Feb. 14, 2026, 8:47 p.m. ET
Munich – Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that the United States and Europe “belong together” in a speech Saturday seeking tounify theWestern alliance, while condemning hallmarks of globalization, open borders, unfettered free trade, “deindustrialization” and mass migration.
Rubio’s message, in a keynote address at the annual Munich Security Conference, received applause from an audience of European leaders distressed about divisions with the United States stoked by President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs, territorial ambitions for Greenland and disagreements over how to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“We are bound to one another by the deepest bonds that nations could share, forged by centuries of shared history, Christian faith, culture, heritage, language, ancestry and the sacrifices our forefathers made together,” Rubio said.
But even as he appealed to those ties, Rubio promoted several Trump administration positions that put him at odds with many of the United States’ closest traditional allies. He showed disdain for policies to reduce carbon emissions, staunchly criticized the United Nations – which European officials say is critical to protecting smaller states’ sovereignty – and lauded unilateral U.S. military action in Latin America and the Middle East.
“On the most pressing matters before us, [the U.N.] has no answers and has played virtually no role,” Rubio said.
Compared, however, to Vice President JD Vance’s blistering speech in Munich last year, which left the audience stunned by his political criticisms of Europe, Rubio’s appeal to strengthen the alliance was received as more constructive. “Our home may be in the Western Hemisphere, but we will always be a child of Europe,” he said.
The chairman of the conference,Wolfgang Ischinger, called the remarks a “sigh of relief” and a message of “reassurance” and “partnership.”
Europe’s top political and military establishmentdescended on the Bavarian capital this weekend, proclaiming the need to overhaul the relationship with the U.S. that has guaranteed economic prosperity and security heresince World War II.
European leaders promised to chart their own course and forge a version of the Western alliance in which they depend less on the United States.
“In today’s fractured world, Europe must become more independent – there is no other choice,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech early Saturday, to applause.
As European and American politicians issue postmortems for the world order in Munich, officials from each side of the Atlantic said it was high time for Europe to pay its own way for security. On that point, European and U.S. leaders appeared in sync.
For the Europeans, the call to take charge of the continent’s defense is about more than addressing U.S. demands: It could also provide the ability to stand up to Washington and an administration with which they concede they do not share some interests.
Rubio’s remarks were softer than Trump’s threats to seize Greenland from NATO ally Denmark and Vance’s criticism of Europe’s fire walls against far-right parties and moderation of online speech – or his characterization of this as censorship.
But European leaders know well that a crisis with the administration could still erupt on an array of issues, including Greenland, negotiations with Russia over Ukraine and regulation of hate speech and Big Tech.
Asked if the crisis sparked by Trump’s on-again off-again push for Greenland had passed, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen put it bluntly. “Unfortunately not,” she said Saturday. “I think the desire from the U.S. president is exactly the same. He is very serious about this theme.”
The leaders of Europe’s political and economic powerhouses, France and Germany, stressed that a more powerful Europe could shield itself from the whims of Washington and Moscow, and they delivered a stern rebuke of Trump’s foreign policy gyrations including on trade and climate.
French President Emmanuel Macron, in a speechat the conference Friday night, said Europe had been unjustly “vilified” as a continent of unfettered immigration and repression – an apparent reference to Vance’s speech and to a recent U.S. National Security Strategy that says Europe was facing “civilizational erasure.”
“Caricatures have been made,” Macron said. “Everyone should take their cue from us, instead of criticizing us or trying to divide us.”
The French leader called for “de-risking vis-à-vis all the big powers,” not just in defense, but also in the economy and technology. “Europe is rearming, but we must now go beyond,” he added. “Europe has to learn to become a geopolitical power.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in his welcoming remarks Friday, said: “The culture wars of MAGA in the U.S. are not ours.”
Merz added that the U.S. claim to global leadership was being “challenged,” in an era of “great power rivalry,” including rising Chinese influence. He warned that Washington also needs the NATO alliance that has long served U.S. military interests beyond Europe.
“Even the United States will not be powerful enough to go it alone,” he said. “Dear friends, being a part of NATO is not only Europe’s competitive advantage.”
The conference also was attended by prominent Democrats who sought to provide a different vision of American values as they seek to retake the House in midterm elections this year.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized the Trump administration’s revocation of restrictions on pollutants and tried to depict his state as a reliable climate ally for Europe.
“Donald Trump is temporary; he’ll be gone in three years,” Newsom said. “California is a stable and reliable partner in this space, and it’s important for folks to understand the temporary nature of the current administration.”
Meanwhile, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) and Jason Crow (D-Colorado) delivered a “working class” rebuttal of Rubio’s remarks that accused the administration of self-dealing and corruption.
U.S. foreign policy has been “turned into an extortion ring for big oil executives, for the Trump family, for the elites,” Crow said.
Upon questioning, Ocasio-Cortez acknowledged that the Biden administration had itself claimed to enact a “foreign policy for the middle class” but while it made some progress, its work was “overshadowed” by anger over U.S. military support for Israel in its war in Gaza.
Ocasio-Cortez, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, spoke confidently on issues related to the Middle East but stumbled through some elementary foreign policy questions, such as whether the U.S. would support Taiwan in a conflict with China.
On Ukraine, the source of Europe’s most acute security anxieties, Rubio acknowledged that the Trump administration’s diplomatic efforts have not succeeded. “What we can’t answer – but we’re going to continue to test – is whether there is an outcome that Ukraine can live with and that Russia will accept,” he said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told reporters Friday that negotiations over ending the war were “achieving progress,” in particular because some early points from Russia that crossed European red lines were removed.
Yet talks have been deadlocked over core issues, including Russian demands for Ukrainian territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who met with Rubio on Saturday, repeated calls for a ceasefire and for Western security guarantees to sign onto any deal with Russia. “We believe that this war can be ended,” he said. “We hope President Trump will hear us.”
Anastacia Galouchka in Kyiv contributed to this report.
