Secretary of State Marco Rubio applied a velvet glove to the Trump administration’s still-clenched fist during his high-profile speech at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, offering some reassurance to uneasy European leaders that the US remains committed to their long-standing partnership but without backing away from its underlying demand that they change course on a number of fronts.
Rubio’s message that Washington is not looking to abandon the transatlantic alliance was well-received by European allies in the audience who just one year ago sat stone-faced as Vice President JD Vance stood at the same podium and delivered a broadly false desecration of Europe’s culture and values.
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