{"id":2569958,"date":"2026-02-14T10:39:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T15:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rubio-softens-u-s-stance-towards-europe-in-munich-speech\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T10:41:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T15:41:54","slug":"rubio-softens-u-s-stance-towards-europe-in-munich-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rubio-softens-u-s-stance-towards-europe-in-munich-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"Rubio softens U.S. stance towards Europe in Munich speech"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frubio-softens-u-s-stance-towards-europe-in-munich-speech%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2569958&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>At the Munich Security Conference, U.S. secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a keynote urging a reassuring yet candid stance toward NATO partners, insisting that the United States and Europe \u201cbelong together\u201d and that Europe\u2019s fate will never be irrelevant to Americans. He presented a softer tone than the earlier <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/americans-have-a-crisis-of-confidence-in-biden-his-angry-state-of-the-union-speech-didnt-help\/\" title=\"... lack confidence in Biden due to his unhelpful, angry State of the Union ...\">fiery address<\/a> by Deputy Defense Secretary JD Vance, but argued that the alliance needs work and that Washington seeks enduring partnerships rather than \u201cpolite and orderly caretakers of the West\u2019s managed decline.\u201d Rubio asserted that an end to the transatlantic era is neither the goal nor the reality, insisting Americans see themselves as \u201ca child of Europe\u201d with shared civilization and interests. European leaders reacted with cautious optimism: Estonia\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/taliban-attacks-northwestern-afghan-province\/\" title=\"Taliban attacks Northwestern Afghan province\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-has-yet-to-call-israels-netanyahu\/\" title=\"Biden Has Yet To Call Israel\u2019s Netanyahu\">defense minister<\/a> called<\/a> the speech bold but noted much work remains, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it reassuring but signaled that some in the governance tilt harder on these issues. The piece places Rubio\u2019s remarks within broader U.S.debates over NATO commitments, the Pentagon\u2019s evolving security posture, and steps toward renewing transatlantic ties, including references to a potential 2028 ticket dynamics and ongoing renewal under trump-era messaging.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Rubio breaks with Vance in tone of Munich address and tells Europe &lsquo;we belong together&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2023003\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Secretary of State <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/marco-rubio\/\">Marco Rubio<\/a> on Saturday opted for a reassuring, though prodding, stance toward <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nato\/\">NATO <\/a>partners at the Munich Security Conference, signaling the United States still views Europe as an essential ally.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. and Europe &ldquo;belong together,&rdquo; Rubio said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >highly anticipated keynote address<\/a>, adding that the fate of Europe will &ldquo;never be irrelevant to our own.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4457677\/south-latin-american-countries-bend-to-trump-curb-support-cuba\/\">South and Latin American countries bend to Trump in moves to curb support for Cuba<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4457327\/saudi-uae-feud-undercuts-us-moves-neutralize-iran\/\">Saudi-UAE feud undercuts US moves to neutralize Iran permanently: &#8216;Knock it off&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/4458056\/europe-rubio-remarks-munich-vance-fiery-address\/\">Europe braces for Rubio remarks in Munich after Vance&#8217;s fiery address<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The secretary notably struck a softer tone toward Europe than Vice President JD Vance did in a speech to the conference last year. At the time, Vance shocked allies with an <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/4458056\/europe-rubio-remarks-munich-vance-fiery-address\/\">address accusing Europe<\/a> of abandoning commitments to free speech, religious liberty, and other democratic ideals. In the months since, the administration has also chosen to take a more mercurial approach to NATO partners than in years past, a stance embodied in the Pentagon&rsquo;s 2025 National Security Strategy, which says &ldquo;it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-smacks-eu-with-official-declaration-saying-their-freeloading-days-are-over\/\" title=\"... Smacks EU with Official Declaration Saying Their Freeloading Days &#039;Are Over&#039;\">remain reliable allies<\/a>.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4449678\/vance-rubio-2028-presidential-ticket-exposure-milan-olympics\/\"><strong>VANCE AND RUBIO GET 2028 PRESIDENTIAL TICKET EXPOSURE IN MILAN FOR OLYMPICS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This week, Rubio continued to maintain that the alliance needs fixing, saying the U.S. has no interest in being &ldquo;polite and orderly caretakers of the West&rsquo;s managed decline.&rdquo; But he emphasized that Washington wishes to continue partnerships with European allies.<\/p>\n<p>An end of the trans-Atlantic era &ldquo;is neither our goal nor our wish,&rdquo; Rubio said. &ldquo;For us Americans, home may be in the Western Hemisphere, but we will always be a child of Europe,&rdquo; he added, stressing that countries on both sides of the Atlantic were &ldquo;heirs to the same great and noble civilization.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Hanno Pevkur, the defense minister of the EU and NATO member Estonia, said it was &ldquo;quite a bold statement to say that America is &lsquo;a child of Europe.&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It was a good speech, needed here today, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean that we can rest on pillows now,&rdquo; he told the <em>Associated Press<\/em>. &ldquo;So still a lot of work has to be done.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Rubio&rsquo;s speech was &ldquo;very reassuring.&rdquo; But she noted that &ldquo;in the administration, some have a harsher tone on these topics,&rdquo; likely referring to figures such as Vance and Undersecretary of Defense for policy Elbridge Colby.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), told the <em>New York Times<\/em> that Rubio&rsquo;s speech &ldquo;changed the weather around here really pretty rapidly,&rdquo; and &ldquo;made our jobs easier,&rdquo; referring to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4455794\/congress-munich-conference-opportunity-rebuild-confidence-nato-allies\/\">dozens of lawmakers like him<\/a> who flocked to Munich to reassure European leaders that Washington will not abandon them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>During his speech, Rubio sought to explain why &ldquo;Americans may sometimes come off as a little direct and urgent in our counsel,&rdquo; a tactic that <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4457224\/friedrich-merz-warns-us-munich-speech\/\">has alarmed European leaders <\/a>such as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo\/Michael Probst)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4457163\/arizona-sheriff-denies-report-blocked-key-guthrie-evidence-fbi\/\"><strong>ARIZONA SHERIFF DENIES REPORT HE BLOCKED NANCY GUTHRIE EVIDENCE FROM FBI<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The &ldquo;euphoria&rdquo; of the Western victory in the Cold War led to a &ldquo;dangerous delusion&hellip; that every nation would now be a liberal democracy,&rdquo; he said, adding that &ldquo;now together we owe it to our people to face those facts and to move forward to rebuild.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Under President Donald Trump&rsquo;s leadership, the U.S. &ldquo;will once again take on the task of renewal and restoration,&rdquo; Rubio said. &ldquo;This is why we Americans may sometimes come off as a little direct and urgent in our counsel. This is why President Trump demands seriousness and reciprocity from our friends here in Europe.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rubio: U.S. and Europe belong together at Munich<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2569959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26045326055198.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[8447,4551,73808,5438,71572],"class_list":["post-2569958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-europe","tag-foreign-policy","tag-munich-speech","tag-rubio","tag-us-europe-relations"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26045326055198.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2569958"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2569962,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569958\/revisions\/2569962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2569959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2569958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2569958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2569958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}