From calling Putin 'thug' to demanding apology from Zelenskyy: How Rubio turned Trumpist

When Marco Rubio sat in front of the Senate for his confirmation as the next US Secretary of State, the former Florida Senator received an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 99 to 0, with no US Senators voting against his nomination. Part of the reason for this massive popularity was Rubio’s strong allegiance to Ukraine and its cause.

Since 2014, Rubio has played a key role in bringing the Ukraine issue to mainstream American politics. He was known as a “Russian hawk” for his stern stance against Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. However, things changed when he sat in the White House on February 28, 2025, and saw the murder of diplomacy right in front of his eyes.

While US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance were berating their guest , Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Rubio sat silently. Following the ugly public spat between the leaders of the two nations, Rubio came on CNN and said that Zelenskyy should “publically apologise” to Trump, singing the same tune his bosses did.

This made many wonder whether Rubio’s sudden ascension to power has made him “powerless”. As we ponder this question, here is a look at every attack the current US Secretary of State made against Russia before he sunk into the glamour of Trump’s White House and how his tone changed over the years.

2014:  ‘We have to help the people of Ukraine’

While Russia was annexing Crimea, Rubio, the then-Florida Senator, became an outspoken advocate of Ukraine. “I think the first and most important thing we need to do is, we have to help the Ukrainian people and the interim government in Ukraine to protect its nation’s sovereignty,” Rubio said in one of his speeches on the US Senate floor.

At that time, Rubio was the one, who reminded fellow senators that Ukraine had agreed in 1994 to give up its nuclear arsenal in exchange for a guarantee of its security from the US, the UK and Russia, warning that failure to protect Ukraine might make other nation re-consider nuclearisation, an idea which is still part of the current public discourse.

2015: ‘Putin is a gangster & a thug’

When Rubio launched his presidential campaign in 2015, he insisted that he would be the strongest candidate on foreign policy and promised he would go to toe with Putin if he entered the Oval Office.

Throughout his presidential campaign, he often described Putin with several names. “As soon as I take office, I will move quickly to increase pressure on Moscow,” Rubio said at a campaign stop in Iowa. “Under my administration, there will be no pleadings for meetings with Vladimir Putin. He will be treated for what he is – a gangster and a thug," he added. Rubio eventually lost the primary to his current boss, Donald Trump.

2022: Rubio urged Biden to give full support to Ukraine

Soon after Russia launched a wide-scale military campaign in Ukraine, Rubio was among the prominent American politicians to ask then-US President Joe Biden to take an aggressive stance on the matter and fully support Ukraine.

“No matter what, there always has to be a real, legitimate Ukrainian state that we have a relationship with,” Rubio told MSNBC. “And I don’t know why we can’t begin to openly say we will support them as long as they are willing to fight, even if it’s only an insurgency.”

He was also an ardent supporter of sanctions on Russia. “I think what’s happened over the last week is unprecedented. The Russian economy is headed toward collapse," he said.

May 2024: Rubio once again calls Putin a ’tyrant'

Soon after Trump won the Republican presidential nomination for the second time in 2024, Rubio seemed to have mellowed down his support for providing Ukraine with a massive foreign aid package. He insisted that the US should focus on securing its border instead of giving all the money to Ukraine.

Despite this, Florida senator’s disdain for Putin still remain. One time, he issued a “correction” to a Reuters social media post about the Russian president’s most recent swearing-in ceremony last May.

“Tyrant Vladimir Putin, who once again stole an election, uses his ‘inauguration ceremony’ as propaganda,” Rubio said in response to the post. “Another example of an authoritarian dictator masquerading as a democratically elected leader," he added.

January 2025: Rubio started asking for concessions from Ukraine

During his confirmation hearing, Trump’s pick for the position of secretary of state emphasised that Ukraine must accept “concessions” to bring about an end to the war. “There will have to be concessions made by the Russian Federation, but also by the Ukrainians and the United States,” Rubio said.

At that time, he predicted that “sanctions and the release of sanctions” would “have to be part of this conversation in terms of bringing about a … resolution”.

February 2025: Demands apology from Zelenskyy

Shortly after the clash between Trump and Zelenskyy, Rubio forgot about his stance on the matter and defended his president’s behaviour. Not only this, he chastised Zelenskyy for confronting the American leader.

“There was no need for [Zelenskyy] to go in there and become antagonistic,” Rubio told CNN. “I think he should apologise for wasting our time for a meeting that was gonna end the way it did.”

When he was reminded that there was a time when he called Putin a ‘war criminal,’ Rubio said: “At this moment as secretary of state, my job working for the president is to deliver peace, to end this conflict and end this war … I think we should be very proud and happy that we have a president whose prime objective is not to get into wars but to prevent wars and to get out of wars.”

The remarks made by Rubio indicated how his stance on the matter changed over the years.

With inputs from agencies.