Democrats traveled to Munich expecting to mingle with the old world elite. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz opened the Munich Security Conference declaring the rules-based international order “no longer exists” in an era of “big power politics.” The socialism that failed to gain traction at home would find no welcome in the new Europe either.
Over 1,000 participants from 115 countries attended the conference, including 60 heads of state and government. Democrats sent California Governor Gavin Newsom, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, and former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
Ocasio-Cortez serves on none of Congress’s foreign policy committees—not Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, or Intelligence. Of 70 bills and resolutions she has sponsored since taking office, four deal with foreign policy. Governors Newsom and Whitmer hold no formal foreign policy role. Political strategists described the conference as “an unofficial stop on the Democratic 2028 primary tour” where governors seek to “build foreign policy credentials” without having to “own the day-to-day consequences of those policies.”
Kelly served as a Navy combat pilot during the Gulf War and flew four NASA space shuttle missions. Gallego deployed to Iraq in 2005 as a Marine infantryman with Lima Company, which lost 22 Marines in eight months of combat. The contrast between those with military credentials and domestic politicians was stark.
Newsom told attendees: “Donald Trump is temporary. He’ll be gone in three years.” When a moderator asked Ocasio-Cortez if she would impose a wealth tax “when you run for president,” she responded: “We don’t have to wait for any one president to impose a wealth tax.” California pollster Zac McCrary said Newsom was “certainly trying to project front-runner vibes.” Ballotpedia lists Newsom, Ocasio-Cortez, Whitmer, Kelly, Gallego, Slotkin, and Murphy among potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates. Kelly arrived in Munich days after a federal grand jury refused to indict him on seditious conspiracy charges.
House Speaker Mike Johnson canceled the official congressional delegation due to the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, ordering cancellation of military flights, hotel reservations, and credentials for roughly two dozen House members. Republican Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri asked: “How do you justify getting on a plane and going to Europe when you’re shutting down DHS? They’re making a decision that their travel to Munich to cozy up with the Euros is way more important than funding DHS.”
Democrats flew commercially anyway. Representatives Jason Crow, Sarah McBride, Sara Jacobs, Yassamin Ansari, and Jim Himes booked their own hotels. Whitmer’s trip was funded by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and nonprofit Michigan Economic Development Foundation. Ocasio-Cortez said her office paid for her flight.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio led the official U.S. delegation including UN Ambassador Mike Waltz and Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby. Senator Lindsey Graham led a Senate delegation. The Munich Security Conference has operated since 1963 as the leading independent forum for international security policy decision-makers.
Democrats positioned domestic politicians with minimal foreign policy experience alongside global leaders addressing wars and nuclear deterrence. The old world order they sought no longer exists.
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