their lives,” Vance added. “But European countries should theoretically share American values, especially about some very basic things like free speech.”

    The US ranked 26th in the world when it comes to free speech, with several members of the European Union higher up the list, according to the 2024 Global Expression Report.

  • TheDemonBuer@lemmy.world
    0·
    2 months ago

    This is why Europe must take control of its own defense. Europe doesn’t want to be a mere vassal of the US for precisely this reason.

  • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
    0·
    2 months ago

    So what America should be saying is, if NATO wants us to continue supporting them and NATO wants us to continue to be a good participant in this military alliance, why don’t you respect American values and respect free speech?

    JD, buddy, what you don’t understand is that Europe’s free speech is far more free than the US.

    Americans have a tendency to think they have everything and everyone else has nothing. Until we go somewhere else and discover it’s the other way around.

    • tissek@sopuli.xyz
      0·
      2 months ago

      Europe’s free speech is far more free than the US

      But not Europes FREEZEPEACH™! And freezepeach is all that matters

    • TheBraveSirRobbin@lemmy.world
      0·
      2 months ago

      Americans have a tendency to think they have everything and everyone else has nothing. Until we go somewhere else and discover it’s the other way around.

      Obviously healthcare and education are things they are pretty much guaranteed that we don’t have. They have better worker protections. I mean I’m not against gun rights, but what we have in the States is an embarrassment. I’m sure there are several other issues that I’m not thinking of right now or don’t know about, but I didn’t know we had worse free speech than Europe.

      What makes Europe free speech more free than ours?

      • azuth@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        0·
        2 months ago

        What makes the US have more free speech?

        Legally all EU countries have freedom of expression enshrined in their constitutions.

        Culturally I find Americans blind to any non governmental censorship. Since it’s legal its OK.I believe not allowing private companies to censor people is absurdly considered a violation of free speech.

        There are obvious results as well: the US is way less politically diverse.

      • Goldmage263@sh.itjust.works
        0·
        2 months ago

        I’m not who you asked, but I often think of supression tactics against forms of free speech used in the US that some countries in the EU do less. Not all of them (UK online speech policing and arrests as a counterexample), but voter supression, union busting, and law enforcement response to protests have been handled in various countries in ways I consider more free for the citizens.

        TLDR: Intimidation tactics and biased response happens less in other countries.

  • Konala Koala@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    While you can imagine “Tim Walz says US could support NATO if Europe tries to regulate Elon Musk’s platforms”.

  • vga@sopuli.xyz
    0·
    2 months ago

    I didn’t know we need to regulate Elon Musk’s platforms. Now I do!

  • njm1314@lemmy.world
    0·
    2 months ago

    It’s an amazing thing to say you can abandon a military Alliance because a campaign donor ask you to.

  • thefartographer@lemm.ee
    0·
    2 months ago

    He must have shouted that quote so that the interviewer could hear him with his head so far up Elon’s ass

  • dustyData@lemmy.world
    0·
    2 months ago

    The gall of saying, that entirely different culture that’s been around for longer than our country, they should have our same values, right after calling them backwoods countries. The extreme narcissist egoism is palpable and disgusting.

    • dhork@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      2 months ago

      He didn’t call the Europeans “backwoods countries”. He called those other places that. He specifically says that European countries should be more like us, for all the white right reasons…

  • Jumi@lemmy.world
    0·
    2 months ago

    If Trump becomes president we should embargo the US like Russia since he’s Putins lapdog

  • whyNotSquirrel@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    Lol, soon he’ll ask NATO military communication to use Twitter

    what the fuck is the link between a shit platform and military alliance