The Bulwark

The Bulwark

Home
Shows
Newsletters
Chat
Special Projects
Events
Founders
Store
Archive
About

Share this post

The Bulwark
The Bulwark
JD Vance’s Free Speech Hypocrisy in Munich
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
User's avatar
Discover more from The Bulwark
The Bulwark is home to Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller, Bill Kristol, JVL, Sam Stein, and more. We are the largest pro-democracy bundle on Substack for news and analysis on politics and culture—supported by a community built on good-faith.
Over 826,000 subscribers
Already have an account? Sign in
Overtime

JD Vance’s Free Speech Hypocrisy in Munich

Jim Swift's avatar
Jim Swift
Feb 18, 2025
206

Share this post

The Bulwark
The Bulwark
JD Vance’s Free Speech Hypocrisy in Munich
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
34
Share

Recently in The Bulwark:

  • BILL KRISTOL & ANDREW EGGER: Breaking Things Faster Than You Can Read About It

  • JVL is off today.

Overtime is for everyone. If you’re a subscriber: thank you. If you’re not, there’s no better time to subscribe to Bulwark+ than today. If you like today’s issue, you can share this newsletter with someone you think would value it.


CATHY YOUNG: JD Vance’s Free Speech Hypocrisy in Munich

Vice President JD Vance speaks during the 61st Munich Security Conference on February 14, 2025 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images)

JD VANCE’S VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBUT on the international scene—his belligerent February 14 speech at the Munich Security Conference, in which he chided Europeans for their failings on democracy and free speech—elicited strong reactions from current and former European leaders as well as effusions of joy on the American right. (“Almost Reaganesque,” the Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway asserted on Fox News. Funny, I don’t remember Ronald Reagan ripping into America’s European allies while giving the dictator in the Kremlin a pass.) Vance’s culture-war tirade was not only pointlessly confrontational and ill-informed; it was also delivered at a moment when lectures on democracy from America have inevitable “Physician, heal thyself” overtones.

Case in point: The day after Vance’s lecture, the president of the United States declared himself a national savior who doesn’t have to worry about little things like laws when he’s busy saving the country.

READ THE REST.


🎥 PODCASTS AND VIDEOS 🎧

  • Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller: Bill Kristol: Taking A Wrecking Ball to the Government [YouTube]

  • Bulwark+ Live:

    • President Elon’s Baby Mama Drama Goes Off the Rails [YouTube]

    • Germany Speech Laws Are A Gift To MAGA [YouTube]

    • Trump Trying To Bail Out Creep Andrew Tate Over His Sex Trafficking Charges [YouTube]

  • The Mona Charen Show: Debunking Populist Myths

  • The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood: How to Make a Microbudget Movie

  • The Focus Group: I'm All For Deportations, But... (with Adrian Carrasquillo) [YouTube]

  • How to Fix It (with John Avlon): End the Tech Overlords' Self-Protection Racket (with Chris Hughes) [YouTube]

  • Bulwark on Sunday: Putin Is a Master Manipulator, Trump Is Getting Outplayed [YouTube]

Did you know? Bulwark+ members can listen to an ad-free version of these podcasts on the player of their choice.
Learn more at Bulwark+ Podcast FAQ.
📣Bulwark+ members can now listen to ad-free podcasts on Spotify! Learn more here.
Our 🎥YouTube offerings are the free-versions of shows, and they do have ads.
✍️Also: Did you know that every podcast has a transcript for B+ members? Yes! If you’re more a reader than a listener/viewer, open any podcast and the transcript button is beneath the player.

😶 Do you have a tip for us?

Send it to us! It’s encrypted. 🔐


🚨OVERTIME🚨

Happy Monday! Hopefully the storms were not too much for you over the weekend. The flooding was intense in places here, and a number of our tri-state neighbors died.

Today’s Overtime will be shorter than usual.

A Delta flight in Toronto… Ended up wingless and on its back today (NYT🎁). Thankfully, nobody died. What a miracle. If you’re a plane geek or just curious as to the how, FlightRadar has more for you.

Trump begins firings of FAA air traffic control staff… just weeks after fatal DC plane crash (AP)

This Small Rust-Belt City Holds the Secret to Democrats’ Latino Woes… At The New Republic, Greg Sargent writes: “Latino voters shifted dramatically toward Trump in the last election. Reading, Pennsylvania offers a clue to how Democrats can claw them back.”

Dear Europe: Trump and Vance do not speak for us… A letter from Dan Rodricks to our allies in Germany, Ukraine and throughout the continent.

I was a Jan. 6 juror…. What I learned surprised me, writes Lauren Ober in The Washington Post 🎁.

Trump amends CBS ’60 Minutes’ lawsuit… and demands $20 billion, as serious people do (LATimes).

“Just in time for the Republicans in the Senate to make one of the most destructive confirmations in U.S. history…” here is the finale of Ball of Thread, a series about Ka$h Patel.

Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com. Questions for me? Respond to this message.

—30—

Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.

John Doe's avatar
Melanie's avatar
Alycia's avatar
Wisley Lau's avatar
Aram Zucker-Scharff's avatar
206 Likes∙
34 Restacks
206

Share this post

The Bulwark
The Bulwark
JD Vance’s Free Speech Hypocrisy in Munich
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
34
Share
The American Age Is Over
Emergency Triad: The United States commits imperial suicide.
Apr 3 • 
Jonathan V. Last
5,335

Share this post

The Bulwark
The Bulwark
The American Age Is Over
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
1,470
How to Think (and Act) Like a Dissident Movement
AOC, solidarity, and people power.
Mar 24 • 
Jonathan V. Last
4,097

Share this post

The Bulwark
The Bulwark
How to Think (and Act) Like a Dissident Movement
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
1,170
“How Can You Look at Yourself in the Mirror?”
George is furious.
Apr 3 • 
Sarah Longwell
2,102

Share this post

The Bulwark
The Bulwark
“How Can You Look at Yourself in the Mirror?”
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
348
49:37

Ready for more?

© 2025 Bulwark Media
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More