Secretary of State Marco Rubio was more than a little bewildered by a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, referring to it as “a circus” after Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) asked him a series of questions concerning a pair of shoes he was gifted by President Donald Trump. The exchange occurred after Jacobs slammed Rubio’s testimony concerning the recent war effort with Iran, attempting to make the case that he was unwilling to acknowledge certain facts.
“Mr. Secretary, it seems like you have an issue admitting facts… You couldn’t admit the shoes the president bought you were too big,” she stated during the hearing. Rubio, like the rest of the country, sat confused by the comment. “I don’t know about the shoes. I mean, [Trump] gave me some Florsheim shoes that are actually pretty good, they fit fine, I don’t know what she’s talking about,” he responded.
“Your shoes look very nice today, Mr. Secretary,” she then told Rubio. The secretary, still puzzled as to what shoes have to do with the war with Iran, replied, “How can you see them? They’re way down here. We’re talking about shoes. Are you guys kidding me? I mean, is this the Foreign Affairs Committee or is this, like, a circus? What is this?”
Rubio’s exchange with Jacobs came amid a rather intense and combative hearing that saw Democratic lawmakers making repeated challenges to the secretary concerning the administration’s handling of foreign policy, including the recent conflict between the U.S. and Iran. Earlier in the hearing, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) asked the secretary if Trump’s personal financial interests might have played a role in influencing military decisions in the conflict with the Middle Eastern country.
Rubio flat out rejected the suggestion. “Not once. Just to be clear, not a single time, not even for a millisecond, has the president ever discussed his personal economics and relations to war or any public policy that he’s made, for that matter,” Rubio answered. “And I’ve been in every one of his foreign policy meetings for the most part.”
According to a report from Fox News, Democrats continued to press Rubio throughout the hearing on a number of issues, including Trump’s finances and allegations of corruption within the administration. The atmosphere of the hearing continued to be a point of frustration for the secretary. Later in the hearing, Rubio complained that lawmakers weren’t providing him with an opportunity to answer their questions.
“What kind of thing is this? What is this? You know, you get asked questions for five minutes and you don’t get time to answer. It’s not a hearing,” Rubio stated, expressing his frustration. As the exchange continued, he said, “Is this a dunk tank? What is this?” A viral clip of the exchange with Jacobs on Facebook earned quite a few comments, most of them sharing similar sentiments as Rubio.
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One individual commented, “She thought she was cooking. Left the burner on too long.” Another person commented, “We all know that when you’re out of real questions, ask a man about his shoes.” User Susan wrote, “So we’re clear… She doesn’t like him. Did she say anything meaningful or just waste time?” Another summed up the theatrics by saying, “They’re literally performing for Twitter.”
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video