Marco Rubio Is Not the Adult in the Room. He’s the Warmonger. |
Early this year, having lost their majority in the November election, Senate Democrats put up a fight over a number of President Trump’s Cabinet picks. But Marco Rubio wasn’t one of them. The Senate unanimously confirmed him as secretary of state in January—for two reasons.
First, Rubio spent over a decade in the Senate, which is one of the world’s chummiest and most insular legislative bodies. And second, the former Florida senator had built a reputation as level-headed, reasonable, and compromise-minded—at least by the standards of the MAGA-era Republican Party. Senate Democrats no doubt were relieved to have Rubio running the State Department rather than, say, Steve Bannon.
You no doubt remember the “adults in the room” reporting meme during Trump’s first term: a reference to establishment figures in the administration who, it was believed, brought much needed stability and experience to a presidency that sorely lacked both; these men would temper Trump’s worst instincts. But come January, Trump 2.0 was shaping up much differently. He was sick of adults; his administration was going to be stuffed to the gills with crazies, losers, and incompetents. Rubio was an exception, however. He would be an adult in the room—perhaps the only one.
One could argue that has been true. Yes, Rubio—who has since added the titles of acting national security advisor and acting national archivist to his portfolio—has had his share of foolish moments, like his recent order changing the State Department’s default communications font to Times New Roman because Calibri font was too woke. But for the most part, especially compared to colleagues like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (a murderous dimwit) or Attorney General Pam Bondi (just a dimwit, but a very big one), Rubio has run a tight ship. While Trump’s second term has been defined by gross overreach, incompetence, and chaos, the State Department has largely gone about its business without drawing controversy.
But that’s the problem—Rubio’s work this year should be controversial. Since assuming office, he has transformed the State Department into a ruthless and effective arm of the administration’s larger push to quash dissent and demonize and punish immigrants, both legal and undocumented. Perhaps more surprising, given his long record as a foreign policy hawk, he has slavishly worked to remake American foreign policy to Trump’s precise specifications: unraveling longstanding alliances and cozying up to dictatorial regimes while making the world a more........