Vance Torches ‘Dummy’ Mehdi Hasan In Spat Over Free Speech And The Associated Press

Vice President JD Vance let former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan have it in a brief spat on X over The Associated Press being barred from the White House after refusing to update the style guide to reflect the newly renamed Gulf of America.

The conversation began with a piece from Axios White House reporter Marc Caputo, who argued, “President Trump’s decision to limit AP reporters’ access is as much fight over the Gulf of America as it is a protest of what White House advisers say is years of liberal word choices that AP’s influential stylebook has spread across mainstream media.”

President Trump’s decision to limit AP reporters' access is as much fight over the Gulf of America as it is a protest of what White House advisers say is years of liberal word choices that AP’s influential stylebook has spread across mainstream mediahttps://t.co/H7hJrsY44r

— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) February 17, 2025

Hasan quickly hopped on the legacy media bandwagon, asserting that the Trump administration’s decision to bar The AP from the White House was a violation of the outlet’s right to free speech.

The ousted MSNBC host also attempted to tie in current events and take a swing at the vice president in the process.

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“Hey, @JDVance, I know you’re busy lecturing the Europeans on free speech, but have you seen this?” Hasan asked.

Yes dummy. I think there’s a difference between not giving a reporter a seat in the WH press briefing room and jailing people for dissenting views. The latter is a threat to free speech, the former is not. Hope that helps!

— JD Vance (@JDVance) February 17, 2025

“Yes dummy. I think there’s a difference between not giving a reporter a seat in the WH press briefing room and jailing people for dissenting views,” Vance replied. “The latter is a threat to free speech, the former is not. Hope that helps!”

During his recent speech in Munich, Vance warned European leaders about the dangers of suppressing free speech and censoring their own citizens — a move that prompted backlash from American media.

CBS News host Margaret Brennan responded to Vance’s remarks by claiming on Sunday’s “Face the Nation” broadcast that “free speech was weaponized” to cause the Holocaust. Just hours later, the network aired an episode of “60 Minutes” that cast a positive light on German authorities’ efforts to crack down on free speech, particularly online.

Vance responded to Brennan’s comments with disbelief, and pushed back on the claims made during the “60 Minutes” broadcast — namely that in Germany, it is now illegal to post insults or to repost lies.

“Insulting someone is not a crime, and criminalizing speech is going to put real strain on European-US relationships. This is Orwellian, and everyone in Europe and the US must reject this lunacy,” he said.

Insulting someone is not a crime, and criminalizing speech is going to put real strain on European-US relationships.

This is Orwellian, and everyone in Europe and the US must reject this lunacy. https://t.co/WZSifyDWMr

— JD Vance (@JDVance) February 17, 2025