Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Brussels Thursday for a gathering of NATO foreign ministers amid high unrest over the Trump administration's approach to Europe, including wars in Ukraine, relations with Russia and the growth of President Trump's trade war with the continent.
Rubio's visit to the headquarters of the alliance comes as US-European relations suddenly shifted from close cooperation during the Biden era to mistrust and condemnation under Trump.
At the same time, NATO officials may welcome the opportunity to talk with Rubio, who is considered the most pro-alliance member of Trump's national security team.
As a 2023 senator representing Florida, Rubio agreed to a law that required the president to seek Senate advice and consent before withdrawing from the organization. The former aide says he is personally meditating on Trump's step.
Foreign officials who have dealt with Rubio since becoming Trump's top diplomat have disregarded some of Trump's wild ideas and described them as translating them into a more realistic policy approach, but he also wonders whether he will truly speak to a president who has no close personal connections.
And there's so much you can do to sugar-coat the Trump agenda, driven by the view that Europe is economically exploiting the United States, but not in cultural sync with the values ​​of Trump's political movements and that he must do business with Russian president Vladimir V. Putin.
Rubio will also arrive a day after Trump announced a 20% tariff on imports from the European Union. At the White House on Wednesday, Trump said of the EU:
In a meeting with NATO ministers, Rubio is expected to encourage Trump to seek a quick end to war in Ukraine.
Rubio's fellow ministers will do their best to shape the Trump administration's efforts to mediate transactions between Kiev and Moscow, in order to stagnate the huge gap between war parties and urge the United States not to abandon Ukraine.
Rubio also repeatedly demands Trump that NATO countries increase military spending to 5% of domestic production. Trump and other American officials believe the alliance is heavily dependent on the United States for protection.
This was painfully clear to European officials last month by debating among top Trump administration officials over a signaling app that unconsciously includes journalist Jeffrey Goldberg of Atlantic Magazine. During the text chain, regarding the US's plan to bomb Yemen's Hooty extremists, Vice President JD Vance has called for the US to “rescue” Europe “again” by taking unilateral action to protect the international shipping lanes that the US has attacked.
“I fully share the disgust of the European free roads,” replied Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses. “That's pathetic.”
Trump himself warned that despite his alliance's commitment to mutual self-defense, he may not come to the defense of NATO countries, whom he feels he hasn't spent enough on the military. “If they don't pay, I'm not going to protect them,” the president told reporters last month.
An additional point in tension is Trump's determination to acquire Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, a member of NATO. Trump shocked officials from Denmark and other NATO countries and refused to forcefully rule out Greenland's capture, but Vance said on his recent visit to the island that military action is not under consideration.
The Danish Foreign Minister will be attending a gathering in Brussels, but it is unclear whether he and Rubio will discuss Greenland. Danish officials say that the island has the right to self-determination and therefore cannot negotiate the fate of Greenland himself.
Rubio is joining Brussels with NATO's new US ambassador, Matthew G. Whitaker, who the Senate confirmed slightly on Tuesday.
NATO officials simply served as attorney general during Trump's first term, but don't know what to do with Whitaker, who has no experience in foreign policy. During the confirmation hearing, Whitaker assured the senators that the US commitment to NATO was “Ironclad.”
