Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended President Trump’s decision to confront Iran before boarding his flight to Paris on Sunday, telling reporters at Homestead Air Reserve Base in Florida: “So I think the President took on something that other presidents have failed to do. And sometimes when you do the right thing, I don’t know if it’s popular or not, but it’s the right thing to do when presidents are elected to do the hard things, sometimes difficult things, but necessary things.”
Rubio spoke to the traveling press pool on the tarmac at Homestead Air Reserve Base in South Florida on Sunday, November 8, 2026, minutes before departing for Paris, where he will attend the G7 foreign ministers meeting on November 9 and 10. The trip is his first abroad since the November 3 midterm elections. His remarks came as the administration defends its military campaign against Iran and faces questions from allies about what comes next. The footage is the State Department’s own video of the exchange, published by the department on its official X account the same day.
Video: U.S. Department of State
