Rubio's European Address

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz shake hands at the Munich Security Conference earlier this month. 

Rubio's speech received some attention. The link (The Guardian) acknowledges he was reasonable as compared to Vice President James David Vance's speech last year. OTOH, they have different purposes.

Rubio provides the patina of reasonableness. Vance is full-fledged MAGA. This is a matter of degree.

Rubio’s speech was more subtle and coherent, but he in essence sang from the same hymn sheet: the message from Washington remains that Europe and the US should be defined by ethno-political values of culture, tradition and religion. 

The fact that such history has also bred nationalism, racism, fascism and colonialism is apparently nothing to be ashamed of.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation focuses on the so-called common religion tradition angle. 

“We are part of one civilization — Western civilization,” he claimed. “We are bound to one another by the deepest bonds that nations could share, forged by centuries of shared history, Christian faith, culture, heritage, language, ancestry and the sacrifices our forefathers made together for the common civilization to which we have fallen heir.”

Christian Nationalism was more blatantly expressed during the National Prayer Breakfast. 

Trump’s religious adviser Paula White-Cain introduced the U.S. president as “the greatest champion of faith that we have ever had in the executive branch,” claiming he has “brought religion back to this nation and beyond.”

Trump then mixed politics and religion, including denouncing Democrats as un-Christian. 

The baggage involved in these events has led many Democrats who otherwise support the concept to be wary about the whole thing. FFRF and others have covered this over the years.

Lawfare, which leans center-right, also has a summary. For instance, there are such passages as "rules-based global order—an overused term."  

See also:

Under President Trump, the United States of America will once again take on the task of renewal and restoration, driven by a vision of a future as proud, as sovereign, and as vital as our civilization’s past. And while we are prepared, if necessary, to do this alone, it is our preference and it is our hope to do this together with you, our friends here in Europe. 

The "renewal and restoration" talk is basic "Make America Great Again" rhetoric. 

Rubio is sending the message that America is supporting authoritarians (darn rules!) like in Hungary that promote that message. And the U.S. (and other nations willing to go along shouldn't feel bound to those rules in doing so either. 

Also, Trump's overall immigration policy is furthered by this passage:

“in a pursuit of a world without borders, we opened our doors to an unprecedented wave of mass migration that threatens the cohesion of our societies, the continuity of our culture, and the future of our people.” 

The Lawfare summary ends with a brief translation of the speech, including the non-Vance tone:

But all of that is rude to say. And it makes us look bad. And it makes you all worry. So let’s collectively indulge the polite fiction that we have more in common than we do. Let’s overstate a shared history. Let’s pretend we agree on shared challenges. And let’s pretend I’m not saying that the basis for our future cooperation is that you submit to our will. The first step in this regard is that I flatter you. The second step is that you applaud for me. And then I will fly home.

Many Democratic senators have had buyer's remorse for going along with the unanimous confirmation of this guy. Rubio was supposedly a reasonable guy, unlike the Secretary of Defense or Health and Human Services. 

Maybe on some sort of curve. Still, how surprising is it that Rubio is going along with Trump's policies without much serious pushback? Nothing in his past suggests the guy has some sort of spine. He would be a loyal soldier. Plus, even in a vacuum, Rubio had issues.

Now, he is the Secretary of State in the Trump Administration. Yes, we can have worse. 

OTOH, with people like Trump's former real estate lawyer and the Boy Wonder (Kushner, who always looks damn creepy in photographs) travelling the world and doing foreign policy, it is unclear how much better things are now.  

And his Munich speech suggests what is what as well.

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Meanwhile: Mets lost their ST opener 2-1. Some nobody gave up an unearned run for the loss.