Marco Rubio: The New Republican Pool Game
There’s a new game sweeping through Republican circles, and it’s not your childhood Marco Polo. It’s Marco Rubio, and if you want to understand the chaos of American foreign policy in 2025, you need to understand how it’s played.
Something extraordinary occurred a coupe of weekends or so ago. U.S. special forces conducted a military operation in Venezuela, capturing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. They’re now in New York facing drug trafficking charges. Congress wasn’t notified beforehand. The operation was months in the making, crafted in White House meetings between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, with Trump giving the final green light from Mar-a-Lago.
And then came the explanations. Or rather, the contradictions.
President Trump stood before reporters and stated plainly that his administration is in charge and running things in Venezuela. He said this over half a dozen times, in case anyone missed it. The U.S. would run the country, he explained, until a safe, proper, and judicious transition could be carried out. American oil companies would fix Venezuela’s broken infrastructure and start making money for the country. When asked about María Corina Machado, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning democratic opposition leader, Trump dismissed her authority, saying she doesn’t have the respect to govern the country.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, was more circumspect. Speaking to NBC, he suggested the U.S. would use economic leverage to impose its will, but insisted the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela and does not want to govern the country. This was a law enforcement operation to enforce drug trafficking charges, he explained, not an invasion or occupation. When interim President Delcy Rodríguez contradicted Trump’s rosy claims of cooperation, calling the operation “brutal aggression” and demanding Maduro’s release, Rubio said he was withholding judgment and would make decisions based on Venezuela’s actions in the coming weeks.
So there it is. Trump says we’re running Venezuela. Rubio says we’re not governing Venezuela. Trump says U.S. oil companies will rebuild and profit. Rubio says the U.S. doesn’t want Venezuela’s oil. Trump says the interim president was “quite gracious” and agreed to do “whatever you need.” The interim president says “there is only one president” and it’s not whoever Trump wants it to be.
Picture a White House swimming pool. It’s packed with Congressional Republicans, all with their eyes squeezed shut, splashing around trying to figure out what just happened and where their party actually stands.
One senator calls out desperately into the chlorinated confusion: “MARCO!”
From somewhere in the deep end comes Rubio’s voice: “RUBIO! It’s a law enforcement operation!”
Another senator tries: “MARCO!”
Now Trump’s voice booms from the shallow end: “RUBIO! We’re running Venezuela now!”
A third senator, increasingly confused: “Wait, MARCO?”
Rubio again, from a different location: “RUBIO! We’re withholding judgment on the interim government!”
“MARCO??” shouts a fourth, spinning in circles.
Trump, getting louder: “RUBIO! I got Maduro, greatest operation ever!”
“MARCO!!!” comes a desperate cry from a senator who’s bumped into the pool wall.
Rubio’s voice, calm and diplomatic: “RUBIO! We’ll make decisions based on their actions in coming weeks!”
This is the game of Marco Rubio, and it’s not going well. Every Republican is playing with their eyes closed, trying to locate where the administration actually stands on one of the most significant foreign policy actions in years. But there are two people answering “RUBIO!” and they’re calling out from completely different ends of the pool.
Half the Republicans are swimming toward Trump’s voice, ready to defend full intervention and American control of Venezuela. Half are swimming toward Rubio’s voice, prepared to explain this as a limited law enforcement operation with economic leverage. And the rest have simply stopped moving entirely, treading water with their eyes shut, waiting to see who wins the game before they commit to a direction.
In regular Marco Polo, the person who’s “it” is trying to tag the other player. The rules are simple, the objective clear. In Marco Rubio, nobody can tell if they’re on the same team or if Rubio is just trying not to get tagged with full responsibility for whatever Trump announced this time. The game has no clear rules, no obvious winner, and everyone’s wandering blind.
Meanwhile, outside the pool, Democrats are watching through the fence asking the obvious question: “Are they all playing with their eyes closed?”
The answer, of course, is yes. Because when your president says one thing and your secretary of state says another, when your interim Venezuelan president contradicts your American president’s version of events, when nobody told Congress what was happening until after it happened, the only rational response is to close your eyes, yell “MARCO!” into the void, and hope someone yells back “RUBIO!” from a location that makes sense.
They’re all still waiting.
FTS
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