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The Biden administration announced today that it will be removing Cuba from its state sponsors of terrorism list. The action comes a day before Senator Marco Rubio's scheduled nomination hearing for secretary of state. Rubio is a Miami native and Cuban American, and he has worked in the past to prevent Biden from removing Cuba from that list. Tristan Wood, from WFSU, reports on how Rubio's roots could influence his approach if he is confirmed to be the nation's top diplomat.
TRISTAN WOOD, BYLINE: In 2022, Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bovo, speaking at Rubio's election night party, heaped heavy praise on the senator after he won reelection to a third term.
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ESTEBAN BOVO: He's been a leader for a long time. He has made a difference, not just in Washington, but he did it when he was in Tallahassee. He has been a strong voice for those that can't speak, especially for those in Cuba that seek freedom.
WOOD: The city of Hialeah has the highest percentage of residents of Cuban descent compared to any other U.S. city. And Rubio got his political start representing a portion of this city back in 2000 in Florida's House of Representatives. Cuban Americans are also a big reason why Miami-Dade County turned red during the last presidential election. Last November, President-elect Donald Trump won 55% of the vote in Miami-Dade. When he first ran for president in 2016, he got 33%.
SEAN FOREMAN: There are two things that made modern Miami. They are air conditioning and Fidel Castro.
WOOD: That's Sean Foreman, political science professor at Barry University in Miami. He says the transformation of Miami's politics is the result of sustained outreach from Republicans. They've also tried to appeal to Cuban and Venezuelan Americans with anti-Castro and anti-communist messaging. Rubio has also embraced those political tactics. Here he is on the Senate floor denouncing Cuba's response to anti-government protests in 2021.
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MARCO RUBIO: We should be clear in our language. We don't just condemn this tyranny. We condemn this communist, this Marxist, this socialist tyranny. Call it for what it is.
WOOD: If confirmed as the first Cuban American secretary of state, Foreman thinks Rubio will sharpen his attacks.
FOREMAN: Marco Rubio's political career, as well as his life as a Cuban American, has been around this whole issue of maintaining a hard line against Cuba, but also against Venezuela and other Central American countries that may elect a left-leaning socialist type.
WOOD: Rubio has also railed against China. So much so he was banned in 2020 from visiting the country. He was one of the first lawmakers that called for the banning of TikTok in 2019 out of concerns it would provide data to the Chinese Communist Party. Through further speeches on the Senate floor, like here in 2023, he continued to link his concerns over the social media app back to China's government.
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RUBIO: The No. 1 victims of the Chinese Communist Party are the Chinese people. But their government is very simple, guys. They want to be the world's most powerful country, and they want to do it at our expense.
WOOD: Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, says while it's important to take a stand against communism, Rubio also often messages on those issues for political gain.
NIKKI FRIED: You have a politician like Marco Rubio who then knows the sensitivity associated with words like communism and socialism, and you then weaponize those words for your own political advantage here in the United States? Shame on you.
WOOD: Last May, Trump was found guilty of 34 felonies in his hush money trial. Rubio compared that verdict to what people say they've experienced under the Cuban government. Here he is on Fox News' "Special Report" with Bret Baier.
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RUBIO: They've been doing this against Trump for seven, eight years. The shock is that this could happen in America. I grew up listening to people tell me about show trials and things that happen in Cuba, but this is a show trial.
WOOD: Rubio's entire political career has been spent representing the state of Florida. But if nominated to be secretary of state, his personal priorities will have to take a back seat to what his boss Donald Trump wants.
For NPR News, I'm Tristan Wood from Tallahassee. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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