Marco Rubio stated that Israel cannot be expected to coexist or find a diplomatic off-ramp with Hamas.
Posted by The Pete Quiñones Show, Checked
- Sources
- 1 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 65%
The Pete Quiñones ShowOct 1, 2026
A New Republic report of Rubio's October 9, 2023 CNN interview with Jake Tapper quotes him saying Israel cannot be expected to coexist or find a diplomatic off-ramp with 'these savages,' in answer to a question about stopping Hamas, so the claim's core assertion is supported.
What was said
… asked by Jake Tapper, you know, who's an idiot, he thinks that, you know, he's asking him, Is there a way to destroy Hamas without creating millions of casualties? There's 2 million people live there, 2.5 million people, and a million of them are children. So Rubio said this: Yeah, I don't think there's any way Israel can be expected to coexist or find some diplomatic off-ramp with these savages. I mean, these people, as you've been reporting and others have seen, that deliberately targeted teenage girls, women, children, the elderly. Horrifying thing. I don't think we know the full extent of it yet. …
The Pete Quiñones Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The New Republic quotes Rubio's answer to Tapper's question about stopping Hamas: "I don't think there's any way Israel can be expected to coexist or find some diplomatic off-ramp with these savages."[1]
Context. CNN's October 9, 2023 segment confirms Rubio appeared on The Lead with Jake Tapper on the date the quoted interview took place, which places the statement in the Hamas-Israel war context.[2]
Context. Rubio's 2023 interview appearance with Tapper is also referenced in a CNN transcript, though that transcript does not reproduce the quoted sentence itself.[3]
Context. The claim's 'with Hamas' wording is a faithful resolution of the passage, since Tapper's question and Rubio's reply concern Hamas; the claimant's own post is not evidence and was used only to resolve the referent.
Sources
3 sources: 2 not rated, 1 tier 2
- 1In the GOP Extremist Hamas-Israel Rhetoric Sweepstakes, Marco ...newrepublic.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 2Sen. Marco Rubio: ‘There is no Hamas without Iran’ | CNNcnn.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
- 3Interview With Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzogtranscripts.cnn.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post