Rubio Became A Meme Hero Because Of The Suit
- 13.05.2026, 9:48
The U.S. Secretary of State flew to China not only under a new name, but also in an unusual way.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Beijing with President Donald Trump despite the Chinese sanctions in place against him. Beijing likely found an unusual diplomatic way around its own restrictions - changed the spelling of Rubio's last name in Chinese, writes RFI. In addition, a photo of Rubio aboard Air Force One, where he poses in a tracksuit, drew attention on social media.
Rubio is scheduled to arrive in China on May 13 aboard the Air Force One presidential jet. It is his first visit to a country against whose authorities he has spent years as one of the harshest critics in American politics. While still a senator, Rubio actively promoted sanctions against China over the alleged use of forced labor of Uighurs, and criticized the crackdown on protests in Hong Kong. In response, Beijing twice imposed sanctions against him, including an entry ban.
Once Rubio was appointed Secretary of State in January 2025, however, Chinese government agencies and media began using a different Chinese spelling of his last name. This involves replacing one character in the first syllable of Rubio's last name. According to the two diplomats, this may have allowed them to formally bypass the old sanctions ban, as the restrictions applied to the previous spelling of the name.
Chinese Embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said the sanctions concerned "Mr. Rubio's words and actions during his work as a U.S. senator on Chinese issues." At the same time, Beijing has made it clear that it is not going to impede his current visit as part of the US delegation.
Trump's visit to China will be the first trip by an American president to the People's Republic of China in nearly a decade. The talks with Chinese President Si Jinping are expected to discuss trade, the situation around Taiwan and the development of artificial intelligence.
Sam Rubio in recent months has noticeably softened public rhetoric against Beijing and supported Trump's course of developing economic relations with China. At the same time, he continues to emphasize that Washington does not intend to discuss the future of Taiwan in exchange for trade agreements with Beijing.
Separate attention in social networks attracted Rubio's appearance during the flight to China. In photos released by the White House, the secretary of state was not wearing a traditional business suit, but a gray Nike Tech Fleece tracksuit. X users immediately began comparing his image to viral photos of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who appeared in a similar suit after being detained by U.S. forces in January.
Memes quickly appeared online, with Rubio being called "the State Department's version of Maduro," jokes that he looks like a DJ aboard Air Force One, and irony that the head of U.S. diplomacy had suddenly become a "sportswear model." The White House itself also fueled the discussion by releasing a video with parallel footage of Rubio and Maduro in similar suits.