Secretary Marco Rubio’s DJ style was on full display in the White House briefing room Tuesday as he broke out the rap lyrics during his stand-in set for Karoline Leavitt.
He tore into Iran’s leadership as “insane in the brain” — a nod to the Cypress Hill classic. And much like Ice Cube, Rubio warned Iran “should check themselves before they wreck themselves.”
Rubio, who also serves as President Trump’s national security adviser, has a long-standing habit of incorporating rap and hip-hop lyrics into his public remarks. This marked at least his third time this year.
He’s become an online sensation thanks to the memes that pop up, depicting him carrying out various jobs. Video of him mixing it up at a wedding this weekend went viral online. But Rubio wouldn’t entertain the idea of a career change.
“You’re not ready for my DJ name,” he told reporters.
The secretary of state was the first Trump administration official to substitute for Leavitt in the briefing room. The White House plans a regular rotation of officials to step in while she’s on maternity leave.
The small briefing room was packed to the gills. Reporters crowded into the aisles, pushing and yelling as they tried to get Rubio’s attention. The shouting and hand-waving were intense.
“This is crazy,” Rubio noted at one point, calling the room “chaos.”
But for all the chaos, he stayed in command.
When one reporter said he had two questions, Rubio had a ready retort.
“You can ask me two questions, I’ll give you one answer, and I’ll pick the one I like better,” he said.
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And he wasn’t fazed by the noise, staying on message when it came to Iran, reiterating points that the Strait of Hormuz must be fully reopened and that Tehran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
He also proclaimed that Operation Epic Fury is over and that the US focus was on Project Freedom.
“The operation is over,” Rubio said. “We’re done with that stage of it. Okay, we’re now on to this Project Freedom.”
Project Freedom is the administration’s code for its efforts to reopen the critical strait, which handles much of the oil flow out of the Middle East. In addition to the military pressure, the US plans to bring a resolution to the UN to try to gain additional support.
And it’s a defensive operation, not an offense, Rubio said.
“This is not an offensive operation. This is a defensive operation,” he noted. “What that means, very simple, is there’s no shooting unless we’re shot at first.”
Keeping the strait open is critical because the administration doesn’t want Iran to set a precedent that any country can take over an international waterway and charge a toll, Rubio said.
And he explained if Iran developed a nuclear weapon, then there was nothing the US could do about it.
“Everybody needs to think about it this way, if Iran had a nuclear weapon and they decided to close the straits and make our gas prices like $9 a gallon or $8 a gallon, we wouldn’t be able to do anything about it because they have a nuclear weapon,” Rubio said.
“A nuclear-armed Iran could do whatever the hell they want with the straits, and there’s nothing anyone would be able to do about it.”
He also shrugged off a question that talks could take a while, given Iran’s high pain tolerance, answering with one of his trademark comebacks.
“You’re right they have a high pain threshold, but they don’t have an unlimited pain threshold,” he said.
