'Trump is temporary, will be gone in three years': Munich Conference and rising American voices against the president

 'Trump is temporary, will be gone in three years': Munich Conference and rising American voices against the president

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was the center of attention at the Munich Security Summit as European leaders anxiously pondered the tone of his speech on Saturday.

His speech did not entirely allay European leaders’ concerns, but it was seen as a solace to US allies that their ties with the US have weakened under Donald Trump, but they will not be completely severed.

Rubio was not the only American political voice at the security summit, however.

Even if Marco Rubio’s statement was not considered acceptable, there were other American politicians who were admonishing like a Persian poet: “This too shall pass.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom told a conference on Friday that “Donald Trump is temporary, he will be gone in the next three years.”

Newsom was just one of dozens of US politicians and governors attending the conference.

Several leaders stressed that the United States will continue to build a strong partnership with Europe. These were the same words spoken by Marco Rubio at the Munich summit.

“The reason we are here is to reassure our European allies that we fully understand their importance,” said Senator Jane Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire.

'Trump is temporary

Trump’s willingness to push the envelope and test his power is not limited to foreign affairs. Several Democratic politicians also took some time in Munich to discuss domestic issues.

Senator Mark Warner of Virginia warned that the president’s move to nationalize elections and impose stricter ID requirements for voting by executive order means the freedom and transparency of the November midterm congressional elections are at risk.

“I never thought I would be saying this in the America of 2026,” he said.

Trump has defended the SAVE Act, which would impose new national voter ID requirements through legislation. He claims that it is not only popular with a large majority of the American public, but also necessary to prevent voter fraud at the ballot box.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was the second-most-watched figure at the Munichconference

 after Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking out against growing wealth inequality and the rise of authoritarian regimes.

'The Munich Conference and the American voices rising against the president'

“It is imperative that we fix our economy and provide benefits for the working class,” she said.

“Otherwise, we will end up in a more isolated world, dominated by authoritarian rulers who do not give anything to working people.”

Ocasio-Cortez is one of the Democrats widely seen as having presidential ambitions. Her attendance at the conference could have added to her foreign policy experience, but she also faced some difficulties on the occasion.

At one point, she struggled to answer a question about whether the United States should defend Taiwan in the event of an attack by China.

Marco Rubio has tried to soften some of the hard-line aspects of US policy during the Munich summit, but other Democrats attending have offered a more blunt and contrasting view.

Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego said, “Right now, Europe just wants us to be better, right?” And I think this conference has been very good at calming nerves. Sometimes you have to remind them (allies) that it's not all Trump... we're still here.'

 

A world driven by 'power' and the race for dominance between the US, China and Russia