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.”
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.
It’s not the same at all, but it sounds clever, so the base will suck it up and repeat it.
It doesn’t sound clever unless you grew up eating paint chips
Conveniently, the paint chip eaters are running the show right now!
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
Yeah, but have you considered it from this angle? Elon Musk is a white straight extremely wealthy dude. Those are some strong qualifications right there.
IDK, sounds like DEI to me
No, you see, white rich straight men are oppressed and need the extra boost.
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).
False equivalency is a celebrated fascist pastime.
He definitely needs more riches, for that thing he can’t yet afford.
It’s a sickness, they can’t stop themselves.
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.
Hilarious that a teenage girl once terrified the upper echelons of right-wing politicians.
Still does.
ahh yes Greta famously known to spend a fraction of a billion to influence elections.
One person with no power vs one person with all the power.
This is a key difference.
I wouldn’t say she has no power. She has the power to constantly upset these assholes.
Not even close to the same, but I’m glad she has that power.
Greta Thunberg, famously in charge of… ?
…pissing off climate deniers.
while being a young neurodivergent woman
Right. Honestly, I’m so impressed with her being able to get inside these assholes’ heads since she was 16.
“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.
I need you to rephrase all news to make it not so depressing.
How fragile are these men? My God.
What the fuck does that statement even mean
He’s probably run out of couches to fuck so he’s getting bored.
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.
This is a brain dead comparison, Musk’s influence is highly destructive to democracy, while Greta’s influence is only advocating for a global shift to protect the future of the planet.
He’s mustering anger from his brain dead base. His words aren’t meant for the rest of us. He needs to distract the Maga crowd from the damage Elon is actually doing.
The Hill’s piece on Musk and Vance’s Euro-tour reads like a corporate carnival masquerading as diplomacy. Tech oligarchs playing statesmen while defense contracts and AI patents get shuffled under the table. Ukraine’s “security” is just a euphemism for profit margins, and energy “innovation” means privatizing public infrastructure until it’s another subscription service.
Musk’s private sector savior complex hits different when you realize it’s just a hedge against taxes. Vance whining about EU regulations? Classic regulatory capture—can’t let pesky consumer protections interfere with monopolizing the digital commons. Algorithmic colonialism wrapped in venture capital buzzwords. But sure, let’s pretend this is about “progress” and not entrenching power where accountability algorithms can’t reach.
Man, a president Vance would really suck. He’s coherent…crazy, but he can maintain a thought long enough to finish a sentence.
Yes, that’s the scariest part, because all this behaviour is getting normalised. And this guy sure has chances to win an election and he seems to be much smarter compared to Trump.
The future looks grim.
As Jello Biafra once said: “I’d rather have a dumb Nazi than a smart Nazi.”
No surprise there. Couches are known to need long courting.
Yeah but that’s why trump does so well. Their followers can’t follow a thought process through an entire sentence. That’s why JD wouldn’t resonate with them.
Totally normal comparing Thunberg to Musk, they’re so similar in so many ways
If I was American I’d be so embarrassed
Interesting how he said elon musk and not donald trump.
