Secretary of State Marco Rubio just learned a very important lesson about working for Donald Trump: you let Trump speak first before discussing details with the media.
Rubio had told the media that Israel made it clear it was moving forward, so the only real choice the United States had was to go along for the ride.
After Trump took credit for the start of the conflict, Rubio walked his statement back.
I did a report on this earlier in the week based on Rubio’s comments. I had also noted that while the operation may have been moved up, this was clearly in the works for some time, as you don’t put a strike like this together on a whim.
On Monday, Rubio told the media, "We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action.” He then added, "We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces.”
Rubio continued, "And we knew that if we didn't preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties ... And then we would all be here answering questions about why we knew that and didn't act.”
Rubio, however, made it clear that this strike was going to happen regardless.
I was curious how Trump would treat this situation because we all know he does not want to appear weak or as though someone made him do something.
So, when the media asked him about Rubio’s comments, Trump flipped the script, stating, “Based on the way the negotiation was going, I thought they were going to attack first. If anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand.
“But Israel was ready, and we were ready. We’ve had a very, very powerful impact.”
This put Rubio in a very awkward position. Does he call out the president, or does he slam his face into the plate of eggs and eat it? He chose the latter.
Rubio spun this, but he did it like a pro, stating, “The bottom line is this: The president determined we were not going to get hit first. It’s that simple, guys. We are not going put American troops in harm’s way. If you tell the president of the United States that if we don’t go first, we’re going to have more people killed and more people injured, the president’s going to go first. That’s what he did. That’s what the president will always do.”
He later added, “The president said this is the weakest they’ve ever been. If we don’t hit them now, a year from now, a year and a half from now, no one will be able to touch them and they’ll be able to do whatever they want and he made a decision to go.”
Rubio is not a dummy, and a little egg on the face is no big deal if you're thinking big picture, and Rubio surely is. If he upsets Trump, he is out, and his future is far too bright for him to take himself out of the picture for something like this.
Vance is leading in polling, but there a lot of people who would much rather see Rubio run at the top of the ticket than Vance, and I would count myself among them. If Rubio is not at the top of the ticket in 2028 and the GOP loses, it will be a Rubio-DeSantis battle in 2032.
