TRUMP’S right-hand man has claimed mass migration is “destabilising the west”, accusing European leaders of being “shackled by shame”.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference today, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Europe to feel pride for its culture and Christian heritage, after blaming the continent for an “unprecedented wave of mass migration”.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the Munich Security Conference on SaturdayCredit: AFP
He claimed Europe and the US ‘belonged together’Credit: AP
In a speech addressing an estimated 50 world leaders, Rubio said that America and Europe “belonged together” and that it was one of the US’s most “cherished allies and oldest friends”.
“We will always be a child of Europe,” he said.
Questions over the United States’ commitment to Nato have left topics of European defence and the future of the transatlantic relationship up in the air.
“Mass migration is not, was not, some fringe concern of little consequence,” Rubio said this morning.
“It was and continues to be a crisis that is transforming and destabilising societies all across the west.
“Controlling who and how many people enter our countries – this is not an expression of xenophobia, it is not hate,” he added.
“It is a fundamental act of national sovereignty.”
He went on to describe migration as an “urgent threat to the fabric of our societies and to the survival of our civilisation itself”, saying that failing to control migration numbers was a “fundamental abdication [of] duty”.
“This is why we do not want our allies to be shackled by guilt and shame,” he said.
“We want allies who are proud of their culture and of their heritage, who understand that we are heirs to the same great and noble civilisation, and who together with us are willing and able to defend it.
“This is why we do not want allies to rationalise the broken status quo, rather than reckon with what is necessary to fix it – for we in America have no interest in being polite and orderly caretakers of the West’s managed decline,” he added.
Despite the separatist tone of his speech, Rubio said the US wanted to “revitalise an old friendship and renew the greatest civilisation in human history.”
He continued, saying the US wanted “allies who can defend themselves”, in order to reinforce “collective strength”.
Rubio said Trump cared about the future of the US and Europe, which was why he “demands seriousness and reciprocity from our friends here in Europe”.
“If at times we disagree, our disagreements come from our profound sense of concern about a Europe with which we are connected,” Rubio said.
“Not just economically, not just militarily – we are connected spiritually and we are connected culturally.
Rubio blamed the mass migration crisis on Europe, accusing leaders of being ‘shackled by shame’Credit: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks, next to the Chairman of the Munich Security Conference Wolfgang Ischinger, at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, February 14, 2026. Alex Brandon/Pool via REUTERS
He said the US wanted ‘Europe to be strong’Credit: Reuters
Rubio appeared ahead of Sir Keir Starmer, who is slated to speak later todayCredit: PA
“We want Europe to be strong … Because we know that the fate of Europe will never be irrelevant to our own.”
Wolfgang Ischinger, the chairman of the Munich Security Conference said there had been a “sigh of relief through this hall”, describing the contrast between Rubio’s address today and Vice-President ‘s speech last year.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was in the audience among the estimated 50 world leaders who attended the conference.
Already having met with Germany’s Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, Starmer is slated to meet with other European allies to warn them to bolster their own defences, rather than rely on the US.
Throughout the three-day conference, leaders have also met with Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss efforts to end the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
February 24 will mark the four-year anniversary of the of Zelensky’s country.
Starmer will also move to bring the UK closer to the European Union again, saying a turn inwards would “surrender” control in a tumultuous geopolitical period.
The conference follows flared tensions over Trump’s , coupled with insults directed at numerous world leaders.
Starmer islater today, to call for a strengthened European defence alliance and greater autonomy for the continent.
However, he is also expected to praise the US’s contribution to European security and say the country remains a key ally.
He is expected to say that the days of Brexit Britain are over, arguing there is “no British security without Europe”.
Starmer has already met with Germany’s Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel MacronCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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