US Secretary of State Marco Rubio addresses the Munich Security Conference, February 14, 2026 (Sky)
EA on International Outlets: Alliance No More — Trump Threatens Greenland, NATO, and Europe
Ukraine War, Day 1,451: Europe’s Leaders Support Kyiv at Munich Security Conference
I joined Poland’s TVP World on Saturday for a 13-minute evaluation of the speeches and maneuvers at the Munich Security Conference, amid the Trump Administration’s threat to Europe and its security.
I consider the contrasting approaches of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to the end of the post-1945 international order.
Merz implicitly acknowledged the Trump camp’s withdrawal from alliances while calling for repair of the trans-Atlantic relationship. Rubio, albeit far more polite than Vice President J.D. Vance a year later, reaffirmed the Administration’s attacks on Europe from immigration to climate change to international cooperation.
Marco Rubio might be nicer than J.D. Vance in his rhetoric but the National Security Strategy made it clear: the Trump Administration is going to promote “white nationalist” parties in Europe and they are going to underming the European Union.
Thus the question: while waiting for a more sensible Government in the US, how should Europe — taking the burden of supporting Ukraine against Russia’s full-scale invasion — prepare itself politically, economically, and militarily?
