"Amid the general despair, I was struck by how many of them had latched on to Marco Rubio's just-announced nomination for secretary of state as a source of hope. Rubio may be a right-wing conservative, they offered, but he believes in the sort of internationalism we all believe in, doesn't he? He comes to the Munich Security Conference. He's part of the Serious Foreign-Policy Club, right?"
"The hope that Rubio would bring some sanity to a second Trump administration wasn't limited to the conference hotels of Europe, of course. Rubio was confirmed unanimously by the Senate after sailing smoothly through his hearings. This is partly explained by the body's notorious clubbiness and the fact that, as one of Trump's earliest nominees, he benefited from the honeymoon period that all new presidents get."
"That hope has largely been demolished. Far from being a savior of the rules-based order, Rubio has established himself as one of the second Trump administration's most consequential cabinet secretaries, skillfully serving as MAGA's face on the global stage."
Marco Rubio's nomination as secretary of state initially sparked hope among international allies that he would moderate Trump's foreign policy through his internationalist credentials and participation in forums like the Munich Security Conference. However, Rubio has instead become one of the second Trump administration's most consequential cabinet secretaries, effectively serving as MAGA's representative on the global stage. His evolution from perceived foreign-policy establishment figure to Trump administration loyalist reveals less about Rubio as an individual and more about neoconservatism's capacity to adapt to and support Trump's approach, rather than constraining it.
Read at The Nation
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