On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio went before a Senate hearing, and Senate Democrats went after him.
Boy, were they sorry.
The reason that they went after him is because they’re very concerned about President Trump’s policies, both with regard to immigration and also with regard to generalized foreign policy. That’s because Trump is a break from the past on both of those issues.
President Trump has created a consensus around illegal immigration, and Marco Rubio has taken a lead role in helping to enforce President Trump’s vision: close the Southern Border, and if people come here as guests, they do not get to stay here if they are interested in overthrowing the American system and supporting terrorist groups.
Democrats, of course, have a much more “open borders view” of what America ought to be. They believe that, for some odd reason, the United States owes it to literally everyone on Earth to let them in.
That’s the same exact perspective that wrecked large parts of Europe.
Rubio, who has become one of the most popular members of the Trump administration, retaining wide popularity, wrecked Democrat after Democrat.
It began with Nevada senator Jacky Rosen asking Rubio how he squared his past views with his present representation of the Trump foreign policy.
The answer, of course, is that Rubio hasn’t changed many of his past views with regard to the Trump administration. There is a desire from all sides to claim Trump as their own. But Trump is none of those. In terms of foreign policy speak, you have a bunch of different camps inside the Republican Party at this point, ranging from the very interventionist to those who are not only isolationist, but sometimes side with people who have typically been our enemies.
President Trump does not have a thoroughgoing ideology, and there’s a “Game of Thrones” that’s happening with regard to what foreign policy looks like in any given situation and on any given day. It’s why you’ve seen a bunch of flip flops on Ukraine, a bunch of flip flops with regard to Gaza, a bunch of flip flops on Iran, flip flops in the Middle East, and flip flops on TikTok and China.
But that’s because the battle is ongoing. Marco Rubio has been tasked with putting forward a more consistent face to that. And he does an excellent job, because the truth is, that’s a very tough thing to do.
Rosen asked, “I would respectfully ask for a yes or no. Don’t you think that women’s participation is important and allows for better outcomes?” Rubio fired back, “This is not a game show. I’m not going to answer with a yes or no. That’s an important question, and I can answer it. We’re not abandoning women’s issues.”
It is funny to me that Democratic senators think that the chief concern of the American people at this point is how many women are going to be in the State Department, or women’s issues in Afghanistan.
President Trump doesn’t tend to do these sycophantic, appearance-based foreign policy spots in which you claim that you’re for women’s rights while abandoning 19 million women to the predations of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the way Joe Biden did.
Senator Chris Van Hollen — who may be the dumbest member of the United States Senate outside of Mazie Hirono — suggested that he regretted voting for Rubio, who got 99 votes for his confirmation in the Senate. “I have to tell you directly and personally that I regret voting for you for Secretary of State,” Van Hollen whined. Rubio fired back, “First of all, your regret for voting for me confirms I’m doing a good job.”
Rubio continued to own Van Hollen over and over and over again. Van Hollen, of course, had traveled down to El Salvador to visit with the accused wife-beater and alleged MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported. Rubio declared, “We deported gang members, including the one you had a margarita with. And that guy is a human trafficker, and that guy is a gang-banger. And the evidence is going to be clear.”
It didn’t go well for Van Hollen. Rubio also slammed him on judicial overreach, saying:
There is a division in our government between the federal branch and the judicial branch. … the judicial branch cannot tell me or the president how to conduct foreign policy. No judge can tell me how I have to outreach to a foreign partner, or what I need to say to them. And if I do reach that foreign partner and talk to them, I am under no obligation to share that with the judiciary branch. Just like a judge cannot order me to negotiate with a foreign minister of Russia; they cannot order me to negotiate with a foreign minister or the president of El Salvador.
When it came to immigration, Rubio blew them away. He was asked about the visas of people who are here as guests and whether they should be revoked based on things they say. He said:
We’re going to do more. There are more coming. We’re going to continue to revoke the visas of people who are here as guests and are disrupting our higher education. People are paying money. These kids pay money to go to school, and they have to walk through a bunch of lunatics who are here … I want to do more. … The other day, some guys led a riot … and I asked, please, can you find the arrest records of all the people that were arrested at that riot at that campus? Because if any of them have a visa, we’re going to revoke it.
“Our immigration policy should be based on the national interest of the United States. Period. End of story,” he said bluntly, adding:
If there is a subset of people that are easier to vet —who we have a better understanding of who they are and what they’re going to do when they come here — they’re going to receive preference, no doubt about it. There are a lot of sad stories around the world, millions and millions of people around the world. It’s heartbreaking. We cannot assume millions and millions of people around the world. No country can.
He’s exactly right about that.
The bigger questions came about foreign policy more generally. Rubio was asked whether the United States is withdrawing from the world. He said:
I want you to know what the intent of the changes is. It is not to dismantle American foreign policy, and it is not to withdraw us from the world, because I just hit 18 countries in 18 weeks. That doesn’t sound like much of a withdrawal. And I see some of these foreign ministers, including individuals from Ukraine, more than I’ve seen my own children. And I talk to them at least three times a week. We are engaged in the world, but we’re going to be engaged in a world that makes sense, and that’s smart. And that isn’t about saving money. It is about ensuring that we are delivering to our people what they deserve: A foreign policy that makes America stronger, safer, and more prosperous.
Articulate, aggressive, and unyielding.
You can’t do better than that.
[#item_full_content]
[[{“value”:”
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio went before a Senate hearing, and Senate Democrats went after him.
Boy, were they sorry.
The reason that they went after him is because they’re very concerned about President Trump’s policies, both with regard to immigration and also with regard to generalized foreign policy. That’s because Trump is a break from the past on both of those issues.
President Trump has created a consensus around illegal immigration, and Marco Rubio has taken a lead role in helping to enforce President Trump’s vision: close the Southern Border, and if people come here as guests, they do not get to stay here if they are interested in overthrowing the American system and supporting terrorist groups.
Democrats, of course, have a much more “open borders view” of what America ought to be. They believe that, for some odd reason, the United States owes it to literally everyone on Earth to let them in.
That’s the same exact perspective that wrecked large parts of Europe.
Rubio, who has become one of the most popular members of the Trump administration, retaining wide popularity, wrecked Democrat after Democrat.
It began with Nevada senator Jacky Rosen asking Rubio how he squared his past views with his present representation of the Trump foreign policy.
The answer, of course, is that Rubio hasn’t changed many of his past views with regard to the Trump administration. There is a desire from all sides to claim Trump as their own. But Trump is none of those. In terms of foreign policy speak, you have a bunch of different camps inside the Republican Party at this point, ranging from the very interventionist to those who are not only isolationist, but sometimes side with people who have typically been our enemies.
President Trump does not have a thoroughgoing ideology, and there’s a “Game of Thrones” that’s happening with regard to what foreign policy looks like in any given situation and on any given day. It’s why you’ve seen a bunch of flip flops on Ukraine, a bunch of flip flops with regard to Gaza, a bunch of flip flops on Iran, flip flops in the Middle East, and flip flops on TikTok and China.
But that’s because the battle is ongoing. Marco Rubio has been tasked with putting forward a more consistent face to that. And he does an excellent job, because the truth is, that’s a very tough thing to do.
Rosen asked, “I would respectfully ask for a yes or no. Don’t you think that women’s participation is important and allows for better outcomes?” Rubio fired back, “This is not a game show. I’m not going to answer with a yes or no. That’s an important question, and I can answer it. We’re not abandoning women’s issues.”
It is funny to me that Democratic senators think that the chief concern of the American people at this point is how many women are going to be in the State Department, or women’s issues in Afghanistan.
President Trump doesn’t tend to do these sycophantic, appearance-based foreign policy spots in which you claim that you’re for women’s rights while abandoning 19 million women to the predations of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the way Joe Biden did.
Senator Chris Van Hollen — who may be the dumbest member of the United States Senate outside of Mazie Hirono — suggested that he regretted voting for Rubio, who got 99 votes for his confirmation in the Senate. “I have to tell you directly and personally that I regret voting for you for Secretary of State,” Van Hollen whined. Rubio fired back, “First of all, your regret for voting for me confirms I’m doing a good job.”
Rubio continued to own Van Hollen over and over and over again. Van Hollen, of course, had traveled down to El Salvador to visit with the accused wife-beater and alleged MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported. Rubio declared, “We deported gang members, including the one you had a margarita with. And that guy is a human trafficker, and that guy is a gang-banger. And the evidence is going to be clear.”
It didn’t go well for Van Hollen. Rubio also slammed him on judicial overreach, saying:
There is a division in our government between the federal branch and the judicial branch. … the judicial branch cannot tell me or the president how to conduct foreign policy. No judge can tell me how I have to outreach to a foreign partner, or what I need to say to them. And if I do reach that foreign partner and talk to them, I am under no obligation to share that with the judiciary branch. Just like a judge cannot order me to negotiate with a foreign minister of Russia; they cannot order me to negotiate with a foreign minister or the president of El Salvador.
When it came to immigration, Rubio blew them away. He was asked about the visas of people who are here as guests and whether they should be revoked based on things they say. He said:
We’re going to do more. There are more coming. We’re going to continue to revoke the visas of people who are here as guests and are disrupting our higher education. People are paying money. These kids pay money to go to school, and they have to walk through a bunch of lunatics who are here … I want to do more. … The other day, some guys led a riot … and I asked, please, can you find the arrest records of all the people that were arrested at that riot at that campus? Because if any of them have a visa, we’re going to revoke it.
“Our immigration policy should be based on the national interest of the United States. Period. End of story,” he said bluntly, adding:
If there is a subset of people that are easier to vet —who we have a better understanding of who they are and what they’re going to do when they come here — they’re going to receive preference, no doubt about it. There are a lot of sad stories around the world, millions and millions of people around the world. It’s heartbreaking. We cannot assume millions and millions of people around the world. No country can.
He’s exactly right about that.
The bigger questions came about foreign policy more generally. Rubio was asked whether the United States is withdrawing from the world. He said:
I want you to know what the intent of the changes is. It is not to dismantle American foreign policy, and it is not to withdraw us from the world, because I just hit 18 countries in 18 weeks. That doesn’t sound like much of a withdrawal. And I see some of these foreign ministers, including individuals from Ukraine, more than I’ve seen my own children. And I talk to them at least three times a week. We are engaged in the world, but we’re going to be engaged in a world that makes sense, and that’s smart. And that isn’t about saving money. It is about ensuring that we are delivering to our people what they deserve: A foreign policy that makes America stronger, safer, and more prosperous.
Articulate, aggressive, and unyielding.
You can’t do better than that.
“}]]
