The Global Story: The world according to Marco Rubio

**Asma Khalid** (0:00)
Hey there, this is Asma Khalid in Washington DC.

**Justin Redman** (0:03)
And I'm Justin Redman in London, and we're the hosts of the Global Story Podcast. We're bringing you our best episode from this week.

**Asma Khalid** (0:10)
And for those of you all that might be new to our show, we here at The Global Story dive deep every weekday on one big story that looks at where the world and America meet.

**Justin Redman** (0:21)
Every one of our episodes is about the interplay between the United States and the rest of the planet, how Trump's presidency is shaping the world and how China is rising to challenge the United States.

**Asma Khalid** (0:32)
That's right. And how the rest of the world is struggling to find its place around the superpower nations. To hear more, you can find us every weekday by searching for The Global Story wherever you get your podcasts. Now on to today's show.

**Marco Rubio** (0:47)
Our foreign policy is one that's solely focused on the national interest of the United States of America, on the defense of our country, both its military defense and our security, but also our economic security and the vibrancy of our economy, our sovereignty and our future.

**Asma Khalid** (1:05)
Marco Rubio was once a fierce critic of Donald Trump. But now he's the loyal secretary of state, the face of American diplomacy, and even a possible heir to the Trump legacy. President Trump's second term in the White House has been defined in part by his global interventions, his focus on the world. And Rubio is a key man in the middle of it all.
From the BBC, I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, DC. And today on The Global Story, how does Marco Rubio really see the world? And is he simply executing Trump's foreign policy or shaping it?
Tom Bateman, it's such a pleasure to have you in studio, in person with us on The Global Story. Thanks for stopping by.

**Tom Bateman** (2:00)
It's great to be here, Asma. Thank you for having me.

**Asma Khalid** (2:01)
Tom, the reason I wanted us to have this conversation today is because Marco Rubio's name has begun to bubble up more in the political conversations here in the US as a possible presidential candidate. And I covered the 2016 election. I remember being at events covering Marco Rubio, and that version of Marco Rubio sounds different than the Rubio we see today in the Trump administration. And you do a lot of things, Tom, but one of your primary responsibilities is covering the State Department. You've spent a lot of time with Marco Rubio in this second Trump administration.
What's he like? How would you describe him?

**Tom Bateman** (2:41)
I think the first thing I'd say, from the perspective of one of the traveling journalists is, he is incredibly at ease with being in front of reporters.

**Marco Rubio** (2:50)
You guys go, all right. Let's go. Come on.

**SPEAKER_5** (2:53)
What?

**Marco Rubio** (2:55)
Thank you. I'm sorry, my son graduated high school last night. So that's why we were here. Thank you.

**Tom Bateman** (2:59)
My comparison was covering the tail end of the Biden administration, where I had just over a year.

**Asma Khalid** (3:05)
Blinken was the Secretary of State then, yeah.

**Tom Bateman** (3:07)
Exactly. Traveling around and following Blinken. He's very comfortable with the press around him in a way that I found Antony Blinken never was. I mean, Blinken, they used to prep him for ages. He'd spend an hour and a half often doing prep before a press conference. Rubio, on the other hand, is completely different. He's very comfortable just strolling to the back of the plane and chatting. He is very comfortable just arriving on the tarmac, getting out and talking to the reporters there. I mean, I guess in a way, it's quite in keeping with the administration. That's quite Trumpian. It's what the president does all the time.
I think it's sort of interesting that Rubio is one of the very senior cabinet members does feel a sense of autonomy to speak his mind and to basically build up his profile. I think that's why in a sense what struck me is you really have to see just about everything that Rubio does in this role as part of his wider ambition, which is to become president and run for the Republican nomination.

**Asma Khalid** (4:04)
Tom, we want to spend a bulk of this conversation looking at how Marco Rubio sees the world and how the world sees him. But I think before we dive into that, it is worth just a brief exploration of why Marco Rubio got into politics.