Newly confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio told ABC News on Tuesday that he doesn't believe "a single one" of U.S. partners in the world will ask about President Donald Trump's action of granting a full pardon to almost all of the Jan 6. defendants.
On Monday Trump signed dozens of executive orders, among them was granting a "full, complete and unconditional" pardon to roughly 1,500 of the 1,583 defendants charged in the Jan 6, 2021, attack on Capitol Hill.
Shortly after Trump was inaugurated, Rubio was unanimously confirmed as secretary of state, making him the first Hispanic and first fluent Spanish speaker to assume the position of top U.S. diplomat.
When the Jan. 6 protests occurred, Rubio called the attack a "national embarrassment" and "one of the saddest days in our history." Host George Stephanopoulos asked Rubio, "What message does that pardon send to them?"
"I don’t anticipate a single one of our partners will ask about it," Rubio said. "My job is to focus on the foreign policy of the United States. I have a different job this morning and a different focus — I won’t be opining on domestic matters at this point."
The former White House Communications Director in the Clinton administration then asked Rubio if he believes the events of Jan 6 impacted the U.S. standing in the world.
"Well, as a senator, I had an opinion on all kinds of domestic matters," Rubio said. "But now, I'm focused singularly on foreign policy and how I interact with our allies. For example, my first meeting right out of the box, as soon as I’m sworn in and get over to the State Department, is what the members of the so-called quad, which are important allies in Australia, and Japan, and India. And we’ll be talking to them, and we’ll be focused on that. None of these domestic topics are going to come up."
Rubio reiterated his message to NBC News on Tuesday saying he intends to be laser focused on foreign policy.
"Well, we’re going to focus on what makes America stronger and more prosperous and safer. I’m not going to engage in political domestic debates. I can’t," Rubio said. "In the role of State department, my job is to focus on the president’s foreign policy, and it’s going to be a foreign policy that’s frankly as straightforward as any in modern times."
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