A contentious Secretary of State Marco Rubio went on the defensive during a U.S. Senate committee hearing.
He lashed out over the suggestion that he dropped the ball by attending a UFC fight in Miami with President Donald Trump in April. Tense negotiations were underway halfway across the globe with Iranian officials in Pakistan.
On June 2, members of Congress Rubio questioned Rubio about Trump’s surprise attack on the Islamic regime over three months ago. Nevada Democrat Sen. Jack Rosen grilled Rubio on why he was at a sporting event in Florida during such important talks.
“With the remainder of my time, I’d like to remind the American people that as the Secretary of State, your main duty as America’s chief diplomat is to maintain our relations with foreign nations, Rosen said. “That’s why I was shocked to see that you were at a party with President Trump in Miami instead of accompanying Vice President JD Vance to Pakistan for negotiations with —” and here Rubio interrupted, “What party was I at? I was at a party?”
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Rosen explained, “It was publicly reported, and there are photos there,” as the secretary of state insisted he was not.
“Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, both of whom were never confirmed by this body to be America’s diplomats, accompanied the vice president for the negotiations. Even Iran’s foreign minister … was there, excuse me, and you were not. I just feel that’s embarrassing for us, and it’s embarrassing for you,” Rosen calmly took Rubio to task.
But she wasn’t finished.
“So, Mr. Secretary, Congress represents the American people. We have the power to confirm who represents America abroad. We confirm you as our Secretary of State. We confirm that you are in the negotiations that are happening, and it’s just unthinkable to me that you are not. You are missing high-stakes negotiations,” she pointed out.
An angry Rubio exploded, denying her accusations. He emphasized he was not at a party. But plenty of pictures circulating online show the former senator hanging out with Trump on the night of April 12 at UFC 327. He was at the Kaseya Center in Miami as U.S. negotiators were trying to broker a peace deal with Tehran in Pakistan.
“You’re 100 percent inaccurate and 100 percent wrong,” a contentious Rubio insisted.
“I was not at a party. Where I was was next to the president,” Rubio said, raising his voice and becoming visibly upset.
“Because in the midst of those negotiations, I was in communication with them. And in fact, I think there was media reporting from that evening on how on multiple locations.l I went into a back room. I came back out and spoke to the president and was constantly updating him.”
Then Rubio yelled at Rosen, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He then tried to offend her by implying she was questioning him in order to make “this cute statement for your TikTok video.” “But it’s not true, and it’s not real.”
“That’s not what happened,” he declared before deciding he needed to remind Rosen who he was.
“OK, I’m the national security advisor and secretary of state. I was co-located with the President in the midst of a high-stakes negotiation, so that I could immediately inform him of events occurring halfway around the world. I was where he needs to be at that moment,” an animated Rubio insisted again.
Critics say it’s a headscratcher why Rubio would have been at a fight instead of overseeing the Iran peace negotiations. He’s the nation’s top diplomat and tasked with handling the nation’s foreign affairs, including negotiating treaties and agreements.
Social media weighed in on the contentious hearing and Rubio’s responses.
“Little Marco Rubio ‘co-located’ with the president at UFC,” an X user joked.
Others point out that he looked like he had been drinking.
“Seems to me, if I remember correctly, Rubio looked totally hammered that night. Aye yi yi…most of the top people in fRump’s camp need treatment for drug and alcohol abuse,” poster Phyllis Wood stated.
X user VJ Cambridge agreed, “Rubio looks like a happy drunk.”
This angry X user was extremely direct in their assessment of the situation.
“Trump’s weird obsession with UFC led to Rubio being there. He and Trump should both have been in the White House, doing their jobs.”
Trump launched a surprise and unapproved war on Iran on Feb. 28. Peace talks have remained stalled for two months since the parties implemented a fragile cease-fire. Now Tehran is threatening to end negotiations and close down the critical Strait of Hormuz.
His attack on Tehran has injured hundreds more people and driven gas prices 50 percent higher. More than a dozen Americans have died.
