Christoph Heusgen, chairman of the Munich Security Conference, has called this year’s edition a “European nightmare” after it became clear the US was pushing for major changes in the transatlantic partnership.
“America under Trump lives on a different planet,” Heusgen said.
He described this year’s meeting in the Bavarian capital from February 14-16 as “one of the most significant” security conferences so far.
According to the chairman, the 61st edition was “in a certain sense a European nightmare” but also “very clarifying”.
Expanding on the different viewpoints with US President Donald Trump, Heugsen claimed: “We’ve also noticed that even Republican senators are very cautious about speaking out publicly because they’re afraid of their President.”
On February 14, US Vice-President JD Vance criticised the European Union at the conference, accusing member states of anti-democratic behaviour.
Vance challenged European leaders on free speech, election integrity and mass migration. “There is a new sheriff in town,” he declared.
Rather than pledging to offer weapons or troops to Ukraine to fight against Russia, Vance scolded the EU leaders for abandoning Europe’s “most fundamental values”.
Reacting to this, Heusgen said: “Our common set of values is no longer so common.”
When delivering the closing remarks of the conference, Heusgen’s last as chairman, he broke down in tears, which was received with praise, hugs and applause from the European elites at the summit.
Munich Security Conference Chairman Christoph Heusgen gets emotional and breaks down in tears after JD Vance’s speech criticizing European leaders.
“We have to fear that our common value base is not that common anymore.” pic.twitter.com/dGH3gkloly
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) February 17, 2025
Online, when clips of the tearful breakdown went viral, many reacted with either ridicule or questions regarding the suitability of those who were supposed to protect Europe.
It was not the first time Heusgen had gone viral online.
He had previously served as then-chancellor Angela Merkel’s security and foreign policy adviser, in addition to being Germany’s ambassador to the UN.
In that capacity, Heusgen was part of the German delegation that could be seen smirking and laughing when in 2018, during his address to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump, in his first stint as president, issued a stark warning to the German delegation about their country’s growing dependence on Russian energy.
He cautioned that Germany was becoming “totally dependent on Russian energy” due to its increasing reliance on Russian gas, particularly through the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
As Trump spoke, the German delegation, seated in the audience, was visibly amused, dismissing his concerns as exaggerated.
His warning would later prove prescient when, in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Germany and the broader EU faced a severe energy crisis due to their reliance on Russian gas supplies.
Heusgen, a confidant of Merkel, also received criticism when he, as a diplomat, gave his wife a well-endowed UN post. She earned €91,000 gross per year plus a supplement of €47,000.
This information was leaked to the press after hackers breached the UN’s email system, an attack that was attributed to Russia.
Remember when Christoph Heusgen along with all the other top German diplomats in the UN burst out laughing when in 2018 Trump told them that Germany is totally dependent on Russian oil? Well this is him today, breaking into tears at the conclusion of the Munich conference. Sad! pic.twitter.com/Mb7LxDizYL
— Dispropaganda (@Dispropoganda) February 16, 2025
