US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recent ideologically charged speech in Athens attempted to trace the roots of MAGA’s ideology back to ancient democracy. But emphasizing the West’s shared cultural heritage will not convince Europeans to shy away from the Trump administration’s imperial worldview.
ATHENS—In a recent visit to Athens, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised ancient Greece as the foundation of Western civilization and drew inspiration for the United States today as a Western leader. Rubio’s speech on the Pnyx, a hill west of the Acropolis where democracy was first practiced, was a bold and eloquent attempt to trace the roots of MAGA ideology back to Athenian democracy, as well as in Christendom, important discoveries, and imperial conquests. And about “us” and “them”: the West and the rest.
ATHENS—In a recent visit to Athens, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised ancient Greece as the foundation of Western civilization and drew inspiration for the United States today as a Western leader. Rubio’s speech on the Pnyx, a hill west of the Acropolis where democracy was first practiced, was a bold and eloquent attempt to trace the roots of MAGA ideology back to Athenian democracy, as well as in Christendom, important discoveries, and imperial conquests. And about “us” and “them”: the West and the rest.