Secretary of State Marco Rubio‘s body language during Friday’s disastrous meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is raising eyebrows online.
Newsweek reached out for comment to the State Department via email and online press contact form on Friday.
Why It Matters
Relations between the U.S. and Ukraine have nosedived since Trump, who repeatedly promised last year that he would end the Russia-Ukraine war “within 24 hours” of taking office, began his second term on January 20.
Trump has recently received international backlash for referring to Zelensky as a “dictator” and for opening negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the war without including Zelensky.
What To Know
During an Oval Office press conference on Friday that was focused on a proposal for U.S. mineral rights in Ukraine and potential security guarantees for Kyiv, a heated argument took place between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Zelensky. Rubio was seated to the right of Vance during the meeting.
Tensions erupted shortly after a reporter asked Trump whether he had “aligned himself too much with Putin.” When Vance touted the Trump administration’s approach to “diplomacy,” Zelensky pointed out that Putin had violated a previous ceasefire agreement.
Vance then accused Zelensky of “disrespecting” the U.S. by “litigating in front of the American media” instead of accepting a ceasefire deal without any security guarantees.
After Zelensky said that the U.S. would “feel” the consequences of Russia’s invasion in the future, a furious Trump interjected that the Ukrainian president was “not really in a good position right now” and was “gambling with World War III.”
The press conference only deteriorated from there, with Trump and Vance raising their voices while addressing Zelensky and ending the meeting less than 10 minutes later.
Shortly after the meeting ended, images of Rubio slouching with his hands clasped and appearing stone-faced during the event appeared on social media, with some commentators claiming that the Florida Republican appeared to be “embarrassed” at the press conference.
In addition to the tense exchange that preceded the end of the gathering, images and videos of Rubio focused on an earlier moment when Brian Glenn, a reporter for the right-wing media outlet Real America’s Voice and the boyfriend of Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, asked the casually-dressed Zelensky whether or not he “owned a suit.”
What People Are Saying
Former MSNBC anchor Medhi Hasan, commenting on a video showing Rubio during the exchange between Glenn and Zelensky in a post to X, formerly Twitter: “What a joke this country has become. Far right Trump flatterers cosplaying as journalists in the Oval Office. Rubio sitting there rightly looking embarrassed.”
Influencer Pekka Kallioniemi, while sharing a video clip of Rubio during the same moment on X: “‘I’ve made a HUGE mistake’ – Marco Rubio, probably.”
Jim Newell, a senior politics writer at Slate, sharing an image on X of Rubio appearing displeased during the meeting: “How we doin bud?”
CBS News reporter Kathryn Watson, while comparing an image of a smiling Vance and a dour Rubio at the meeting on X: “The contrast in body language between Vance and Rubio here.”
Journalist Roland Martin, on X: “Donald Trump is a disgrace. JD Vance is a disgrace. The only person with class today is Zelensky. This was an abomination by these two a**holes. If @marcorubio had ANY integrity, he would resign today.”
Rubio, praising Trump on X shortly after the meeting ended: “Thank you @POTUS for standing up for America in a way that no President has ever had the courage to do before. Thank you for putting America First. America is with you!”
Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell, responding to Rubio’s post: “Bro, did you write this? We all saw you. You tried to shrink in your chair. You looked at Trump like he was some crazy ass pops who was embarrassing you on your first date. Don’t bulls*** us. Grow a pair.”
What Happens Next
In a statement posted to Truth Social after the meeting, Trump accused Zelensky of having “disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office” and stated that the Ukrainian president would only be welcomed back when he was “ready for Peace.” Vance and Rubio both later shared the statement on X.
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