“We know some in the administration have a harsher tone on these topics,” she conceded, without naming the American president or vice president.
But not all Europeans were swayed by the change in tone.
“In substance nothing changes, Europe now has to become more independent and assume more responsibility, also in the security and defense area,” Austria’s Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger told POLITICO.
Democratic Party politicians in Munich said Rubio’s speech marked a change in tone, but they were uncertain it would affect the substance of the transatlantic relationship.
“He was clearly trying to escape the vituperative ghost of JD Vance in seeking to be calming and reassuring, but it was so lacking in substance and specificity that in the end, its impact will be very limited,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“I don’t think the speech was about turning the page [after Greenland], but just getting over the moment, yeah, has given no signs that he’s backing down from the antagonism and hostility,” he added.
