Watching Marco Rubio dismantle a softball question about Venezuela’s oil and leave the press scrambling for a follow-up felt like a breath of fresh air in a media landscape that too often favors performative outrage over clear answers. Dave Rubin shared the clip where the exchange leaves the reporter visibly stumped, and conservatives everywhere should be glad to see a leader answer plainly instead of dancing around the issue. That moment is a reminder that firm, unapologetic leadership still resonates with hardworking Americans.
When asked why the United States would “take over” Venezuela’s oil after the mission to remove Maduro, Rubio cut through the nonsense: we don’t need Venezuela’s oil for ourselves, but we absolutely cannot allow adversaries like China, Russia, or Iran to control resources in our hemisphere. His reply — blunt, practical, and framed around national security and the welfare of Venezuelans who have suffered under regime corruption — exposed the hollow concern-mongering of those who reflexively accuse patriots of “imperialism.”
Rubio was specific about leverage, explaining that the administration would first take between thirty and fifty million barrels and sell them at market rates, with proceeds managed to benefit the Venezuelan people rather than corrupt insiders. That kind of disciplined, results-oriented approach is what wins both geopolitically and morally: we deny our enemies resources while helping the Venezuelan people rebuild, not bankroll tyrants. Americans who care about both security and human dignity should applaud that dual-purpose strategy.
It’s telling how quickly the press goes quiet when confronted with real answers instead of gotcha questions crafted to create headlines, not policy. The clip Rubin shared shows the media’s reflexive posture exposed for what it is: more interested in scoring cheap points than in engaging with tough realities about power and protection in our hemisphere. Conservatives should celebrate moments like this because voters are tired of politicians and pundits who talk in abstractions while leaving America vulnerable.
Of course the usual suspects will scream about legality and “occupation,” trotting out comparisons to past mistakes, but those critiques miss the point: strategic control of resources to prevent hostile actors from gaining a foothold in our hemisphere is not wanton empire-building, it is sober defense. Critics in Europe and on the left will grumble, and some pundits will frame Trump-era decisiveness as reckless, but foreign policy is not a popularity contest — it is about protecting American lives and interests first.
Americans who believe in an America-first foreign policy should demand clarity, strength, and accountability — exactly what Rubio offered live on camera. Let the naysayers shout while leaders secure our hemisphere and ensure that Venezuelan oil serves the people, not foreign adversaries or corrupt officials. If the press can’t handle simple questions answered plainly, so much the better; the American people will reward leaders who speak plainly and act decisively.
