Rubio calls for new era of power between US, Europe, with ancient Greece as backdrop

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday called for a new era of U.S. and European power on the global stage in a major speech delivered in Athens, Greece, with a dramatic background provided by the ancient Acropolis and the setting Mediterranean sun.

He said the U.S. and its allies stand at a crossroads of “whether the West maintains its place at the head of the world or resigns itself to a future of atrophy and servitude and decline.”

Rubio’s weighty address in an imposing setting and focused on a clash of civilizations is sure to fuel speculation that he’s pursuing a 2028 presidential run — although he’s said he has no plans for that at the moment .

It served to rally Europe alongside the U.S. by urging allies to rise from a “long slumber” and meet the occasion.

But the remarks come at a time when President Trump has alienated the continent with a trade war, threats to NATO allies and his pursuit of a controversial war against Iran. Whipsaw diplomacy with China, plus military adventurism and pressure campaigns in the Western Hemisphere, have further strained ties between the U.S. and Europe.

“Under President Trump, the United States has made its choice. We choose the unapologetic pursuit of national power,” Rubio said.

“This is the classical understanding of politics and of statecraft that the Trump Administration hopes to reclaim — reclaim not just for our country, but for the whole of our civilization,” he continued.

“We believe that Europe can awaken from its long slumber and rekindle the fire that was lit here millennia ago.”

He touched on divisions among U.S. and European countries, pointing to the recent trilateral security agreement among the U.S., Denmark and Greenland that appeared to end Trump’s determination to take over the Arctic island, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark.

“We want to win together. We must win together.”

But Rubio’s speech also gave the secretary the opportunity to put his own messaging on the Make America Great Again culture and social wars against an impressive backdrop.

His address was a major production, The Washington Post reported , with staffers operating four State Department video cameras, including one mounted on a crane for cinematic shots of the secretary on Pnyx, a hillside in Athens that is viewed as one of the earliest assembly points for democratic traditions.

The secretary reached back to ancient Greek traditions of “contest, ambition, competition” and said “too much of the West has forgotten this quality,” criticizing reexaminations of U.S. and global history. He also denounced increased multilateralism, uncontrolled migration and third-country manufacturing, adding that the West collectively “allowed our militaries to wither and to decay.”

“And so we must rebuild our institutions and our alliances to face these threats together — understanding that the purpose of these things is not to abolish the sovereignty of the nations that constitute them; it is to defend them,” he said.

“And that nations need not abandon their distinct identities in order to recognize their common interests.”

Rubio, who is also Trump’s national security adviser, is viewed as one of the more palatable messengers in the Trump administration. Whereas European allies expressed shock and outrage at Vice President Vance’s 2025 Munich Security Conference address admonishing them for stifling free speech, Rubio received praise when he delivered remarks to the conference this year.

Rubio and Vance play down whether they are seeking the 2028 presidential nomination. But Rubio has outperformed Vance in hypothetical presidential match-ups with Democratic candidates and took a commanding lead over Vance in an August straw poll about the 2028 contest.