Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised President Trump during the first meeting of Trump's Board of Peace, commending the president for thinking outside the box and advancing independent solutions to the Israel-Hamas conflict rather than relying on global institutions that, he argued, have repeatedly fallen short of their stated goals.
🚨 BREAKING: Sec. Marco Rubio just walked right up to the mic at the Board of Peace and said it PERFECTLY on Trump circumventing the globalists!
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 19, 2026
"We are here today because the President of the United States Donald J. Trump has both an ability and a willingness to use the power… pic.twitter.com/8UCtqA9N5o
"We are here today because the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump has both an ability and a willingness to use the power of his office to think outside the box," Rubio said during his brief speech. "And that's why we're here."
"This was a very unique crisis in Gaza, one that the existing international institutions could not solve or figure out. It needed a very specific type of solution that required the partnership of all the nations that are here, including those that are here on an observer status."
Rubio went on to argue that existing global institutions have proven incapable of resolving the crisis. President Trump, he said, chose instead to take the initiative, assembling his own coalition designed specifically to confront the problem head-on.
"This Gaza situation was impossible to solve under orthodoxy, under existing structures. And so what we did is they went to the UN, and they got the UN's approval to put this group together and bring these nations together to come up with a very specific solution, solutions to very unique and specific problem. We have a long ways to go. There's a lot of work that remains that will require the contribution of every nation-state represented here today, and we thank you for being a part of it."
The Secretary of State went on to underscore the stakes, warning that the choice is stark: either the president’s plan succeeds, or Israel and Hamas slide back into full-scale war. In other words, the Board of Peace cannot afford to fail.
"And I hope this can serve as a model for other complex and difficult situations so they can be solved in the same way. But right now the focus is on this one. We have to get this right. There is no plan B for Gaza. Plan B is going back to war. No one here wants that. Plan A, the only path forward, is one that rebuilds Gaza in a way of enduring and sustainable peace where everyone can live there side by side with one another and never worry again about returning to conflict, to war, to human suffering, and to destruction."
"Mr. President, thank you for having the vision and the courage to pursue something that has never been done before," Rubio said before turning his attention to the representatives of the several countries in attendance.
"Every one of you is indispensable, including our observer partners, who we hope can find your way to join us at some point as officially part of this. But we are grateful for the fact you're here today and the contributions you've made already. Thank you."
This comes as the first meeting of Trump’s Gaza Board of Peace kicked off Thursday in Washington, D.C., bringing together representatives from at least 45 nations to discuss postwar reconstruction in Gaza. President Donald Trump presided over the inaugural session as delegates from around the world gathered to begin efforts toward permanently ending the conflict between Hamas and Israel.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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