How Marco Rubio has shapeshifted to embrace Trump’s foreign policy

The buzz successful Washington is growing: United States President-elect Donald Trump, reports suggest, is astir to prime Florida Senator Marco Rubio arsenic his caput of state.

Rubio, who serves connected nan Senate Select Committee connected Intelligence and nan Committee connected Foreign Relations and is known for his hawkish attack to US overseas policy, would, if nominated and confirmed by nan US Senate, beryllium nan first Latino to service arsenic nan country’s apical diplomat.

It would besides people a singular turnaround from nan Republican Party statesmanlike primaries successful 2016 erstwhile nan 2 men infamously traded churlish nicknames.

Since nan nationalist spat, experts said, Rubio appears to person adapted his views complete nan years connected issues specified arsenic nan warfare successful Ukraine and migration policies to autumn successful statement pinch Trump’s stance.

Let’s look astatine really nan Florida senator’s narration pinch Trump has changed complete clip and what we cognize of Rubio’s views connected cardinal overseas argumentation issues.

How it each began: ‘Little Marco’, ‘Small Hands Trump’

The 2 men fought erstwhile they came up against each different successful nan 2016 statesmanlike primaries pinch Trump mocking Rubio for perspiring profusely and labelling him “Little Marco”.

Lightweight Marco Rubio was moving difficult past night. The problem is, he is simply a choker, and erstwhile a choker, ever a choker! Mr. Meltdown.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 26, 2016

The remarks prompted Rubio to sprout back: “I don’t understand why his [Trump’s] hands are nan size of personification who is 5’2. … And you cognize what they opportunity astir men pinch mini hands? You can’t spot them.”

Yet spot him, he did. After Rubio was knocked retired of nan primaries, he yet backed Trump for president.

Do Trump and Rubio work together connected Ukraine?

On paper, nan 2 men person different approaches to US overseas policy.

Rubio is much of a accepted interventionist who advocates for a muscular attack to overseas conflicts while Trump’s overseas argumentation has focused connected avoiding subject interventions abroad.

This has, astatine times, moved Rubio to publically criticise Trump’s overseas policy, including successful 2019 erstwhile he accused nan then-president of “abandoning” nan US subject effort successful Syria earlier it was “completely finished”.

However, successful caller years, experts said, Rubio has softened his stance to autumn successful statement pinch Trump.

“Rubio is simply a elastic and pragmatic leader who has accommodated himself to nan emergence of President Trump,” Paul Musgrave, an subordinate professor of authorities astatine Georgetown University successful Qatar, told Al Jazeera.

One specified displacement is Rubio’s attack to nan warfare successful Ukraine.

In nan first months aft Russia’s full-scale penetration successful February 2022, Rubio took to societal media to fervently rally support for Ukraine among Americans.

During that period, he labelled Russian President Vladimir Putin “a killer” and questioned his intelligence health.

I wish I could stock more,but for now I tin opportunity it’s beautiful evident to galore that thing is disconnected pinch #Putin

He has ever been a killer,but his problem now is different & significant

It would beryllium a correction to presume this Putin would respond nan aforesaid measurement he would person 5 years ago

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 26, 2022

Trump, successful contrast, has insisted that Putin would ne'er person invaded Ukraine successful 2022 had he been successful office.

Trump, who will return agency again successful January, has besides said he could extremity nan conflict “in 24 hours”. He has suggested Ukraine mightiness person to cede territory to Russia to scope a bid deal.

It’s a stance that Rubio appears to person softened to, Musgrave said, but pinch “a pragmatic, elastic and much appealing face” than Trump’s much verbose rhetoric.

In caller interviews, Rubio has suggested  Ukraine needs to activity “a negotiated settlement” pinch Russia, and he was 1 of 15 Republican senators to ballot against a subject assistance package for Ukraine that passed successful April.

Rubio has stated that, pinch Trump successful power, nan US tin expect a much “pragmatic overseas policy”.

Senator Marco Rubio speaks astir nan conflict successful Ukraine and nan challenges posed to nan United States from China successful 2022 [Drew Angerer/Getty Images/AFP]

Are Trump and Rubio aligned successful their support for Israel?

The 2 men initially fought connected nan rumor successful 2016 pinch Rubio, a longstanding protagonist of Israel, accusing Trump of being “anti-Israeli” and publishing a connection titled “Fact Check: Donald Trump Is No Ally to Israel.”

Rubio’s remarks were successful relationship to Trump suggesting he would “be benignant of a neutral guy” successful nan Palestine-Israel conflict.

In his first word successful office, Trump dispelled immoderate mobility complete neutrality aft he officially recognised Jerusalem arsenic Israel’s capital.

He has since accused President Joe Biden, who hit him successful nan 2020 election, of restraining Israel successful its warfare connected Gaza and stated during a statement pinch Biden successful June that he will thief Israel to “finish nan job” if re-elected.

Rubio has had a typically hawkish stance connected Israel’s warfare connected Gaza, telling an activistic successful 2023 that he did not support a ceasefire and Hamas was “100 percent to blame” for nan deaths of Palestinians successful nan Gaza Strip.

He past supported Trump’s plan to deport foreign pro-Palestinian student demonstrators to get them to “behave”.

Nader Hashemi, subordinate professor of Middle East and Islamic authorities astatine Georgetown University, told Al Jazeera that Rubio’s past comments connected nan conflict, particularly erstwhile referencing Palestinians, tin astatine times beryllium “indistinguishable from [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu”.

Rubio has antecedently defended Israel’s correct to behaviour a crushed cognition successful Rafah contempt an emergency ruling by nan International Court of Justice for Israel to halt nan offensive, citing “immense risk” to nan Palestinian population. He compared nan Israeli cognition to nan pursuit of Adolf Hitler during World War II.

But successful April, Rubio indicated that he had shifted distant from unfettered support for overseas wars – which is much successful statement pinch Trump’s attack to overseas argumentation – erstwhile he voted against a package that provided emergency backing to Israel, arguing that nan woody should person besides included money for US separator enforcement.

Rubio speaks astatine nan Temple Beth El to talk his committedness to guidelines pinch Israel successful 2016 successful West Palm Beach, Florida [Joe Raedle/Getty Images via AFP]

Has Rubio changed his views connected migration to align pinch Trump’s?

Rubio, nan boy of Cuban immigrants, appears to person shifted to a much populist attack connected immigration.

Musgrave said that earlier successful his career, Rubio “was a unit for trying to alteration nan Republican Party to beryllium much unfastened to immigration, much unfastened to diversity”.

As a personnel of nan Florida House of Representatives successful 2003, Rubio had co-sponsored a type of nan DREAM Act, which would person allowed undocumented migrant students to person imperishable residency if they met definite criteria.

When Rubio became speaker of nan Florida House successful 2006, he stalled migration reforms that would person cracked down connected undocumented migrants.

After being elected a US legislator successful 2010, he began to return a tougher stance connected immigration, but it remained considerably softer than Trump’s hardline policies towards immigration. For example, successful 2016, Rubio stated that wide deportations of millions of undocumented migrants were not “a realistic policy”.

But now, Musgrave said, Rubio has shifted to a much “anti-immigrant, pro-legal migrant stance that’s successful keeping some pinch his governmental guidelines and pinch President Trump’s policies”.

In caller months, however, Rubio has defended immoderate of Trump’s much populist rhetoric, including his comments that immigrants were “poisoning nan humor of our country”.

“That’s a saying that he [Trump] uses, but it has thing to do pinch race,” Rubio said successful a Spanish-language TV interview, adding: “The state is threatened by this influx of people, which we now cognize moreover includes criminals and terrorists.”