Once a moderate alternative to Trump, today Marco Rubio is expected to become the new US Secretary of State. But what awaits Berlin and Brussels under a Rubio mandate?
The power struggle between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Donald Trump was decided in the US Republican primary in 2016. The then 44-year-old Republican senator from Florida entered his party’s primary campaign as the hope of a “generation of again”. Rubio had earned a reputation as a moderate counter to the extreme positions of eventual winner Donald Trump, who entered the race from the outside. Born in Miami to Cuban immigrants – his father worked as a bartender, his mother as a cleaner – Rubio wanted to embody the ideal of the “American dream” of advancing in society as a politician.
Although the polls were initially promising, Senator Rubio was forced to abandon the presidential race in March 2016, after a clear loss in the state of Florida against Donald Trump. During the pre-election campaign, he had described Trump as a “third world dictator”. But despite the loss against Trump, whom he called during the campaign a “fraud who will never control the party,” the campaign strengthened Rubio’s national image and his role as a powerful voice within the Republican Party.
TRUMP CALLS HIM “LITTLE MARCO”
Despite the fact that Trump derided Marco Rubio as “Little Marco” during the campaign, there was a strong alignment between the two politicians on foreign policy issues during Trump’s first term in office. Rubio served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Intelligence Committee, and like Trump, advocated a tough policy line on China and a confrontational stance against authoritarian regimes such as Iran, Venezuela and Cuba. His pro-Israel stance and closeness to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also creates an ideological link with the new US president.
On the other hand, Rubio has expressed criticism of the NATO policy followed by Trump and his relations with Vladimir Putin in the past. His creed – an interventionist foreign policy, he favored for many years.
KEEPING DISTANCE
Rubio, on the other hand, did not approve of Trump’s lies about the “stolen election” in 2020 – and clearly condemned the lesson on the Capitol. But in terms of foreign policy, however, the politician changed during this election year and moved closer to the isolationist stance of his future boss, Trump. He voted in the Senate against extending aid to Ukraine and now counts on a quick end to the war: “I’m not on Russia’s side – but unfortunately the reality is that the war in Ukraine can only end through a negotiated settlement,” he said. Rubio in an interview with NBC.
President-elect Donald Trump is now full of praise for his next State Department secretary: “He will be a strong advocate for our nation, a true friend to our allies, and a fearless warrior who will never evade our adversaries,” Trump said in a statement.
CRITICISM OF GERMANY
Rubio is unlikely to be an easy partner for the German federal government. The American politician has repeatedly criticized German companies that still invest in China. Like his next boss, Rubio is demanding that Europeans massively increase defense spending. His position: European NATO members will have to increase their share of defense responsibility, the US cannot pay for Europe’s defense alone.
Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, the future American foreign minister would like Germany to play a more active role. Rubio has criticized Berlin several times in the past for its initially reluctant support for Ukraine, but has also underlined Germany’s importance to European security. However, despite all the criticism on individual issues, the seasoned foreign policy expert Rubio is likely quite interested in working closely with Germany and other European partners. (DW)
