Vance’s comments were in stark contrast to the main topic of the conference: the negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Although he made a few perfunctory comments about the war, Vance mostly stuck to chastising America’s allies for not protecting religious freedom.

“The threat that I worry the most about vis a vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor,” Vance said. “And what I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.”

The vice president cited several instances that gave him alarm, including Romania’s constitutional court annulling the country’s presidential election last year, Brussels warning citizens that social media would be shut down during times of civil unrest, the United Kingdom convicting a man for silently praying outside an abortion clinic, and Sweden’s government convicting a Christian activist for participating in Quran burnings.

“For years, we’ve been told that everything we fund and support is in the name of our shared democratic values, everything from our Ukraine policy to digital censorship is billed as a defense of democracy,” Vance said. “But when we see European courts canceling elections and senior officials threatening to cancel others, we ought to ask whether we’re holding ourselves to an appropriately high standard. And I say ourselves because I fundamentally believe that we are on the same team.”

Vance also slammed the Biden administration for threatening and bullying social media companies “to censor so-called misinformation” such as the COVID-19 pandemic lab leak theory, but he claimed that the Trump administration would be different.

“In Washington, there is a new sheriff in town,” the vice president said. “And under Donald Trump’s leadership, we may disagree with your views, but we will fight to defend your right to offer it in the public square, agree or disagree.”

Vance used his speech in Munich to further drive home President Donald Trump’s demands that NATO allies increase support for Ukraine, as he sticks by his America First ideology.

“Now this is a security conference, and I’m sure you all came here prepared to talk about how exactly you intend to increase defense spending over the next few years in line with some new target,” Vance said. “And that’s great because, as President Trump has made abundantly clear, he believes that our European friends must play a bigger role in the future of this continent.

“We don’t think you hear this term ‘burden sharing,’” he continued. “But we think it’s an important part of being in a shared alliance together that the Europeans step up while America focuses on areas of the world that are in great danger.”

Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, resulting in the two nations agreeing to “start negotiations immediately” to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Trump also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that same day.

Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are expected to meet with Zelensky on Friday in Munich. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed back on European fears that the U.S. is retreating on its support of Ukraine after he said Wednesday that he does not “believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement.”

Before Vance’s address to the security conference, the Wall Street Journal reported the vice president claiming that if Putin did not agree to negotiations to end the war and guarantee Kyiv’s independence, the U.S. would hit Moscow with sanctions and military action.

Vance’s team denied the reporting, claiming it was “pure fake news” and published excerpts of the interview.

“The Vice President didn’t make any threats,” Vance spokesman William Martin wrote. “He simply stated the fact that no one is going to take options away from President Trump as these negotiations begin.”

The vice president’s roughly 20-minute speech ended with him making a joke at the expense of two well-known, if controversial, figures.

“I say this with all humor: If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg’s scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk,” Vance said.