Overview
- Multiple outlets report that U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance will not attend the Munich Security Conference in mid‑February.
- Reporting indicates Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to head the U.S. delegation, though organizers are not naming participants.
- No official reason has been provided for Vance’s absence, and a Republicans Overseas Germany representative called the reported decision a breach of trust.
- The development follows Vance’s contentious 2025 appearance in Munich, where he criticized Europe over free speech and opposed firewalling populist parties, while meeting AfD co‑leader Alice Weidel.
- This year’s gathering features renewed debate over AfD participation and unfolds during transatlantic strains tied to the Greenland dispute and the ongoing war in Ukraine.