The buzz in Washington is growing: United States President-elect Donald Trump, reports suggest, is about to pick Florida Senator Marco Rubio as his secretary of state.
Rubio, who serves on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Foreign Relations and is known for his hawkish approach to US foreign policy, would, if nominated and confirmed by the US Senate, be the first Latino to serve as the country’s top diplomat.
It would also mark a remarkable turnaround from the Republican Party presidential primaries in 2016 when the two men infamously traded churlish nicknames.
Since the public spat, experts said, Rubio appears to have adapted his views over the years on issues such as the war in Ukraine and immigration policies to fall in line with Trump’s stance.
Let’s look at how the Florida senator’s relationship with Trump has changed over time and what we know of Rubio’s views on key foreign policy issues.
The two men clashed when they came up against each other in the 2016 presidential primaries with Trump mocking Rubio for perspiring profusely and labelling him “Little Marco”.
The remarks prompted Rubio to shoot back: “I don’t understand why his [Trump’s] hands are the size of someone who is 5’2. … And you know what they say about men with small hands? You can’t trust them.”
Yet trust him, he did. After Rubio was knocked out of the primaries, he eventually backed Trump for president.
United Arab Emirates Dirham Exchange Rate
