Marco Rubio slams 'stupid media narrative' of Trump trying to bully Zelensky into peace deal with Russia

WASHINGTON, DC: Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed the "stupid media narrative" that President Donald Trump will "bully" Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into signing a peace deal with Russia.

During a Sunday, August 17 appearance on CBS, Rubio pushed back when asked about European leaders attending the negotiations with Zelensky and whether this was to ensure he isn’t "bullied into signing something away" by the POTUS. 

Marco Rubio says suggestion of bullying was a 'stupid media narrative'

Donald Trump is set to meet Volodymyr Zelensky, several European leaders, and NATO’s secretary-general on Monday, August 18.

On Friday, August 15, Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for nearly three hours at a US military base in Alaska. During their first meeting, they discussed the war in Ukraine. Though Trump has pushed for peace in the region, no ceasefire deal came out of the talks.

CBS' Margaret Brennan asked Rubio, "That’s why you have these European leaders coming as backup tomorrow. Can you reassure them?" The Secretary of State pushed back and said, "That’s not true."

"They’re not coming here tomorrow to keep Zelensky from being bullied. They’re coming here tomorrow because we’ve been working with the Europeans. We talked to them last week. There were meetings in the UK over the following, the previous weekend," Rubio added.

He further said that the suggestion of bullying was a "stupid media narrative."

"They’re coming here tomorrow because they chose to come here tomorrow. We invited them to come. The president invited them to come," Rubio mentioned.

Rubio also noted that the US has met with Zelensky far more often than with Putin.

Brennan recalled Trump’s meeting with Zelensky earlier this year, where Vice President JD Vance asked the Ukrainian leader how often he had said "thank you" for America’s help with the war.

Rubio also appeared on NBC’s morning show on August 17, where he was asked if he could name a single concession that Trump was going to ask Russia to make. He refused to answer, insisting that doing so would risk undermining the negotiations.

"Well I’m not going to name those things because if I do, you can imagine, our negotiations could fall apart. I know everybody wants to know what's happening, and to a certain degree that’s important, but what’s more important is these negotiations work," Rubio said.

Internet sides with Marco Rubio

Several internet users sided with Marco Rubio as he slammed the "stupid media narrative" that Donald Trump will "bully" Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into signing a peace deal with Russia.

A user wrote on X, "She's mad that things are going well," while another added, "Marco destroyed the media lies." 

One person stated, "@CBSNews @margaretbrennen CBS has lost their viewership," and another commented, "He's the best!"

A user also wrote, "Squished her like a grape," while another said, "The media is preparing their 'bad deal' narrative because giving Trump credit for a peace deal would break their brains."

One person remarked, "Those chairs they make TV hosts sit in cost about $119. Nothing you would ever buy for yourself to use at home. Just the same level of quality as the network. Crap," while another added, "I’m surprised… I didn’t think they even knew what accountability was."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.