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The Department of State has taken diplomacy to a new level over the last month, tackling one MAGA agenda after the other.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat for an interview with Emmy-winning investigative journalist Catherine Herridge to discuss various topics, including the Trump administration’s efforts to bring peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Right out of the gate, Herridge asked about President Trump’s recent criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which sent the mainstream media into a tailspin.
“When President Trump posted that President Zelenskyy is a dictator without elections, what are you thinking?” Herridge questioned.
Rubio reminded her that the previous administration reportedly “had frustrations with Zelenskyy” because of his apparent ungrateful public response following a phone call with Biden.
Rubio told Herridge that the source of Trump’s frustration was Zelenskyy’s public remarks following a conversation that he, Vice President JD Vance, and President Trump had with Zelenskyy regarding the security offer from the United States.
Rubio explained the offer as a “joint venture” involving mineral rights to recoup $200 billion in funds given to Ukraine by the United States, which would in turn offer protection for the country given the United States’ “vested interest in the security of Ukraine.”
Secretary Rubio told Herridge that Zelenskyy said, “Sure, we want to do this deal; it makes all the sense in the world – the only thing is I need to run it through my legislative process, they have to approve it.”
Rubio explained that just two days later, Zelenskyy publicly stated that he flat-out rejected the deal during the meeting. “Well, that’s not what happened in that meeting,” he told Herridge.
He explained that Trump was aggravated because “we’re trying to help these guys.”
Rubio said that the United States cares about Ukraine because “it has implications for our allies and ultimately for the world,” but told Herridge, “There should be some level of gratitude here about this, and when you don’t see it and you see him out there accusing the President of living in a world of disinformation, that’s highly, very counterproductive.”
He made clear that President Trump is “not the kind of person that’s going to sit there and take that.”
Rubio told Herridge that Trump’s response was letting Zelenskyy know that “he’s not going to get gamed here. He’s willing to work on peace because he cares about Ukraine, and hopes Zelenskyy will be a partner in that and not someone who’s out there putting the sort of counter-messaging to try to hustle us in that regard. That’s not going to be productive here.”
Herridge posted the full unedited interview, which covered a variety of interesting topics, to her X account.
