Marco Rubio's Failure to Pursue Diplomacy Makes Him Dangerously Complicit in Trump's Harmful Foreign Policy
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/simontisdall. "Marco Rubio has unique power to promote peace, but he hasn’t. He is almost as bad for the world as Trump | Simon Tisdall | The Guardian." August 16, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
The author argues that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has real power to help end major world conflicts like the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, but instead of trying to make peace, he's letting unqualified people handle negotiations while pushing an aggressive 'America first' approach. This makes him particularly dangerous because he seems reasonable and competent while actually enabling harmful policies - possibly even more dangerous than Trump himself because people might trust him more.
Conclusion
Marco Rubio, despite having unique power as US Secretary of State to promote peace and resolve major global conflicts, has failed to do so, making him nearly as dangerous to the world as Trump himself.
Premises
- Rubio holds a uniquely powerful diplomatic position with genuine opportunities to broker peace in Ukraine (where Putin is weakened) and Israel/Gaza (where Netanyahu faces electoral defeat)
- Rather than engaging in traditional peace-brokering diplomacy, Rubio projects raw US power to impose take-it-or-leave-it solutions that serve narrow US interests, effectively practicing a modern form of imperialism
- Rubio has delegated critical peace negotiations (Ukraine, Israel/Palestine) to unqualified figures like Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, and avoided involvement in Iran talks, leaving them to Vance
- Rubio's public statements reveal a troubling ideology celebrating Western imperial primacy and dismissing anti-colonial movements, signaling hostility to genuine diplomatic engagement
- Rubio has reversed nearly every previous political position (on China, Russia, Iran, foreign aid, the ICC), revealing a fundamental lack of consistent principles and willingness to simply serve power
- By providing intellectual cover and enabling Trump's worst instincts while appearing reasonable and competent, Rubio makes far-right foreign policy more palatable and dangerous than if pursued by more obviously extreme figures like Vance or Hegseth
Assumptions
- Traditional diplomatic peace processes are inherently preferable to power-projection approaches to international conflict resolution
- Rubio possesses genuine agency and could act differently within the constraints of the Trump administration
- A leader appearing 'reasonable' while enabling harmful policies is more dangerous than an obviously extreme leader pursuing the same policies
- Political inconsistency necessarily indicates lack of principle rather than legitimate evolution of views
- The described opportunities for peace (weakened Putin, embattled Netanyahu) are real and actionable rather than more complex situations
- US intervention/pressure can meaningfully resolve these conflicts if properly applied