Rubio tells Europe US wants renewed alliance but on Trump’s terms | Trump administration
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described America as “the child of Europe” and insisted that the two continents belong together, offering an emotional but highly conditional new partnership.
In his highly anticipated speech at the Annual Munich Security Conference, he stated that the United States intends to build a new world order and said, “We are ready to do this alone if necessary, this is our choice and it is our hope to do this together with our friends in Europe.” The United States and Europe “belong together,” he said.
Acknowledging that Americans might seem a bit direct and urgent, he said this was only because the United States was deeply concerned about the fate of Europe and knew that its two destinies were intertwined.
Overall, the tone of the speech was met with relief from delegates in the room, but many noted that Rubio was offering not a true partnership of equals but an alliance framed largely on Donald Trump’s terms.
While Rubio extended the hand of friendship, in sharp contrast to the tone adopted by US vice president JD Vance at the same conference last year, he made it clear that the US did not deviate from its basic approach.
He said the United States under Trump does not want a Europe that is weak or shackled by guilt or shame.
He continued: “We in America have no interest in being polite and orderly guardians of the controlled decline of the West. We are not trying to divide, we are trying to revive an old friendship and renew the greatest civilization in human history. What we want is a revitalized alliance that recognizes that what is plaguing our societies is not just a set of bad policies but a malaise of despair and indifference.”
He also tried to tie Europe to Trump’s ideology by saying that Europe and the United States are making the same mistakes together, such as succumbing to the “climate cult,” expanding welfare states at the expense of national defense, embracing globalization and “a world without borders where everyone will be a citizen of the world.”
He said seizing control of national borders was not an expression of xenophobia or hatred. “This is a fundamental act of national sovereignty. Failure to do so is not only an abdication of one of the most fundamental duties we owe to our people, but an immediate threat to the fabric of our societies and the survival of our civilization.”
Arguing that it was Trump, not the UN, who resolved the crises in Gaza and Ukraine, he said that when rebuilding the global order, it would be necessary to reform and rebuild institutions such as the UN rather than dismantling them.
“In a perfect world, all these problems and more would be solved by diplomats and strongly worded resolutions. But we do not live in a perfect world. And we cannot continue to allow those who blatantly and openly threaten our citizens and endanger our global stability to shield themselves behind the abstractions of international law that they routinely violate.”
“This is the path that President Trump and the United States are taking. This is the path we are asking you to join us in Europe.”
Rubio blamed western economies for “a foolish but voluntary transformation that has left us dependent on others for our needs and dangerously vulnerable to crisis.” Mass immigration was not and was not a trivial concern with little consequence. “It was and continues to be a crisis that has transformed and destabilized societies across the West.”
Throughout the speech, he praised Europe’s history, but in doing so he raised the question of whether Europe has the capacity to join the United States in its effort to rebuild the world.
He said little in his speech about Ukraine after skipping a meeting with European leaders on Friday night, citing scheduling problems. However, he said he believed both sides had narrowed their differences, but said the remaining issues were the most difficult.
