I want to play something you said about President Putin right after the invasion in March of 2022. Take a look.

“This guy lies. Habitually lies. He’s never kept a deal they’ve ever signed. And he lies all the time. I don’t know why, but he plays us like a violin in the West because the West wants to believe that you can cut a deal with everybody. You can’t cut a deal with guys like this. He’s a professional, experienced liar.”

Mr. Secretary, given that, what makes you think that if you are able to reach a deal with President Putin, he would stick to it based on what you just said—that he’s a liar?

“Well, that’s the point. That’s why the deal has to have enforceable mechanisms in it. That’s why the deal has to have things like security guarantees. What’s important here is actions, not words, not paper documents. Those are all important; they’re elements of a deal, but they have to be enforceable, verifiable, and enduring. There’s no point in signing a deal that’s going to be violated in three or four months. It would actually make things worse. So that’s why this is such a difficult thing. Not only do you need a deal, you need a deal that’s verifiable, that’s enforceable, and that’s enduring. If you don’t achieve that, then I think you could have a ceasefire for a few months, a few weeks, and then the war will start again, and more people will die. That’s not the outcome we’re interested in. That’s not the outcome anyone wants. So that’s why this is so difficult.”

So, you can’t cut deals with a guy like Putin, which is why this administration is now in the midst of cutting deals with him. Just to clarify, this administration is trying to negotiate with someone they know is not a good faith negotiating partner, and they’re embarrassing themselves by doing so. Donald Trump literally rolled out the red carpet for Putin just days ago in an effort to strike up a deal, all so that Putin could come here, get a photo, and then bail.

And don’t take my word for it; take Fox News’s. It was described as “very unusual, atypical,” and it seemed like Putin came in, steamrolled the conversation, got his photo next to the president, and then left. Trump pulled out all the stops for his big summit and ended up with no ceasefire, no second meeting, and no deal. Anyone who didn’t think Trump would get absolutely rolled is either a fool or has spent so much time up Trump’s backside that they haven’t gotten enough oxygen to their brains. Of course, Trump got played. What incentive does Putin have to surrender anything when he knows he owns Trump?

Donald Trump is so desperate for validation and affection that he will, and has, bent over backwards to give Putin exactly what he wants at every turn. In return for that, Trump rolled out the red carpet for a murderous dictator. And when I say red carpet, I’m not being facetious.

Nothing like pulling out all the stops for a guy who’s going to humiliate you on your own turf. For the better part of a decade, these Republicans have known who Putin is, and yet they’re now making the voluntary choice to allow him to roll them. The only thing worse than being Putin’s tool is choosing to be Putin’s tool.

This isn’t the only time Marco Rubio has sold out for power. Back in 2016, he compared Donald Trump to a third-world dictator in an interview with the New York Times. He said, “I don’t know about a dictator. I said a third-world strongman. He’s running for president. No matter what, he won’t be a dictator unless our republic completely crumbles, which I don’t anticipate it will.”

Rubio described how leaders in many countries emerge and say, “Forget putting your faith in yourselves. Put your faith in me. I’m a strong leader, and I’m going to make things better by myself.” This is typical in many parts of the world, especially in Latin America. He emphasized that the president works for the people, not the other way around.

But now, Rubio is contradicting himself. He knows he’s undermining his own stated positions, but it’s not about consistency or principles. It’s about allegiance to one man. That’s all the Republican Party is at this point—performing for an audience of one. Rubio may have told the truth about Putin back in 2016, but now all he cares about is making sure he gets pats on the back from Donald Trump.

If dignity was a concern, that ship has long since sailed. The reality is that dignity is not a concern for them. Their dignity was traded for blind loyalty to Trump a long time ago. Now, they exist solely to serve one man, the God King. That’s what they’re in office to do: to keep Trump happy, no matter the cost. If that means trampling over the very people who voted for him, so be it. Because it’s not about the voters; it’s about Trump.

In this case, Marco Rubio isn’t a bug; he is a feature of the modern GOP. He’ll go on TV, listen to his own words get played back to him, and make some pathetic effort to justify the obvious hypocrisy. But his explanation would be a lot shorter if he just told the truth. His position changed because it’s no longer about truth or logic or honesty. It’s about towing Trump’s line and doing apologia for a guy who is so desperate to be in the autocrat club that he’ll bring a murderous dictator onto American soil, which is already disqualifying enough, and then allow that dictator to humiliate him.

That’s Marco Rubio’s job right now—being an empty suit for Trump. As a man who once had allegiance to the truth said, “For years to come, there are many people on the right that are going to have to explain and justify how they fell into this trap of supporting Donald Trump.”

Before you go, if you enjoyed this content and want to see more and support independent media, please subscribe to this channel. The subscribe button will be right here on the screen. The reality is that we are now in a political environment where this administration can lean on any of the social media platforms to suppress certain voices if they don’t like critical coverage. That means my longevity here is in the hands of a few tech billionaires who are already making it clear that they are willing to cater to this administration.

To that end, signing up for my newsletter is a way for me to reach you directly if that ever becomes necessary. I’ll put the link right here on the screen as well, so please sign up. It’s free, but there’s also an option to do a paid subscription if you’d like to support me and my team. I really appreciate it. Thanks so much for watching.