US Secretary of State Marco Rubio appears in New York City during the UN General Assembly on September 28, 2025. Secretary Rubio’s recent speech at the Munich Security Conference has won praise from European leaders. (Shutterstock/Fotofield)

Marco Rubio’s Munich Moment

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s speech has instilled a new sense of purpose within the transatlantic alliance.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio just added more jobs to his lengthy list of responsibilities. In Munich this week, he became a master storyteller and “Europe whisperer.” He translated President Donald Trump’s vision for America’s role in the world order into concepts that its allies could understand and largely support.

The stage for Rubio’s proposal was Germany’s Munich Security Conference, Europe’s premier annual gathering of world leaders and diplomacy wonks.

When Rubio arrived, many allied officials were preparing a funeral for the transatlantic relationship. The German organizers officially titled their Munich meeting: “Under Destruction.” By deftly combining statecraft with stagecraft, Rubio flipped European pessimism on its head.

Instead of greater isolation, Rubio proposed greater unity between the United States and Europe, a twist many foreign capitals did not expect. The Trump administration did not want to destroy the international system, he argued, but work with Europeans to fix what was broken and benefit the interests of our shared competitors.

When Vice President JD Vance spoke at the same conference last year, Europeans responded dismissively. Even........

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