Marco Rubio’s Shift From Trump Critic To Champion

This is Fresh Air. I'm Tanya Mosley. Just after midnight on January 3rd, American Special Forces shot their way into a Venezuelan military complex and seized President Nicolas Maduro. At the press conference later that morning, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stood quietly behind President Donald Trump. Then stepped to the microphone to offer what journalist and my guest today, Dexter Philkins, describes as a familiar routine, lavishing praise on the president, then explaining that the nighttime invasion of a sovereign nation was somehow completely ordinary.

And I hope what people now understand is that we have a President. The 47th president of the United States is not a game player. When he tells you that he's going to do something, when he's good, tells you he's going to address a problem, he means it. He actions it.

I I can tell you, I've watched this process now for 14, 15 years, been around it. Everybody talks, I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do that, when I get there, we're gonna do this, we're gonna take. This is a president of action. Like I don't understand yet how they haven't figured this out. And now if you don't know, now you know.

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