Vance jokes about Greta Thunberg as he goes scorched earth on European censorship

Vice President JD Vance quipped that Europe could survive Elon Musk’s criticisms if the U.S. could "survive" climate activist Greta Thunberg’s.

In a speech at the Munich Security Conference largely critical of Europe’s censorship activities, the vice president insisted the gathered leaders should listen more to their voters. 

"Trust me, I say this with all humor," he said. "If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk." 

Thunberg, the 22-year-old Swedish environmental crusader, stole the spotlight among liberals over her climate concerns before she even turned 18. 

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"I know you are trying, but just not hard enough. Sorry," Thunberg told a U.S. Senate climate panel in 2019. 

"Don't invite us here to just tell us how inspiring we are without actually doing anything about it," she said at age 16. 

"How long do you think you can continue to ignore the climate crisis, the global aspect of equity and historic emissions without being held accountable?" Thunberg asked U.S. lawmakers two years later before the House Oversight Subcommittee on the Environment. 

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​​"You get away with it now, but sooner or later, people are going to realize what you have been doing all this time. That's inevitable. You still have time to do the right thing and to save your legacies."

Musk, meanwhile, has gone toe-to-toe with Europe over censorship, and the European Commission recently ramped up its probe into whether Musk's X had breached EU rules on content moderation. Musk has called the commission "undemocractic" and called on the European Union to hold referendums to vote on policies that apply to all of its nations. 

Musk has also riled European officials with his support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Germany's elections, and for endorsing Britain's right-wing Reform party.

"It's good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything," he said in a recent video appearance at an AfD campaign event.