Rubio tries to reassure foreign allies in Munich speech

The secretary of state delivered a conciliatory speech in Munich saying the Trump administration does not want to dismantle its traditional alliances.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a bluntly worded, but ultimately conciliatory, speech Saturday to leaders of Western nations, saying the Trump administration does not want to dismantle its traditional alliances.

However, during his speech at the Munich Security Conference, he called on European countries to adopt the administration's right-wing polices on mass migration and do more for their own defense.

"Our destiny is and always will be intertwined with you," Rubio said to prolonged applause. "We do not seek to separate but to reinvigorate an old friendship."

His speech's message appeared to be a greatly moderated version of the one given by Vice President JD Vance last year, where he attacked European countries as oppressive.

Rubio repeated many of the same political criticisms that Vance made, telling European countries they and the United States previously had fallen victim to a liberal "dangerous delusion."