Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke Wednesday beneath the Acropolis and said Western nations must recover the traits that once defined them or accept weakening, dependence, and loss of standing. He said decisions taken in the coming ten years could set the path for the following hundred.

Rubio linked Western heritage to ancient Greece, Rome, Christianity, and the American founding, then described a later turn toward embarrassment over past successes, hostility to national pride, reduced border control, industry sent abroad, shrinking armed forces, and authority handed to distant international bodies. He said that shift left a gap filled by more confident rivals.

He added that the United States has already reversed those trends under President Donald Trump through an America First policy.