question: Do you ask your allies to follow an America-first policy or find their own path?
Secretary Rubio: No, I ask our allies to be strong. The stronger they are, the stronger we are collectively. This has been the theme. We want a strong Europe. We want to have strong partners in Europe. We have – every country is different. Clearly, they are making different decisions. But for example, in Greece, Portugal, where we’re going today, there are a lot of countries that have stepped up – Germany, frankly – and they’re stepping up and doing their part to make themselves stronger.
Stronger – This is a very simple concept. Guys, it’s not very complicated. NATO is an alliance of countries. The stronger the members of NATO are socially, economically and militarily, the stronger NATO will be. This is what we want, this is what we have been asking for. I think there are good signs of that happening in a lot of different places. Obviously, some countries are dragging their feet, and I know there’s a lot of domestic pressure on them, but I think it’s good for all of us.
question: Report on your ambassador——
question: Is there anything you want – reporting from wall street journal Ambassador Guilfoyle seeks funding—
Secretary Rubio: Yeah, guys, let me tell you something, okay? You will definitely ask me this question. You will ask me again in Portugal. I know this game, okay? A game is when someone provides information to a newspaper or media; the media reports on it. You immediately turned to me and said, I need your response to our reporting. That’s not how the process works. Like, our job is not to respond every time someone decides to give something to the media without any prior warning or any opportunity to look at it and understand what’s in it. That’s not the right way – it’s not the way to run an organization, and it’s not the serious way to implement our country’s policies.
So I won’t comment on a story posted a few hours ago. I understand the game, okay? I’ve been in this industry for a long time. Within a few hours, some members of Congress will be writing you a letter asking you to answer questions we’ve never seen before. I don’t even know if this is true or not. So it doesn’t work that way, and it certainly doesn’t work that way when I’m sitting in another country. OK?
question: Mr. Secretary of State’s speech last night——
question: Mr. Secretary, doesn’t this call for at least an inspector general investigation?
Secretary Rubio: I am──Guys, I won’t play this game with you, okay? You guys write a story and your editor tells you, make sure you get his commentary on stuff that we haven’t seen, okay? You will not be our only source of information in the world. I regret to tell you this. So I hope you understand –
question: (Inaudible.)
Secretary Rubio: No, that’s not how the process works.
question: So how does this process work?
Secretary Rubio: Well, first of all, that’s not how the process works. We don’t do these things at press conferences on foreign tarmac because you wrote a story, or someone else wrote a story because some source gave it to you. So put it out of your mind because this will never be the case for me. It’s a game that’s been played for a long time, but it’s not the game we’re playing. What we do here is serious business and we handle things appropriately. I don’t even know if what you’re reporting is true. You guys somehow go around thinking that because a source told you something and you reported it, that’s gospel. This is not gospel. This is not gospel to me. That’s not what we do.
question: Sir, how did you feel when you left Greece?
question: In your speech, why do you feel it’s important now to deliver last night’s message? Can you talk about the timing of the speech?
Secretary Rubio: Well, that’s a consistent message. I mean, this environment is obviously very unique because this is the birthplace of democracy. This is the birthplace of many of the pillars and foundations of the West. So it’s obviously a very unique environment and an opportunity to do that. But I think in many ways it also strengthens our ties with Greece, which is really a model ally and we want to make sure that’s reflected as well.
question: Does the Iranian threat limit the scope of U.S. operations in Europe and NATO territory?
Secretary Rubio: No. The United States has the ability to act – we don’t have – anything we want or need to do to Iran is something we still can’t do.
question: Can you compare and contrast Portugal and its support for Iran’s actions with its close neighbor Spain?
Secretary Rubio: Can I compare and contrast?
question: or –
Secretary Rubio: This is not the purpose. The purpose of our visit is not to provoke other countries. Portugal is a great ally of the United States, a very cooperative ally, and we have a strong and growing relationship with the United States. We visit these countries to strengthen these ties. This is the purpose of this trip.
question: OK, thanks.
Secretary Rubio: Okay, let’s go home. Well, not yet. We had to stop in Portugal.
question: OK Thanks.