U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently boasted about President Donald Trump’s “moral clarity” — and his remarks did not land well with many on social media.
During an appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity” on Wednesday, Rubio and host Sean Hannity had discussed Trump’s extraordinarily partisan joint address to Congress on Tuesday night, in which the president faced several forms of protest from Democratic lawmakers who were in attendance at the House chamber.
Some Democratic women in Congress wore pink in solidarity to protest Trump’s policies impacting women and families. Other Democratsheld signs up in acts of dissent as Trump spoke. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) was escorted from the chamber after he rose from his seat and yelled during Trump’s speech: “You have no mandate to cut Medicaid.”
Hannity called the Democratic protests a “temper tantrum,” despite the fact that Republicanshave notoriously heckled and caused other disturbances during past addresses led by Democratic presidents.
While criticizing the Democrats’ behavior, Rubio then appeared to reference Trump’s pledge to end the war in Ukraine during his speech. The secretary of state complained that Democratic lawmakers didn’t cheer Trump on during that moment.
“These are bizarre things, we live in bizarre times,” he said. “But I’m glad we have a president with moral clarity in Donald J. Trump.”
People on X, formerly Twitter, blasted Rubio, strongly disagreeing with his assessment of Trump’s “moral clarity” as a political leader. Some called out the fact that the president was impeached for “incitement” of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and that he berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a disastrous Oval Office meeting last week. Others called attention to Trump’s recent decision to pause U.S. military aid to Ukraine, and his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, among other points.
“Rubio is deeply compromised as a human being,” one X user wrote about the “Hannity” segment.
So, what does “moral clarity” mean anyway?
The phrase “moral clarity” has been used in politics for decades — and in many cases it’s been a popular slogan for conservatives.
Literary critic Frank Guan pointed out in a 2019 article for The New York Times that while the term had appeared decades prior, it saw a revival during the Ronald Reagan era in the 1980s due to the former president’s rhetoric about an “unrelenting struggle against the ‘evil empire’ of the Soviet Union.”
The idea of “moral clarity” functioned during that time as “an efficient means of discovering, then assailing, anyone too weak-willed to wage war against America’s ideological foes or incipient spiritual collapse,” Guan wrote.
The phrase was further popularized by conservatives who used it in discussions relating to foreign affairs and war after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) notably gave a different spin to the phrase after her successful progressive grassroots campaign in 2018, when she won her first Democratic congressional primary. She told CNN in an interview at the time: “There is nothing radical about moral clarity.”
Chandler James, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Oregon, told HuffPost that he believes “moral clarity” pertains to “values, ethics, what’s right and wrong.”
“Moral clarity in the context of politics is trying to describe or speak to how the policy-making process — and one’s role in the policy-making process — aligns with moral conviction,” he said. “Notions of right and wrong that … transcend the political process.”
The backlash to Rubio’s praise of Trump’s morals is not surprising, according to an expert.
James, an academic expert in American politics, the U.S. presidency and public opinion, said it was “not surprising” to him that Rubio received such criticism for saying Trump has “moral clarity.”
“A lot of people vehemently disagree with the values that Trump espouses,” even though there are “millions of Americans” who agreed with Trump enough to vote for him over former Vice President Kamala Harris, he said.
There are “a lot of people who are very concerned about Trump and his moral compass,” he later added.
Speaking about Rubio’s praise of Trump on Fox News, James said that he thinks the secretary of state is “doing what he believes is necessary to stay in Trump’s good graces.”
“Part of being an effective member in the Trump administration is maintaining his confidence and loyalty,” he said. “TV is an effective way to demonstrate the kind of loyalty that Trump seems to expect from the people that work for him.”
And as it relates to wide concerns about Republican lawmakers’ loyalty to Trump, James said he’s most concerned about “Congress’ role as a check on the executive branch,” given Trump’s efforts to expand executive power.
How does Trump fit into conversations of “moral clarity”?
James said that whether or not one believes the slogan is reflective of Trump’s leadership has to do with “what your values are.”
“If you think that Ukraine is responsible for the carnage of the war with Russia, if you believe… that federal employees should be laid off carte blanche without congressional approval, if you think that tariffs are a good thing… if you think those things are negative, then you might like Trump,” he said, adding that “you might think that he has moral clarity.”
But if you don’t agree with his rhetoric or actions, such as his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection, “You might think that he lacks moral clarity.”
“It’s a question of your own values,” he said.
And everyone values different things.
“Some people really value wealth and power and money and control; some people value new experiences and treating people with respect and dignity — and [they] believe that every human has value,” he said.
“When I think about politics, I think about whose values align with me most,” he later continued.
“That’s the question: What do you believe?” he added.