Marco Rubio offered a more supportive message to Europe at the Munich Security Conference yesterday than J. D. Vance did a year ago. Wolfgang Ischinger, the chair of the conference, thanked him for the message of reassurance, adding, 'I'm not sure you heard the sigh of relief in this hall.' This despite the fact that Rubio, like Vance, clearly misunderstands Europe and is in denial about the threats facing the United States and the transatlantic alliance. In 2025, Vance said that the threat he worried the most about for Europe is not Russia, China, or any other external actor. It was the 'threat from within,' particularly perceived restrictions on free speech. Vance's attack landed like a bombshell in Europe. In the weeks that followed, Vance's role in the Oval Office showdown with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Signalgate leak (in which he wrote 'I just hate bailing Europe out again') reinforced his reputation as Europe's strongest critic in the Trump...
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