Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended President Donald Trump's decision to confront Iran's nuclear program, telling an audience at Mar-a-Lago on Friday night that the president was elected to do the hard things — even when they carry no political advantage.
Speaking at the CPAC Circle Retreat and Gala in Palm Beach, Florida, days after Republicans lost both chambers of Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections, Rubio said Trump had chosen to confront Tehran rather than kick the problem down the road, according to an account of his remarks reported by JFeed.
"It would have been very easy to do what multiple presidents before him have done, which is to ignore the Iran thing, leave it for the next guy," Rubio said. "Put it aside and don't worry about it. That would have been the easiest thing to do."
Instead, Rubio said, Trump confronted the regime because it seeks "not just to destroy our country" but to destroy the American way of life and threaten Americans' children.
"We cannot live in a world in which the most radical, terroristic regime on the planet possesses a weapon of mass destruction," he said.
Rubio closed his defense of the president with a direct appeal to the audience: "He did it for you. Not for him, not for anybody else. He did it for you and for our country." He said Americans, their children and "children not yet born" owe Trump a deep sense of gratitude, and called it an honor to serve as secretary of state.
The remarks came days after Vice President JD Vance issued a lengthy statement following the Republican losses, and they offer a noticeably different assessment of the conflict than the one Vance outlined earlier in the week, according to the Washington Examiner. Vance said after the election that "the reason we lost is the war."
The Washington Examiner reported that Rubio's speech began with a light-hearted crack about the multiple jobs he holds within the Trump administration. Rubio also serves as national security adviser.
The political backdrop is grim for the White House. Many Republicans have tied the party's midterm losses to voter frustration over the conflict and the cost of living. Divisions within the administration have also surfaced. According to The Wall Street Journal, Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff have pushed for diplomacy to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have advocated tighter sanctions and maintaining the U.S. naval blockade. The Journal also reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing for renewed strikes.
There are signs of a diplomatic track as well. The Washington Post reported Friday, citing a knowledgeable U.S. official, that Bessent, with Trump's support, has asked China to use its influence with Iran to help end the war, and that Beijing has delivered that message to Tehran. The Post also reported that Vance has been driving the administration's diplomatic efforts toward Iran, including sending a conciliatory letter last month to Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei.
Ali Al Thawadi, a Qatari official serving as the White House's intermediary with Tehran, said Iranian leaders were waiting to see whether the U.S. midterm election results would change Washington's approach. "Iranian leaders are waiting to see whether this election has really changed American behavior," Al Thawadi said, according to Iran International. "They saw Vance's letter as a gesture of respect, and they appreciated that Vance said the war was a mistake," he added, saying Iranian leaders wanted to be sure the United States was reliable.
The Post also reported that Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping for help on Iran during their September meeting in Washington, and that Xi privately told Trump he agreed Iran should never have a nuclear weapon. The issue is expected to resurface when Trump and Xi meet in Shenzhen on November 18.
Rubio's speech also comes amid speculation about his political future, though the secretary of state did not address it directly.
Our Take
Here's what the establishment doesn't want you to notice: Marco Rubio just told the truth in a room full of people who needed to hear it. Every president for two decades found a reason to punt on Iran. Bush punted. Obama cut a deal and shipped pallets of cash. Biden looked away while the mullahs marched toward a bomb. Trump is the first president in a generation who actually did the job he was elected to do.
Is the timing ugly? Yes. Republicans just got hammered at the polls, and Vance is out there saying the war cost them the election. That's a real debate inside the administration, and it's playing out in the pages of the Wall Street Journal. But there is a difference between losing an election and losing your nerve. Rubio's message Friday was simple: the man in the Oval Office didn't launch a strike because it polled well. He did it because a terrorist regime with a nuclear weapon is an existential threat to your kids and grandkids.
Patriots, ask yourselves this: if Trump had done what every other president did — kick the can to the next guy — and Iran got the bomb on someone else's watch, who would be blamed? You know the answer. The same people now calling this war a political liability would be screaming that Trump failed to act.
Rubio is right. He did it for you.
