By Independent News Roundup
At
the Munich Security Forum, Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly
rejected America’s role in managing the West’s “decline,” calling
deindustrialization a deliberate policy and warning that mass migration
is destabilizing the West. He then traveled to Slovakia and Hungary to
back Prime Minister Robert Fico and Viktor Orban, negotiating U.S.
nuclear plant deals and signaling support against EU pressure. The
episode links Europe’s Digital Services Act and reported EU election
interference to a broader censorship apparatus aimed at U.S. elections
in 2026 and 2028. It traces the ideological roots to a 1975 Trilateral
Commission blueprint, citing Samuel Huntington’s call for “desirable
limits” to democracy and programs to lower workers’ expectations.
Barbara Boyd argues Trump is dismantling this model by rolling up USAID
and USIP, seeking to defund NED, and countering Europe’s censorship
infrastructure.
00:00 The Midweek Update - "Fascism With a Democratic Face" - February 18, 2026
01:54 Rubio's European Counter-Offensive — What He Did After Munich
05:08 Fascism With a Democratic Face — The Blueprint They Wrote Down
10:40 Trump's Answer — The Exact Opposite