JD Vance has suggested that the US may reconsider its support for NATO if the European Union follows the rules aimed at social media platforms, especially Elon Musk’s X.
Vance made the comments during a recent appearance on the “Shawn Ryan Show,” where he expressed concern about the threat to free speech.
Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate in the upcoming presidential election, said on the show that an EU official had threatened to arrest Musk if he put Trump on the podium.
“The president, I forget exactly which official he was in the European Union, but he sent Elon this threatening letter that said: ‘We will arrest you if you are on Donald Trump’s platform,'” Vance he said.
“What America needs to say is, if NATO wants us to continue to support them and NATO wants us to continue to be a good part of this military alliance, why don’t you respect American values and respect for free speech?” he continued, adding that it is “ridiculous that we would support a military alliance if that military alliance is not going to be free speech.”
Vance appeared to be referring to a letter written to X in August by Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for the Internal Market at the time.
Breton wrote a letter to Musk ahead of the X owner’s highly publicized interview with Trump, warning him against raising “dangerous news”.
Breton wrote that Musk and X have an obligation to comply with EU law, guaranteeing freedom of speech and information but ensuring that “all proportionate and effective mitigation measures are put in place to spread dangerous news about relevant events.”
The EU Commission previously said in July that X is not in compliance with the EU’s Digital Services Act regarding advertising transparency and its verified account policy.
Breton said the commission’s preliminary findings suggested that the X test was “misleading users” and violating the DSA.
Responding to the investigation on his social media platform, Musk said that the European Commission had previously awarded X an “illegal secret contract.”
“If we could block speech quietly without telling anyone, they wouldn’t charge us. Other platforms accepted that deal. X didn’t,” he added. by saying.
Despite Musk’s long-standing fight for free speech, he once suspended the X accounts (at that time on Twitter) of many journalists who were covering him or criticizing him.
Business Insider has reached out to Vance’s representatives for comment.
US President Donald Trump at the 2019 summit with NATO leadership at the White House. Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images
The US-NATO relationship is back in the spotlight during the US election in November.
Trump has long urged NATO members to increase their defense spending.
In February, the former president even suggested that he would “encourage” Russia to attack non-aligned NATO countries, much to the chagrin of the White House.
NATO defense ministers agreed in 2006 to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense, but several countries – including Canada and Spain – have fallen below this level.
According to NATO estimates, Poland should be the biggest spender of NATO in 2024, allocating 4.12% of its GDP. Estonia comes in second place at 3.43%, while the US sits in third place at 3.38%.
For its part, NATO has acknowledged that there has been a historical imbalance between US military spending and that of non-US allies.
In July, a post on its website said: “The total US defense spending represents about two-thirds of the Alliance’s total defense spending.”
“However, this is not the money that the United States contributes to the operation of NATO, which is shared with all allies according to the principle of common funds,” it added.