Rubio’s Message To World After Venezuela Strike: ‘If You Don’t Know, Now You Know’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio didn’t hold back Saturday as he warned world leaders and rogue regimes that President Trump’s words come with action. The bold message followed the stunning success of Operation Absolute Resolve — the Trump administration’s high-risk, high-reward mission that ended with Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro in U.S. custody.
“I hope people now understand,” Rubio wrote on X. “The President of the United States is not a game player. When he tells you he’s going to do something and address a problem, he means it.”
During a press conference Saturday evening, Rubio emphasized that Trump’s record proves he doesn’t issue empty threats.
“This is a president of action,” he said. “I don’t understand how they haven’t figured this out. And now, if you don’t know, now you know.”
Rubio continued, warning that Trump isn’t interested in political theater or symbolic gestures.
“This is the way it’s going to play out,” he said. “And I think people need to understand this is not a president that just talks and does letters and press conferences — if he says he’s serious about something, he means it.”
The White House amplified Rubio’s remarks with a punchy social media post. The official X account shared a spliced video showing Maduro calling an opponent a “coward,” followed by Rubio’s “now you know” line and a still image of the deposed dictator in handcuffs.
Operation Absolute Resolve reportedly followed several failed diplomatic offers to Maduro, which the regime leader rejected. After he declined “off ramps,” as described by the Trump administration, the military was greenlit to carry out the takedown.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump’s action was not only a show of strength, but a fulfillment of campaign promises made in 2024.
“President Trump is a decisive and strong leader who does EXACTLY what he says he’s going to do,” she posted. “During his historic campaign in 2024, President Trump explicitly promised that he would work to ‘demolish foreign drug cartels’ to keep our citizens safe and that’s exactly what he did today through an unprecedented display of speed, precision, and power.”
Leavitt contrasted Trump’s record with what she described as “pathetic” inaction from the Biden administration, saying that under Biden, “our country [became] a dumping ground for corrupt regimes in countries like Venezuela.”
She concluded by framing the mission as a textbook display of Trump’s leadership philosophy.
“This is what America First is all about.”