Marco Rubio Awkwardly Backtracks On Iran After Reporter Reads Him His Own Quote

The secretary of state squirmed when confronted on his talk of Israel triggering the U.S. to "proactively" strike Iran.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday awkwardly tried to walk back his comments rationalizing the deadly US attack on Iran to the very reporter he addressed a day before.

Rubio — when asked by CBS News’ Caitlin Huey-Burns on Monday if there was an “imminent threat” from Iran — claimed the US was “proactively” attacking Iran, suggesting that officials believed Israel would attack the country first in a move that would prompt Iran to “come after” US assets in the Middle East.

After President Donald Trump contradicted the messaging on Tuesday by claiming that “if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand” to attack Iran, Huey-Burns confronted Rubio.

“Yesterday, you told us that Israel was going to strike Iran and that’s why we needed to get involved. Today, the president said that Iran was going to get —,” Huey-Burns began.

“No. Yeah, your statement’s false,” Rubio interjected. “So that’s not what he — I was asked very specifically. Were you there yesterday?”

Huey-Burns swiftly reminded Rubio, “Yes, I asked the question.”

“OK. No did you — were you the one that — ’cause somebody asked me a question yesterday, ‘Did we go in because of Israel?’ And I said —.”

He proceeded to point to another reporter he addressed just after Huey-Burns on Monday, “I said, ‘No.’ I told you, this had to happen anyway. The president made a decision, and the decision he made was that Iran was not going to be allowed to hide behind its ballistic missile program.”

REPORTER: Yesterday you told us Israel was going to strike Iran and that's why we needed to get involved. But today the president said Iran--RUBIO: No. Were you there yesterday?REPORTER: Yes. I asked the question— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-03-03T20:27:13.994Z

REPORTER: Yesterday you told us Israel was going to strike Iran and that's why we needed to get involved. But today the president said Iran--RUBIO: No. Were you there yesterday?REPORTER: Yes. I asked the question

Moments later, when confronted with his quote to Huey-Burns, Rubio added, “The bottom line is this: We — the president determined we were not going to get hit first. It’s that simple, guys.”

RAJU: Your quote is, 'We knew there was going to be an Israeli action. We know that would precipitate an attack--'MARCO RUBIO: The-- you asked-- I was asked a very specific question, so you guys can misrepresent but I was asked a very specific question yesterday. The bottom line is this ... — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-03-03T20:31:14.880Z

RAJU: Your quote is, 'We knew there was going to be an Israeli action. We know that would precipitate an attack--'MARCO RUBIO: The-- you asked-- I was asked a very specific question, so you guys can misrepresent but I was asked a very specific question yesterday. The bottom line is this ...

Critics on social media clowned Rubio’s awkward attempt to walk back his comments, including one Bluesky user who simply replied, “Good lord, the bullshit is deep here. 🙄.”

Good lord, the bullshit is deep here. 🙄— Max Edge (@maxedge.bsky.social) 2026-03-03T20:34:10.153Z

Good lord, the bullshit is deep here. 🙄

A duck remains very calm on the surface as it backpedals furiously, but Marco is not a duck.— Sanho Tree (@sanho.bsky.social) 2026-03-04T03:58:25.012Z

A duck remains very calm on the surface as it backpedals furiously, but Marco is not a duck.

He wants to pretend he didn't tell us this thing because his boss contradicted it, but we can all watch the video. Their confidence that they can just invent and change reality doesn't work when we all heard him say the thing Trump now denies— Paul Bland (@fpbland.bsky.social) 2026-03-04T02:33:16.846Z

He wants to pretend he didn't tell us this thing because his boss contradicted it, but we can all watch the video. Their confidence that they can just invent and change reality doesn't work when we all heard him say the thing Trump now denies

It's like they're vampires and the truth is garlic and sunlight.— T. J. Stiles (@tj-stiles.bsky.social) 2026-03-03T21:37:04.494Z

It's like they're vampires and the truth is garlic and sunlight.

Foreign policy as sitcom. Outstanding.— Hunter (@hunterub.bsky.social) 2026-03-03T22:15:10.453Z

Foreign policy as sitcom. Outstanding.

VEEP was a comedy and we weren’t supposed to do all of that and worse IRL.— FREEBROOKLYN (@freebklyn.bsky.social) 2026-03-04T03:34:23.529Z

VEEP was a comedy and we weren’t supposed to do all of that and worse IRL.

Honestly surprised they're even taking questions still.— Jacob Davison (@jacobdavison.bsky.social) 2026-03-03T21:08:01.737Z

Honestly surprised they're even taking questions still.

They’re in a hole. Even Trump seems to know he’s in a hole.— Zoe (@zbris.bsky.social) 2026-03-03T20:58:22.625Z

They’re in a hole. Even Trump seems to know he’s in a hole.

Making it up as they go along, depending on what Trump has said to throw them under the bus since their last statement.— David King (@davidking196.bsky.social) 2026-03-03T21:30:25.553Z

Making it up as they go along, depending on what Trump has said to throw them under the bus since their last statement.

Tired: Did you read the article / I wrote the article Wired:— Doremus Schafer (@doremus-schafer.bsky.social) 2026-03-04T08:57:22.281Z

Tired: Did you read the article / I wrote the article Wired:

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