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FactCheck
Debunked: No, US Vice-President JD Vance did not make a security conference chairman cry on stage
Edited footage was used to imply that the chairman was emotionally unstable.
12.19pm, 19 Feb 2025
8.2k
CLAIMS THAT THE chairman of the Munich Security Conference “literally broke down in tears” over a speech by the US vice president are baseless.
Christoph Heusgen, who chaired the Munich Security Conference (MSC) did cry on stage on Sunday as he finished his commencement speech, but for a different reason: the end of the conference marked the end of his term as chairperson.
“The chairman of the Munich Security Conference literally broke down in tears today over JD Vance’s speech on Friday criticising European leaders,” one post on X by an Irish user who regularly spreads far-right misinformation read.
“Europe is currently being governed by extremely unstable and unserious people,” the post, which has been viewed more than 5,200,000 times, concluded.
The claim was also shared more than a dozen times on Facebook, including multiple posts that had translated the claim into Ukrainian. Many of these other posts also implied that the emotional expression was evidence that leaders in Europe were somehow unfit for their roles.
The Munich Security Conference is a forum that, according to its website, sees “450 high-profile and senior decision-makers as well as thought-leaders from around the world, including heads of state, ministers, leading personalities of international and non-governmental organizations, high-ranking representatives of industry, media, academia, and civil society, to engage in an intensive debate”.
JD Vance, the US vice president, had spoken at the conference the previous Friday, hitting out on Europe over its reliance on US security support.
“There is a new sheriff in town under Donald Trump’s leadership,” Vance said in a speech that criticised European governments over immigration, populist parties and free speech.
Heusgen referenced Vance’s speech days later, but he did not begin to get teary until minutes after the reference as he prepared to leave the podium.
“After the speech of Vice-President Vance on Friday, we have to fear that our common value base is not that common any more,” Heusgen said near the beginning of his speech.
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He continued, praising world leaders and discussing policies, spending proposals and ongoing conflicts.
More than four minutes later, he spoke about the “rules-based international order” being under pressure. “This order is easy to disrupt, it’s easy to destroy, but it’s much harder to rebuild,” he said.
“So let us stick to these values, let us not reinvent them, but focus on strengthening their consistent application.
“So, let me conclude and… this becomes difficult..” Heusgen said, stuttering while tearing up. As the crowd applauded, Heusgen came down from the stage and, beaming a smile, hugged members of the audience.
There is no indication that Heusgen was responding to Vance’s speech, which he had referenced about five minutes prior to becoming emotional.
However, false claims saying that Heusgen was crying due to Vance’s remarks days before have spread widely online, often shared with footage from RTÉ’s Instagram account that clips together portions of the speech from the start and the end.
The RTÉ video has an obvious cut, and its description does not imply that Heusgen was crying over Vance’s remarks.
“The chairman of the Munich Security Conference shed a tear as he closed the event this afternoon, moments after thanking European leaders for speaking out on US Vice President JD Vance’s comments criticising European democracy at the conference on Friday,” RTÉ’s post accurately read.
“Our former Chair Christoph Heusgen did not shed a few tears out of ‘frustration’,” a post by the Munich Security Council’s account on X read.
“It was his farewell speech as he was leaving the MSC after this year’s conference. He was saying goodbye to the team.”
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