On Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the press, both at Donald Trump's Cabinet meeting and before boarding a plane to Paris for the G7 Foreign Affairs Ministerial. He had what many have called a "mic drop" moment because he didn't hold back on his thoughts about how what we're doing in Iran is a "favor to the world" and how other countries need to "step up."
You can read more and watch all of that here: Rubio Mic Drop: Epic Fury Is a Favor for the World. 'Step Up and Deal With It.'
On Friday, Rubio left the G7 meeting and stopped to talk to the press once again. He had a lot to say, but his comments on the fake news, Cuba, and communism are going viral on social media, so I thought I'd share.
First of all, those of you who read my Cuban updates regularly know that I constantly warn you not to believe anything you read from "anonymous sources," no matter who else is quoting it or what source it came from. It's almost never right. It comes from people who either have an agenda and make things up or claim to be more important than they actually are. None of these people actually know anything, and many of them simply know bits and pieces of things and fill in the rest.
Sadly, I see too many pundits and other big names, even in conservative media, quoting these articles from the fake news like they're the gospel, and one reporter made the mistake of quoting one directly to Rubio today.
"Mr. Secretary, on Cuba, two questions. So for decades you have been a proponent of regime change, but now there seems to be a sense that perhaps President Trump would be happy with a win which would only entail an economic deal," the reporter asked.
Rubio responded, "You said there’s a sense. Where do you get that sense from?"
"Well, there is a lot of reporting that leads me to my second question," she said.
He let her have it, and he did so masterfully.
No, there’s a lot of fake...no, no, no, no, no. Any reporting on Cuba that you didn’t get from me or the President is a liar. Because we're the only people working on it. Okay. I’m just warning you guys, all these sources that are pitching you on Cuba don’t know jack. Okay? They’re not in the mix. I promise you, they don’t know what the hell is happening.
So here's the thing. A lot of the fake news reporting surrounding Cuba suggests that Rubio and Donald Trump are making some sort of "economic deal" that would leave the regime in place. There are 1,000 versions of the story, but ultimately, it's something like the regime would keep doing what it's doing, but make some concessions, and we ease sanctions, etc. It's stupid and pointless, but the folks keep reporting on it, and these intrepid reporters asked Rubio about it after he'd already called out the fake news.
"Do you still want regime change or would you be okay with an economic deal?" the reporter asked.
Rubio responded with a mini lesson on communism (emphasis mine):
What do you mean an economic deal? Look, Cuba’s economy needs to change, and their economy can’t change unless their system of government changes. It’s that simple. Who’s going to invest billions of dollars in a communist country? Who’s going to invest billions of dollars in a communist country run by incompetent communists, which is even worse than communists. The only thing worse than a communist is an incompetent communist. And so their system of government has to change because they will never be able to develop economically without those changes. Economic change is important. Giving people economic and political freedom is important, but they come hand in hand. They come together. I don’t know why there’s any confusion on that.
But that wasn't enough for the reporters. Rubio said he didn't come all the way to France to talk about Cuba, but he finally gave in and admitted that it was talked about at the meeting, so he would break it down. Again. He's done this a lot lately, but these reporters keep quoting those fake news articles I warned you about. This is a long one, but it's important:
Everybody talks about these blackouts. Cuba has been having blackouts all of last year, all the year before. There isn’t a naval blockade surrounding Cuba. The reason why Cuba doesn’t have oil and fuel is because they want it for free. And people don’t give away oil and fuel for free on a regular basis, unless it was the Soviet Union subsidizing them or [Nicolás] Maduro subsidizing them. They just don’t do it. They may get a shipment here or there, or now and then someone — but not enough to sustain their country, okay? That’s why they don’t have fuel. And the reason why they’re having blackouts is because they have equipment from the 1950s and ’60s that they never maintained or kept up, okay?
But ultimately, the reason why Cuba’s a disaster is because their economic system doesn’t work. It’s a nonsensical system, and the people of Cuba are suffering because of the decisions – because of the unwillingness of the people who govern that country to make the changes that need to be made so they can join the 21st century. It is sad that the only place – Cubans can only be successful if they leave the country. That’s a very sad thing. You see Cubans go all over the world and find success, except in Cuba, and that has to change.
And for that to change, you need to change the people in charge, you need to change the system that runs the country, and you need to change the economic model that it’s following. That’s the only way forward if Cuba wants a better future. We’ve expressed that clearly and repeatedly over many years, and maybe now there’s an opportunity to do it. We’ll see.
That's pretty much it. No new news on what will happen with Cuba exactly — I don't think we'll see that until the conflict in Iran reaches a certain point. As Rubio said, we'll see. But anytime I can make the fake news media look bad, I'll take it. If Rubio is making the fake news media look bad, even better. Plus, I love these "Mad Marco" moments, and I know a lot of you do too. I'll add a handful of videos from that exchange for your Friday viewing pleasure. They're beautiful to watch.
SECRETARY RUBIO: Any reporting on Cuba that you didn't get from me or the President is a liar. Cuba’s economy needs to change, and their economy can’t change unless the system of government changes. pic.twitter.com/D5ptr2VwxM
— Department of State (@StateDept) March 27, 202
SECRETARY RUBIO: The only thing worse than a communist is an incompetent communist.
— Department of State (@StateDept) March 27, 2026
🎯pic.twitter.com/FSrWSoQldk
SECRETARY RUBIO: The reason why Cuba doesn’t have oil or fuel is because they want it for free. Cuba is a disaster because their economic system doesn't work. pic.twitter.com/4jl0IkRpJM
— Department of State (@StateDept) March 27, 2026
SECRETARY RUBIO: You see Cubans go all over the world and find success except in Cuba. We need to change the system that runs the country, and we need to change the economic model that it's following. That's the only way forward if Cuba wants a better future. pic.twitter.com/XFTYKpODXZ
— Department of State (@StateDept) March 27, 2026
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