After President Trump expelled Mike Waltz, his national security advisor, on the day of the day, he decided on someone less aggressive in Russia and willing to remain in the blockade of his foreign policy approach to Iran, Gaza and China.
I didn’t have to look far away.
By turning Marco Rubio into the main foreign policy advisor in the West Wing, in addition to his main daily work as Secretary of State, Trump resorted to a unique political rival that has spent the first three months of the administration as a loyal foot soldier who trotted balloons and a reliable ecable of the president’s agenda.
Now, Mr. Rubio will help execute that agenda from inside the White House and the headquarters of the State Department, as well as the president’s friend, Steve Witkoff, remains the main negotiator, in charge of finding the wars in Ukraine and reaching an agreement.
Leslie Vinjamuri, director of the US program and America in Chatham House, a London -based research institute, said Mr. Rubio is “willing to align and continue with where Trump is. What we are obtaining, through this administration, is: loyalty is the first, loyalty to man, loyalty to the mission.”
But by consolidating so much foreign policy power in a person, he added, Trump runs the risk of losing someone who could provide different political perspectives or competitive advice.
“Simply reduce the number or potential points for someone who says:” Real, Whoa. Look what just happened, “he said.” Look at this information that flies in the face of what we are subject. “
It is likely that the new assignment of Mr. Rubio, which requires the national security advisor to remain in the White House and near the president, further hinder his ability to travel the world as the main diplomat in the United States. That will leave even more space for Mr. Witkoff, who has little experience in foreign policy, continues his negotiations worldwide. But Mr. Rubio will probably have more from Trump if he spends time in his new office on the first floor of the West Wing, a few steps from the Oval office.
In Russia, Mr. Rubio is less likely to challenge Trump than Waltz, who is a more traditional republican hawk. Mr. Waltz had internally argued the strong sanctions on Russia if it does not make an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, making that case as recent as Monday, according to a person with knowledge or what happened. Trump has given little public indication that he is interested in that option.
Ideology, criticism or President of Mr. Waltz, Vladimir V. Putin de Russia, and his previous support for President Volodyyr Zenskyr Zelensky or Ukraine have made him a topic of deep suspicion in the administration, according to three people close to people.
Without Mr. Waltz in the White House, there will be an official Feer Top to serve as an informal duct for Mr. Trump for foreign leaders. But for Ukraine, the Middle East, Russia and China, the ascent of Mr. Rubio underlines the determination of the president to speak with a unified voice.
As Senator of Florida, Mr. Rubio had a vocal critic of Russia and an enthusiastic champion of Mr. Zensky after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. But as Secretary of State, Mr. Rubio has been among the choir of administration officials publicly warning that Trump could simply move away from the besieged country.
“We need to find out here now, in a matter of days, if this is feasible in the short term,” Rubio told journalists in mid -April while he with European leaders to discuss a high fire in Ukraine. “Because it is not, so I think we will move on.”
Mr. Rubio has also echoed the president’s line about the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, saying on numerous occasions that “Hamas must be eradicated.” After Trump suggested that the Palestinians be withdrawn from the territory to give way to a “Gaza Riviera”, Rubio published in X that “the United States is ready to lead and make Gaza beautiful again.”
Like his boss, Mr. Rubio has said that China is the “greatest threat” of the United States, and has a fierce lawyer in the name of Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal. In comments to journalists last month, Mr. Rubio refused to say that the president would rule out the force of use to take care of Greenland.
“What we are not going to do is let China between now and say, sacrifice them a lot of money and re -depend on China,” Rubio said, and he knew President Trump: “He said:” I will not rule out anything if Greenland is covered by a foreign power as a China or Russia or any other person. “
And although Rubio has repeated the president’s warning that the United States will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, Mr. Trump has also followed to seek a diplomatic agreement that eliminates the need for military actions.
“This is the best opportunity they will have,” Rubio said about Iran in an interview with Sean Hannity in Fox News on Thursday night. “President Trump is president of La Paz. He doesn’t want a war.”
Mr. Witkoff has been leading conversations with Iran in recent weeks. But Mr. Rubio has also been a vowel, insisting that any agreement must require that they will renounce the ability to enrich uranium, even for nuclear energy reactors. Iranian leaders have publicly rejected that demand, saying that they should have the right to produce uranium.
“Maybe I can read this as an indication that Waltz was out of tune with Trump, too aggressive, on issues such as Ukraine and Iran,” said Hal Brands, Henry’s distinguished professor. Kissinger at Johns Hopkins University.
