Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez proved to be one of the biggest attractions at the conference beyond Rubio. She drew a line between growing wealth inequality – a focus of her domestic policy agenda since she won an upset victory in Congress in 2018 – and the rise of authoritarian governments.
“It is of the utmost urgency that we get our economic houses in order and deliver material gains for the working class,” she said. “Otherwise, we will fall into a more isolated world governed by authoritarians who also do not deliver to working people.”
While Ocasio-Cortez comes from a different wing of the Democratic Party, her view about the need for western democracies to provide a compelling alternative to authoritarian governments was similar to one expressed by Joe Biden during his presidency.
Trump, with his “America First” foreign policy and talk of preserving Western culture, provided a decidedly different view of world affairs. And in 2024, a plurality of Americans voted to return Trump to the White House, setting off a tumultuous year in which Vance’s confrontational Munich speech was just the scene-setter.
While Rubio has smoothed over some rough edges, the Democrats who made the trip to Munich attempted to provide a more distinct counterpoint.
“Right now, Europe just wants us to be better, right? And I think this has been a very good conference to reassure nerves,” Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego said. “Sometimes you have to remind them that this is not all Trump … We’re still here.”