The reason 'unbothered' Rubio 'runs from the sound of gunfire': DC insider

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Barranquilla, Colombia, September 9, 2026. Fernando Vergara/Pool via REUTERS

Serving as both secretary of state and national security adviser, Marco Rubio has a variety of functions in the second Trump administration. But one thing Rubio is staying away from, according to Financial Times' Edward Luce, is Jared Kushner and U.S. envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff's attempts at a Russia/Ukraine deal.

"There is a reason why Marco Rubio runs from the sound of gunfire," Luce writes in Financial Times. "Though he is America's secretary of state and national security adviser — the first to combine those roles since Henry Kissinger — Rubio can sense a losing bet or three. Whether that is trying to broker a deal between Russia and Ukraine, nuclear talks with Iran or fixing Gaza, he lacks the real estate background that President Donald Trump wants in his negotiators. Politicians typically crave the limelight. That Rubio is unbothered by being out of it tells us quite a lot."

Luce continues, "Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff do know real estate — and they are both billionaires who mix business with politics. This gives them credibility in speaking for Trump. That is partly why both (Russian President) Vladimir Putin and (Ukrainian President) Volodymyr Zelensky treated them with such respect on their fruitless trip to Moscow and Kyiv last weekend. They come with tote bags of promised 'win-win' investment booms that will flow from any deal. But their eyes might be bigger than their stomachs. Hammering out a deal that will stick is hard enough. If their true goal is dessert, however, they are likely to mess up the main course."

A "core Kushner-Witkoff tactic," according to Luce, is "to seduce their interlocutors with the lure of post-war bonanzas."

"Why should Ukrainians and Russians keep killing each other when they could be partnering with the U.S. to dig up critical minerals and build AI data centers?" Luce argues. "This misreads both men. Though estimates vary, Putin is worth a lot more than either of Trump's envoys, as well as Trump himself. Putin wants something that imagined post-ceasefire deals cannot buy, which is to reabsorb Ukraine into his cherished Russian motherland, in full or in part. Dessert is also not at the forefront of Zelensky's mind. His job is to defend Ukraine from Russia."

Luce adds, "In practice, business prospects keep Trump and his envoys in the game, not the other way round. Fixation on downstream benefits pushes them further from El Dorado."

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