Vice President Vance on Friday chided European leaders for their criticism of Elon Musk wading into their elections, comparing Musk’s actions to Swedish activist Greta Thunberg urging American leaders to take action on climate change.

“I believe that dismissing people, dismissing their concerns, or worse yet, shutting down media, shutting down elections or shutting people out of the political process protects nothing. In fact, it is the most surefire way to destroy democracy,” Vance said.

“And speaking up and expressing opinions isn’t election interference, even when people express views outside your own country, and even when those people are very influential,” he continued. “And trust me, 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.”

  • dan1101@lemm.ee
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    17 minutes ago

    Europe didn’t have to survive with Thunberg, she wasn’t in the government and had no decision making authority.

  • barsoap@lemm.ee
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    37 minutes ago

    Random American vice president: “Holy cows make the best steaks”

    Europe: *stampede*

  • perestroika@lemm.ee
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    3 hours ago

    Bad headline: I already hoped they’d deport Musk to Europe, so we could have physical access… :(

    Getting back real, Vance:

    • came without a credible peace plan

    • read moralistic bullcrap about how it’s good to have your elections bought and manipulated (in the Romanian case where the court told to hold new elections - thousands of TikTok influencers and an unknown quantity of other actors working for a candidate who declared zero campaign expense).

    • proposed to Zelensky that Ukraine give up 50% of its natural resources for US support (Zelensky politely refused)

  • Clent@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    10 hours ago

    Knowing how the right has characterized Greta, comparing them like this is a huge insult against Musk from Couch Fucker Vance

    • jonne@infosec.pub
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      8 hours ago

      Yeah, how do you compare a 16yo (or however old she is now) girl with no political office to the president of the United States?

      I guess we can hope Trump ends up being as ineffective as she’s unfortunately been (I also noticed she’s been invisible in the mainstream media as soon as she started talking about Palestine. Same with Malala.).

  • lka1988@sh.itjust.works
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    18 hours ago

    How is that even close to the same thing? Greta pleaded with the people to think about their children’s future (and actively partakes in protests and demonstrations all over), while Elon is only looking to enrich himself.

    • barsoap@lemm.ee
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      3 hours ago

      Greta snubbed Trump, Elon didn’t, so it’s obvious why Vance considers the one as evil, the other as a saint.

    • iAvicenna@lemmy.world
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      5 hours ago

      I mean even the moral aspect of their ideologies aside, one literally just expressed opinions as a form of debate whereas the other is spending hundreds of millions to sway elections.

    • jonne@infosec.pub
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      8 hours ago

      Elon is also thinking about the children, in particular how they should all be white.

    • QuantumSparkles@sh.itjust.works
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      16 hours ago

      Okay but putting all morals, ethics, character, and opinions aside, looking at it completely objectively… its still completely different because we never put her in government offices and allowed her to make decisions for the entire country

    • meeeeetch@lemmy.world
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      17 hours ago

      She also asked that people do things that she specially could not do due to having no authority to enact policy, whereas Musk is interacting directly with levers of power (whether he has any legitimate/legal authority to do so).

  • umean2me@discuss.online
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    15 hours ago

    “I believe that dismissing people, dismissing their concerns, or worse yet, shutting down media, shutting down elections or shutting people out of the political process protects nothing. In fact, it is the most surefire way to destroy democracy,” Vance said.

    The jokes write themselves these days.

  • SarcasticMan@lemmy.world
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    18 hours ago

    “If I can say dumb ass shit don’t worry I will say some even dumber ass shit.” - Assistant to Vice President Trump J.D. Vance.

  • Tattorack@lemmy.world
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    17 hours ago

    Yes, because a foreign climate activist trying to appeal to politician for a cleaner future is the same as an apartheid billionaire funding and endorsing a fascist party to get them elected.