Marco Rubio's Munich Speech Praises Empire, Alarming European Elites
At the Munich Security Conference, Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, delivered a speech that went far beyond typical defenses of American leadership. Instead, he issued a full-throated endorsement of empire, shocking many with his praise for Western colonialism and territorial expansion.
A Disturbing Message for European Governments
Fresh from actions in Venezuela, Rubio arrived in Munich with a new and troubling message: empire is great, empire is back, and empire is American. His 22-minute address was described as an ode to empire, a love letter to conquest that defended the West's historical expansionism.
Rubio, a long-time foreign-policy hawk and influential voice in the Maga-dominated Republican party, lamented the contraction of great Western empires after World War II. He decried anti-colonial uprisings and communist revolutions, ignoring that these movements freed 750 million people from 80 former colonies since 1945.
European Elites Applaud Imperial Rhetoric
Despite the controversial content, European elites gave Rubio a standing ovation, as if celebrating a major breakthrough rather than the return of empire. This response made them complicit in the Trump administration's rewriting of US, European, and world history.
Rubio's speech conveniently ignored the brutal facts of European colonization, which killed over 50 million people in the Americas and caused global cooling. He also overlooked genocides by the British, German, and Spanish empires, such as the deaths of 100 million in India under the British Raj.
Gaslighting and Hypocrisy in Munich
The gaslighting from Rubio was striking: as the son of Cuban immigrants, he pushed far-right, white-nationalist talking points about "civilizational erasure." Once a critic of Trump, he now urged European governments to support the belligerent US president.
Rubio also bragged about illegal actions, including bombing in Iran and abductions in Venezuela, yet received applause from more than half the audience. This raises questions about whether European officials realized they were applauding their own potential demise.
Omissions and Imperial Ambitions
Rubio's 3,000-word speech contained no mention of Russia, China, or Greenland—the latter being a territory of Denmark that Trump covets. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen confirmed Trump's serious intent to acquire Greenland, with the US president refusing to rule out military force against a NATO ally.
This underscores the administration's goal: America must dominate, Trump must lead, and Europe must comply or face consequences. European officials, by applauding, endorsed a geopolitics of vicious authoritarianism.
The Dangerous Return of Empire
In reality, the standing ovation was for something much uglier and bloodier than stability—the return of empire. This time, it may not stop at Europe's borders, threatening global security and historical reckoning.
