In the court of Donald Trump, the main rule to follow is very simple: nods and smiles. Although fulfilling it is not a guarantee of saving the neck before the president’s whims. The volatility of his mood goes against the image of a unitary and determined government that he himself wants to project.
Trump has proposed to cloud Washington’s waters as much as possible so that what happens inside the pond can not be discerned. But after a month and a half of mandate, the first cracks begin to appear in the Government of the Republican. Some by hand Trump himself.
During his speech against Congress this week, Trump praised almost all members of his cabinet. But the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, was the only one who between smile and smile received a warning: “Good luck, Marco. Now, we do know who to blame if something goes wrong. No … Marco has been incredible and will do a great job, ”Trump said in reference to his expansionist aspirations on the Panama Canal. The dart came out of the president’s mouth and the ascending curve on the face of the head of American diplomacy was tensed in a prieta line. The face betrayed Rubio in less than a week.
When Trump and his vice president, JD Vance, cornered the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, in the Oval Office on February 28, Rubio was there. Sitting next to Vance, the Hispanic attended a mute scene never seen in the White House. Although more than sitting, the Secretary of State was sunk on the couch and seemed to look in the void. The image, in contrast to Vance’s aggressive verbal and physical language, quickly caught the attention of commentators and analysts. It was even meme meat and networks. The Secretary of State, who almost did not measure word during the outbreak, shortly after closed ranks with Trump and went out to defend Washington’s approach with Moscow.
Blond, frustrated and isolated
The shouting of the Oval Office was a turning point for Zelenski and may also be for Rubio. His body image only revealed the discomfort that the Secretary of State feels long ago. Republicans within the White House revealed to the Vanity Fair publication this week that Rubio is frustrated by his lack of influence on the decisions that the president takes on foreign policy, despite the fact that he is the head of American diplomacy. He even commented one of the sources, it seems that Rubio is sometimes the last to find out the decisions Trump and his intimate circle makes.
If Vance must accept having to live in the shadow of Elon Musk, something similar happens to Trump’s special envoys and advisors. When Joe Biden was president, the reference in the negotiations for a high fire in Gaza was the then Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. Now it is the special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, which Trump constantly quotes and who directs the conversations. In fact, Wiktoff is adopting a key role as a Trump negotiator in the two great international conflicts of the moment: Gaza and Ukraine.
The New York real estate promoter has also attended bilateral meetings with Russia to decide the future of war in Ukraine. Another figure that shades Rubio is the national security advisor, Mike Waltz, who has also erected as another outstanding voice against Ukraine. While Rubio has to resign himself to share two of the most important issues of his portfolio, Trump has let him lead the conversations with Panama and the rest of Latin America. An example of this is his recent visit to El Salvador, where President Nayib Bukele offered Rubio to put his prisons at the service of the US deportation system.
The same sources explained to Vanity Fair that Rubio is uncomfortable with the fact that all the special envoys designated by Trump have an office in the White House, which suggests that they have more access to the president than the same blond. The Secretary of State also does not carry that Elon Musk dismantled the USAID cooperation agency, which is under the control of his department.
When Trump appointed him as his secretary of state, many bet in Washington that Rubio would be the first to be fired by the president. In early January, diplomats and congressmen predicted in statements to the political environment a short trajectory for the Hispanic in the White House. Despite having become Trumpism in recent years, it has never been well received in the Maga orbit; During Trump’s first mandate, he aligned with traditional Republicans and harshly criticized the tycoon.
Rubio was known for being a hawk against Russia, although he has recently been modulating his principles in foreign policy to grow a place in Trump’s court. In the confirmation process in the position in the Senate, some Democrats voted in favor of Rubio in the hope that he would make the republican diplomatic flying dike. Now it not only seems that the head of diplomacy has no influence on Trump, but also adopting all his positions. After receiving that evening warning in Congress, Rubio appeared this week on television with a cross Wednesday cross on his forehead, while repeating messages about Ukraine traced to those of the Kremlin.
Rubio said that the Ukraine War is a “proxy war” between the US and Russia, something that the Russian president has long since defends. Even this Thursday the Kremlin confirmed that Rubio’s vision about the conflict coincides with that of Vladimir Putin. Both religious scenery and statements were one more exhibition of their alignment with the positions of your boss.
The White House is legally shielded
The other crack that has appeared on the Trump administration facade is the general contempt of the Cabinet Chiefs and senior officials of the agencies before Elon Musk and their Government Efficiency Department (Doge). When the billionaire in charge of the Doge – which is not an apartment as such but a working group – sent an email to federal workers threatening to say goodbye if they did not explain what they had done the last week, many senior positions told their subordinates not to answer. Among them, Rubio and also the director of the FBI, Kash Patel. The reason is that they were afraid that confidential information was compromised.
In response to the displacement, Trump took Musk to the first presidential cabinet meeting to project a unit image. In case there were doubts, the president also told those present that if someone was not in favor, to pronounce. The only thing that was heard at the table were forced laughs and praise to Musk. That same night, to finish off the coup, Trump signed an executive order that gave Musk more power and put federal contracts and subsidies under Doge. Precisely, a good part of the fortune he has kneaded through his companies comes from federal contracts and subsidies.
Although Trump ordered to close ranks around Musk, there has been one last flying of the tycoon that has made some eyebrows lift in Washington. In the middle of the commercial chaos, with a new extension of one month for the 25 % tariffs to Mexico and Canada, Trump has signed an executive order in which he gives his secretaries the authority on the cuts and relegates Musk to a support role. From now on, Trump said, the cuts will be made with “scalpel” and not with the “ax” of Musk.
The change coincides with an explosive meeting of the members of the cabinet with Musk this week. According to the newspaper The New York Times,The outbreak occurred mainly between Rubio and the billionaire. The leader of the Doge reproached Rubio not to have fired personnel, while he replied that more than 1,500 officials accepted the early renunciation plan. The conversation was heated while Trump watched, lying in the chair, as both members of his team exchanged reproaches. Finally, the president came out in defense of Rubio and tried to calm the spirits. Trump asked the secretaries (ministers) to cooperate with Musk in the task.
Although Rubio is the one who has most openly expressed his disagreement with Musk, other officials and cabinet members have criticized the chaotic style of the billionaire. Some regret that they have to be fixing the disasters that it is causing. In fact, during the first cabinet meeting, the same Musk tried to joke recognizing that, when the chainsaw passed, he unwittingly cut the Ebola prevention program. “We will not be perfect, but when we make mistakes, we fix them very fast. For example, with Usaid, one of the things we canceled by accident, for a very short time, was the prevention of Ebola, ”said Musk, who stayed alone laughing at his own joke.
Although the change in the position of Musk may seem a displacement to the billionaire, there is another factor to take into account: the conflict of interests. The richest man in the world, whose companies have received millions of dollars of public money, is the one who was in charge of deciding how federal expenditure is cut. In the face of the gallery, Trump and Musk have denied that there is such conflict and have defended transparency, but it seems that within the White House the movements go in another direction to avoid possible legal conflicts.
A few weeks ago a judicial document was published in which the White House said that Musk was not the legal administrator of the Doge, without clarifying who that person was responsible. Since Doge, Trump and his entire team have presented Musk as the leader, but at the legal level the administration has begun to take distances. The signature of this last executive order, putting Musk as a support figure, is aligned with the legal statements of the Executive.
Source: www.eldiario.es
