Rubio reassures European allies in Munich
MUNICH—US Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a reassuring message to America’s allies on Saturday, striking a less aggressive but still firm tone about the administration’s intent to reshape the trans-Atlantic alliance and push its priorities after more than a year of President Donald Trump’s often-hostile rhetoric toward traditional allies.
Reminding his audience at the annual Munich Security Conference about America’s centurieslong roots in Europe, Rubio said the United States would remain forever tied to the continent even as it pushes for changes in the relationship and the institutions that have been the bulwark of the post-World War II world order.
Rubio addressed the conference a year after Vice President JD Vance stunned the same audience with a harsh critique of European values.
A series of Trump administration statements and moves targeting allies followed, including Trump’s short-lived threat last month to impose new tariffs on several European countries in a bid to secure US control of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Nato ally Denmark.
