Photograph Source: U.S. Embassy Jerusalem – CC BY 2.0

Marco Rubio has turned into one of President Trump’s “go to” guys. Appointed Secretary of State at the beginning of Trump’s second term, and recently appointed National Security Adviser, he has proven effective in translating Trumpian goals into policy practices. It is not that difficult for Rubio because he shares many of those same biases. For instance, a seemingly absolute belief that the Israelis must be supported even as they lay waste to humanitarian principles and international law. To this end, as Secretary of State, Rubio dedicated himself to revamping the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Why? Because, it allegedly “waged vendettas against ‘anti-woke’ leaders in nations such as Poland, Hungary, and Brazil, and [sought to] transform their [the Bureau’s] ‘hatred of Israel’ into concrete policies such as arms embargoes.” Meanwhile, Rubio has supported Trump’s practice of arresting Palestinian supporters and selectively deporting their leaders. 

Rubio’s voting record in Congress confirms this attachment to Israel. (1) “Senator Rubio opposed the Iran nuclear deal and supported the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. He supported the Taylor Force Act, which states that no American governmental funds shall be given to a Palestinian entity that financially rewards “terrorists” or their families. He also criticized the UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which claimed that Israel’s settlements have no legal validity, and cosponsored legislation that objected to the resolution.” (2) “Senator Rubio opposes the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and cosponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act and the Combating BDS Act of 2017, two bills that aim to fight discriminatory boycotts that target Israel. In 2019, he voted for the Strengthening America’s Middle East Security Act which, among other things, strengthened Israel’s security and allowed a state or local government to adopt measures to divest its assets from entities that boycott Israel.” (3) “Senator Rubio is a cosponsor of the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, which aims to provide for the consideration of a definition of anti-Semitism for the enforcement of Federal anti-discrimination laws concerning education programs or activities.”

On the surface Rubio appears to be an opportunistic politician, ultimately indifferent to the rules set by the U.S. Constitution, much less international law. He certainly is ready and able to do Trump’s often unconstitutional and inhumane bidding. But there is much more to the story when it comes to Marco Rubio. 

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Rubio was born in 1971 to Cuban exile parents residing in Florida. That means he was born into a community and culture that was overtly opposed to the rule of Fidel Castro and his successors. One cannot emphasize enough that this was a relatively closed, yet highly organized community, where to challenge the prevailing anti-Castro stance was tantamount to “treason.” It was also a politically influential community when it came to lobbying the federal government on foreign policy relative to Cuba. For instance, politicians like Rubio pushed for the economic embargo of Cuba without regard to either the increasing poverty of the Cuban people, or the friction this approach caused with U.S. allies involved in trade with Cuba.

Most Cuban Americans who can trace their family’s arrival in the U.S. to a reaction against Castro’s takeover and they have consistently voted Republican. There is no mystery here. They believed that the Republicans were more consistently anti-Castro than the Democrats, especially after the failed invasion attempt at the Bay of Pigs.Thus, Rubio’s lifetime affiliation with the Republican Party, both in his career in Florida state politics and during his tenure in Congress, is a sign of cultural conformity. It also helps explain his ready alliance with Trump who has always sought the support of the American Cuban community (a Trumpian example of “good” immigrants). “After Biden defeated Trump in 2020 and Trump made false claims of election irregularities, Rubio defended Trump’s right to assert claims of fraud … saying that concerns from Republican voters over ‘potential irregularities’ in the election demanded redress.” 

But how would this background explain Rubio’s obvious dedication to Israel and the Zionists?

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In 1981, a Cuban exile and veteran of the Bay of Pigs fiasco, Mas Canosa, founded the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF). The Foundation was shaped by Canosa’s obsessive hatred of Castro’s Cuban government. Its operating tactics also reflected Canosa’s authoritarian and one-dimensional character. For instance, as far as CANF was concerned, only the demise of the Castro regime would do. Those suggesting negotiations with the Cuban government  were labeled traitors. Impoverishing the citizens of Cuba to the point where, it was assumed, they would overthrow the regime, was the acceptable and preferred strategy. 

Over a relatively short time, CANF’s outlook became the dominant one among, first Miami’s Cuban exile community, then those living in the rest of Florida and beyond. Yet CANF’s ambitions went beyond the Cuban American public. What the organization ultimately aimed at was the control of American foreign policy toward the nation of Cuba. 

According to Mas Canosa, soon after CANF was founded, “we realized pretty soon that to influence the U.S. political system we must copy … the Jewish model and we became very closely allied with the Jewish lobby … in Washington.” AIPAC was the source of inspiration and the mentor of the Cuban American lobby. As a consequence, the unquestioned support of Zionism was incorporated into the community ideology promoted by CANF. *

Marco Rubio is a product of that community ideology and this helps explain his uncritical support of Israel. In his position of Secretary of State, he has repeatedly declared that “Hamas must be eradicated” and the Palestinians “resettled.” And, once that is achieved, Gaza will be ready for a great make-over, the“Gaza Riviera” project. Rubio has told us that “the United States stands ready to lead and Make Gaza Beautiful Again.”

Present disagreements between President Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Natanyahu can put Rubio in an awkward position. However, these disagreements are over strategy. Rubio will stay loyal to Trump and he may even express criticism of Netanyahu. But, he will also remain a loyal proponent of material support for Israel.

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Marco Rubio is now “the top foreign policy adviser” in the Trump administration. He controls the State Department and also functions as the president’s National Security Adviser. He has achieved this status because: (1) The political environment that shaped his life proved compatible with Trump’s overall political ends, and (2) his upbringing shaped him into a reliable agent of a leader (Trump) who broadly reflects the behavior and outlook of the Cuban American hero, Mas Canosa. Thus, it has been easy for Rubio to meet Trump’s expectations: “loyalty comes first, loyalty to the man, loyalty to the mission.” 

The way Trump runs his cabinet, reminds one of the so-called “democratic centralism” that was the governing principle of the early Communists in Russia. Debate was initially allowed on an issue (one can imagine lots of back and forth among the strange bedfellows backing Trump). But in reality, everyone is trying to sense the direction the leader favors. As that becomes evident, everyone else coalesces around that course of action. At that point all debate ceases and everyone was expected to get in line and cheer.  

It is questionable if Trump even listens to the debate. He probably has a preference from the start—whether or not it has any semblance to reality. The way this sort of “governance” is playing out, Trump only hears an echo of his own voice. This ultimately closed environment will shape the fate of Marco Rubio’s career, as well as Donald Trump. The end product looks to be a real mess both domestically and in terms of foreign policy. In the end, it is probable that Marco Rubio will return to the backwater of Florida politics where he will merge once more into the myopic and biased community from which he came.

* See Lawrence Davidson, Foreign Policy Inc. – Privatizing America’s National Interest, University Press of Kentucky (2009), pp. 76-78.