America First or America Finished? Rubio’s State Department Propaganda

From DRL cuts to climate desertion, a closer look at Rubio’s “America First” diplomacy.

Marco Rubio, already a colossal failure, sold what was left of his MAGA-infested soul to get a gold-plated name plaque and a bigger page in the book of history, Chapter X: American Fascism, pg. 1938.

Marco posted on the U.S. Department of State Substack account, reminiscing about the successes of the “First 100 Days”.

While the commentary didn’t write itself, mostly because it was challenging to contain my nausea, it was almost too easy to pick his drivel apart. Frankly, if the consequences weren’t so dire, it would have almost been fun.

An image of the biggest blowjob-fest recorded in human history.

Let’s dig in:

“Since taking office on January 21, 2025, the America First State Department has achieved unprecedented reforms, reorienting U.S. diplomacy to prioritize American interests above all else.”

Rubio’s boast of “America First” as a diplomatic principle is a transparent rebranding of populism mating with nationalism. Diplomacy has never been, and should never be, purely transactional. Upon closer review, which isn’t difficult as daily headlines are screaming in your face, Marco removed all doubt: We, the USA, are not interested in global leadership or multilateralism. We have, however, turned U.S. foreign policy, ranging from trade to human rights, into something like haggling at PawnStars. No matter how Rubio wants to spin it, this isn’t “unprecedented reform”; it’s an abysmal failure of-and-by an administration that itself is commanded by an epic failure. (The Washington Post).

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“We have eliminated over 80% of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) staff and redirected those resources toward initiatives that defend our natural rights and Western values.”

Cutting 80% of DRL staff is not “redirecting resources”; it’s eliminating any U.S. capacity to support those who stand with Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, etc. (Politico). This is not the flex MAGA thinks it is, when you consider that “removing” these functions , and connecting the removal to “Western Values”, you’re telling us that Western values are supportive of dictatorships, autocracy, etc. In short: If “Western values” really mattered, you wouldn’t extinguish the very office tasked with defending them. Rubio’s language practically solidifies that human rights tools are expendable luxuries, rather than enshrined obligations. Marco casually throws us a “false choice” fallacy: “Either we protect U.S. interests OR we protect human beings abroad”. In reality, though, there is no proverbial fork in the road. Global stability begins with safeguarding rights, thus, it is both. But, the latter doesn’t sell well to the MAGA crowd.

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“We formed a new Office of Natural Rights to hold our allies and adversaries alike accountable for any infringement on free speech, especially those who censor Americans online.”

The “Office of Natural Rights” is a manufactured outrage, designed to point fingers at Europe’s content-moderation laws, while ignoring that American platforms (especially X/Truth Social) are notorious for arbitrarily deplatforming dissenting voices, or TikTok USA, with its history of suppressing MAGA critics. Also, targeting “allies and adversaries” is hollow when you selectively prosecute, while you leave friendly autocrats, like Orban in Hungary, untouched (Politico). But, that’s not all: While Rubio decries “censorship” abroad, Kash Patel’s FBI is crafting guidelines on “domestic extremism”, looking toward greater content policing here at home. This is a textbook “whataboutism” wearing a wig of moral outrage.

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“We have doubled down on visa restrictions for any foreign official who participates in silencing American voices, ensuring that bullies abroad feel the full weight of American resolve.”

So, it’s OK to threaten American critics, including multi-million-dollar lawsuits involving TV networks (ABC settled with Trump for $15 million), while simultaneously targeting non-Americans for correctly critiquing the regime? Rubio’s visa bans of government officials aren’t “doubling down” on anything; they’re paper tigers, meant to get the MAGA cult to chant “USA USA USA.” However, there is one thing the regime is doing: Foreign academics and critics (nongovernment officials), frequently highly educated (read: critically thinking), who do try to speak openly about U.S. policy are turned away at the border, or taken into ICE custody. Moreover, Trump’s regime targeting social media networks abroad is not the play MAGA thinks it is. The C-Suite is held harmless. The regime is attempting to identify, and hold to account, mid-level EU content moderators for enforcing hate-speech laws. Laws that they are required to uphold. Laws that, for instance, make Nazi’ism illegal. Why? Because Europeans learned a thing or two from 1938-45. In a nutshell, Rubio’s crap is not “resolve”, it’s a power tantrum by a regime that knows full and well that it is in the wrong.

“We have initiated a comprehensive review of all foreign aid, cutting wasteful programs and ensuring that U.S. taxpayer dollars serve only American priorities.”

Newsflash: Cutting Aid ≠ Cutting Waste. This “comprehensive review” is shorthand for “blow up USAID.” Over 83% of USAID’s programs have already been axed. Not because they were illegitimate, but because the administration sees “foreign poverty” as someone else’s problem, even though much of it is caused by the actions of the United States on the global stage. The assumption that any money spent abroad is inherently “wasteful” is a straw man argument, at best. Moreover, the cognitively limited range of our current officials doesn’t seem to grasp that, if you gut humanitarian assistance, you create vacuums that rival powers (hello, China and Russia) will fill. The United States’s attempt to harm others will inevitably backfire into burning ourselves down. Domestic Chants and Rants won’t solve the problems we’re causing for others. Russia, China, et a., will solve those problems, and on a long enough timeline, the breathing room for the USA will become tighter and tighter, until we suffocate under our decrepit decisionmaking processes, that are still rooted in American exceptonalism, fueled by the delusion that the world can’t get by without us. The awakening will be ruthless. Not for others. For us.

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“We have streamlined embassy operations, shuttering underperforming posts and consolidating functions to eliminate bureaucratic bloat.”

In an interconnected world, which embassy counts as “underperforming”? If your rationale is “fewer people = leaner machine,” you’re forgetting that diplomacy is built on relationships, and relationships require boots on the ground. Relationships are built on trust and verification. They function when you can look each other in the eye, shake hands, and then document your commitments. Tell me, Marco, was the U.S. embassy in Kyiv underperforming? What about Algiers, where counterterrorism coordination is crucial? Rubio’s childish consolidation is the same hubris that once claimed “Caligula bests diplomacy” by sending the Praetorian Guard to negotiate. Perhaps, though, it’s also an insight into their mechanics: We know that we’re unreliable. We know that we cannot be trusted. Thus, before we piss too many countries off by absolving ourselves from diplomatic conduct, we just shut the entire office down. It’s the “shove my head in the sand technique, rooted in ignoring reality, shortcomings, and the utter irrelevance the United States is headed toward.

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“We have halted U.S. participation in multilateral climate discussions until other countries pull their weight.”

Dragging our feet on climate talks because “others aren’t perfect” is akin to saying, “I refuse to do my homework because Johnny didn’t do his.” America is the second-largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases, only surpassed by China, and followed by India, Russia, and the EU. We have zero moral ground to sit this out. Rubio’s basically screaming, “they aren’t coming to the table as we demand, so we’ll exit the table altogether.” And while we’re self-exiling, the rest is still working on a future that will impact all of us. Globally. China, India, and the EU set the agenda, and the U.S. screams insults from outside the stadium. Pathetic. At best.

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“We have renegotiated trade agreements to ensure reciprocal market access, putting U.S. workers first.”

Rubio is preaching the administration’s talking points that “tariffs are good for us”, because they’ll bring in billions, putting the U.S. workers first. Beyond the continuous waves of layoffs, small and mid-size businesses closing, steady price increases, and no wage adjustments, the majority of Americans will be left high-and-dry. I wrote about this at length here:

and here, or here. Oh, wait, here too, and here. Or this one, or that one. And two more: 1, 2.

“We have launched a new outreach initiative to the Islamic world, rebranding our message to emphasize universal freedom and mutual respect.”

Cheeto dust on the pig’s lips. “Outreach” is a nice word for cherry-picking moderate imams in Riyadh while tacitly supporting the bombing of Yemen. If the regime sincerely cared about “universal freedom,” it wouldn’t tie U.S. military aid to Saudi Arabia’s Shia genocide in the south. If the regime cared about human rights violations in other countries, it wouldn’t take the Qatari 747 while turning a blind eye. In general, Rubio is slinging propaganda that translates to “let’s take a selfie with the Grand Mufti so we can keep arms sales flowing.”

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“We have reinstated religious freedom as a top priority, spotlighting abuses in Iran, North Korea, and other rogue states.”

Nothing screams religious freedoms like demanding that every school in the US shall post the 10 commandments and revise history to emphasize the white man (Jesus wasn’t white). But of course, this isn’t about focusing on the breeding of domestic monotheism, it’s about the global stage. Look! There! We’re holding Iran and North Korea to account! This works especially well when you give the North Korean Hobbit-Hitler legitimacy by shaking hands, receiving love letters, and waltzing with him into NK territory.

Thus, we must turn our eyes inward, which is what they don’t want. In the last 100 days, the administration pushed through expanded “domestic extremism policies.” Among those, is Rubio’s mentioend “religious freedom” policy, which is as ethically sound as a flickering candle in a hurricane.

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“In 100 days, we have set a new standard—bold, unwavering, and unapologetically American.”

“Bold” but incoherent; “unwavering” but hypocritical; and “unapologetically American,” as if America has never had anything to apologize for. The entire propaganda pitch reads like a neon sign flashing “Look at how tough we are,” while the actual content amounts to dismantling any shred of long-standing U.S. diplomatic credibility, morality, ethics, or humanity. Then again, Rubio’s piece wasn’t written for the critical thinkers, the regime dissidents, the Democrats, or the Liberals. It was written to add fuel to the fire of the MAGA crowd. With conviction, they chant “USA USA USA”, while casually dismissing the fact that they, too, stand on top of the pile that the regime has set fire to.

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Anyway, there’s a lot more to discuss or critique in Rubio’s puff piece. And while he’s acting like a fluffer, the bottom line is this:

Marco’s “100 Days” post is a gold-plated toilet of MAGA language, destructive reformism, and self-aggrandizing slogans. It is propaganda disguised as a progress report. The real achievement of this “America First” State Department is the demolition of any coherent foreign-policy spine, replaced with the Bible Belt of isolationism, protectionism, and culture-war posturing. Any semblance of U.S. leadership has been slaughtered on the altar of “us vs. them.” Rubio’s pitch isn’t “unapologetically American”; it’s monumentally irresponsible.

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~Z.