Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed Democrats before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Wednesday pointing out which countries actually opposed the raid on Nicolás Maduro, and highlighting that the rest of the Western Hemisphere welcomed the U.S. for ousting a dictator without sparking a wider conflict.
"But our anticipation is that we are going to be able to work cooperatively with them [Venezuela] because its in their interest and ours," Rubio said. "But I will point out this, after this operation happened, look at the people who criticized it. China, Russia, Iran, Hamas, these are the people who were upset about this raid and what we did. And I can tell you that in many countries in the Western Hemisphere, there was great pleasure in the fact that Maduro was removed, and it didn't involve an all out war or an invasion."
🚨 @Rubio REMINDS Democrats of the REAL ENEMIES:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 28, 2026
"China, Russia, Iran, Hamas, THESE were the people who were upset about this strike & what we did.
I can tell you that MANY countries in the Western hemisphere were pleased Maduro was removed & that it didn't involve a war." 💪 pic.twitter.com/wcg8kVTrl1
Which camp does this put the Democrats in? The camp of our geopolitical adversaries.
Democrat voters and politicians alike opposed Maduro’s capture, with some even calling for his release. After spending much of the past decade labeling Trump a brutal dictator, they would rather undermine one of the biggest foreign policy victories of the last ten years just to oppose him, instead of celebrating the fall of a real-world tyrant.
This comes as Senate Democrats spent Wednesday trying to take shots at the Trump administration’s foreign policy. Rubio quickly outclassed them, including Senator Kaine of Virginia, who attempted to criticize Trump for mistakenly referring to Greenland as Iceland.
"We're not mad at Iceland, they haven't cost us any money. The president just mistook the two countries for each other, correct?" Sen. Kaine asked.
"Yeah, he meant to say Greenland. But I think we are all familiar with presidents who have verbal stumbles." Rubio replied. "We've had presidents like that before. Some made a lot more than this one."
"Nice try," another Senator could be heard saying to Kaine.
LMAO—Krazy Kaine tries to catch Rubio in a trap & FAILS!
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 28, 2026
KAINE: POTUS said ICELAND but meant GREENLAND! He misspoke! Right?!
RUBIO: "Yeah he meant to say Greenland. But I think we're all familiar with Presidents who have verbal stumbles...Some made a lot more than this one."🤣 pic.twitter.com/BBsKzMTHzv