Iowa is Rubio Country

[UWS]

What should've been. Just wish it was RL.

Thanks.

[UWS]

Marco Rubio's Presidency
May 2017, Part 4

May 25-31 :
-Trained and armed by the Coalition forces, the moderate Syrian rebels managed to defeat Assad's forces in cities surrounding Damascus, including in Izra, Suwayda, Al-Qurayah, Kanaker, Qatana, etc. By deploying troops to fight ISIS, the Assad regime aweakened the defense of these cities, which gave the advantage to the rebels. By freeing all the cities around Damascus, the rebels cut any connections between the rest of the Assad troops and the Syrian capital, which deprives them of reinforcements.

May 25 :

-President Rubio holds a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe to discuss the threat of North Korea's ballistic missile program.

-Secretary of State Graham meets with Sigmar Gabriel, the German Minister for Foreign Affairs, to discuss issues like terrorism, Russia and trade.


-After 8 days of siege, the Coalition surrounded ISIS in the city centre of Mosul. By launching airstrikes as well as a military assault against them, the Coalition gives the remaining ISIS jihadists no choice but to surrender, thus handing a great victory for the Allies in Mosul and costing ISIS its de facto capital.

May 27 :
-President Rubio continues discussions with G7 leaders on a whole range of issues, agreeing on a communique on fighting protectionism in international trade on promoting free market solutions in trade agreements and also on fighting for the promotion of human rights in the world and on improving the US' ecological footprint through the use of a part of the revenues from oil drilling to develop renewable energies.

-President Rubio addresses American troops stationed in Italy at the Naval Air Station Sigonella.

-Having concluded his foreign trip, President Rubio, along with Jeanette and Secretary of State Graham, took the flight to Washington.


-Around the world, the international press published articles about the incredible contributions made by Marco Rubio, Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron at the NATO summit and at the G7 summit while these three leaders were, in some ways, forming a trio while they are working with their allies in NATO and in the G7. In fact, the international press underlined all things these three leaders have in common : all three of them are representants of the free world, they are all young and are members of Generation X (with President Rubio who will turn 46 tommorow, Prime Minister Trudeau who is 45 and President Macron who is 39) and brought new ideas and strategies in their leaderships as well as during their meetings with their international allies. The international press gave several nicknames to the trio such as the Young Team, the Quadragenerian Trio, the New Leadership Trio, the Generation X Team, the X Team or even the X-Men.

May 28 :
-President Rubio, his family and the entire White House celebrate the President's 46th birthday.

May 28-29 :

-Montenegro and Georgia, who became new members of NATO, joined the Coalition against ISIS and started orchestrating airstrikes against ISIS.


-The United States joins the Iraqi troops and the Kurds in the siege of Hawija. The next morning, thanks to the U.S. Army’s military power, the Coalition takes the upper hand and defeats ISIS in Hawija. As a result, all of ISIS’ Iraqi territory is freed by the Coalition.

May 29 :
-President Rubio is briefed on a new missile test-launch by North Korea, which is alleged to have discharged into waters within Japan's exclusive economic zone.

May 30 :
-President Rubio signs Senator Cantera-Lopez's SPACE Act of 2017 into law.

-President Rubio hosts Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the White House and oversees the signing of trade deals worth USD$17 billion between both countries.

May 31 :
-President Rubio performs a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery and gives a speech honoring those who have died fighting for the U.S.

[UWS]

Marco Rubio's Presidency
June 2017, Part 1

President Rubio's job approval rating :
Approve : 69 %
Disapprove : 25 %
Unsure : 6 %

June 1 :
-President Rubio signs a bill aimed at moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

-In an effort to increase pressure on the Maduro regime and to accelerate Venezuela's democratization, several countries such as Columbia, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, etc. decided to follow the United States' lead and to impose an embargo on Venezuelan oil.

June 2 :

-According to a new jobs reports, the U.S. economy made strong progress during the last month with the creation of 395 600 new jobs and a decline of the unemployment rate from 5.2 % in May to 4.9 % in June. The strong economic growth is due to the return of coal jobs to America following the end of the War on Coal, to the increase of energy production combined with a decrease of energy price, to the reduction of the fiscal burden on the American manufacturing industry which ensured the return of lost manufacturing jobs to America, to tax cuts and regulation cuts on businesses (including small businesses) that reinforced their ability to be competitive, to innovate, to produce and manufacture and to create jobs, and to the ratification of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the United States and the European Union which encouraged job creation in America and reinforced its competitiveness in the world economy through the increase of America's exports and imports, through the reduction of tariffs as well as the reduction of the United States' corporate tax rate from 40 % to 20 %.


June 3 :

-Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson introduces the Intelligence Security Act that would increase the counter-terrorism budget of both the CIA and the NSA in order to reinforce America's efforts to fight terrorism and to collect all the information America needs to do so. The Senate vote on that bill will be set on June 10 and if it passes the Senate the House vote will be held on June 17.

June 5 :

-While the Coalition forces keep tracking Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a U.S. drone located an ISIS base in the Mount Alfaf, situated at approximately 30 km from Mosul. This drone also spot a jihadist leader dressed in black, with a great beard and injured on the right arm. This jihadist leader is mentioned to be none other than Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. His wounds might explain the several past rumors according to which he would have been killed by the Coalition's airstrikes and that might conclude that these airstrikes only wounded him and failed to kill him. But whether this jihadist is really Baghdadi remains to be clarified.

June 6 :
The CIA launches a secret mission in which they engaged an Iraqi military officer as a double agent. The double agent goes to Mount Alfaf where he disguised himself into an ISIS Medical Officer. When he meets the local jihadists, he pretends to be an ISIS Medical Officer who was involved in ISIS’ unsuccessful attempt to defend the Iraqi city of Bakhdida, not away from Mount Alfaf. When he begins the work, the double agent uses a syringe to take infected blood from Baghdadi’s right arm in order to stop him from being contaminated. Later, after learning about Baghdadi’s blood type, he takes blood from another jihadist of the same blood type and transfers it into the jihadist leader’s arm. Later that day, after discretely leaving the base, the double agent brings Baghdadi’s infected blood with him and sends it to the CIA officials in order to allow them to find out whether this blood really belongs to Baghdadi or just to a Baghdadi lookalike.



-In the context of the special election to fulfill Mia Love's congressional seat in Utah's 4th congressional district after she was appointed Senator by Utah Governor Gary Herbert to replace Mike Lee (who became Supreme Court Justice after being nominated by President Rubio), CIA operations officer Evan McMullin wins the Republican primary with 46 % of the vote over Provo mayor John R. Curtis who received 32 % of the vote while state representative Chris Herrod received 17 % of the vote and Tanner Ainge earned 5 % of the vote. Meanwhile, physician Kathie Allen won the Democratic primary with 76 % of the vote over Carl Ingwell's 15 % and Ben Frank's 9 %. Currently, Evan McMullin largely leads Kathie Allen in the polls with 60 % of the voting intentions over Allen's 35 %. McMullin's advantage is not surprising due to the fact that the special election will be held in a strongly Republican state like Utah and also due to President Rubio's strong job approval rating. The special election will be held on June 20.

June 7 :

-After hours of DNA tests, the CIA officials finds out that the infected blood matches with Baghdadi’s DNA with a 100 percent identification, which determinately affirms Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s location at the Mount Alfaf. The CIA transfers all the information to President Rubio. The President of the United States authorizes a military operation at the Mount Alfaf to capture or kill Baghdadi. The preparations of the operation started.

June 8 :

-The United States and Iraq launched the Operation Phalanx that involves 40 000 soldiers in total. The Allies surrounded the Mount Alfaf in order to make escape impossible for Baghdadi and the other jihadists who are present there.


-Meanwhile, in Washington, the U.S. national security team, including President Rubio and Vice-President Haley, gathered in the White House Situation Room to monitor the progress of Operation Phalanx.


-Overpowered by the Coalition’s military arsenal, by the progress of the Marines in the Mount Alfaf and by the airdrops of American soldiers into the terrorist base, ISIS fighters are losing ground and are killed to the last. Surrounded by the Marines and knowing that he has no chance to escape, Baghdadi tries a suicidal attempt to launch a grenade on its adversaries but he is shot dead from all sides by the American soldiers. Later, the U.S. Army informs the White House that Abu Bakr al-Baghadi is dead.



-Later this evening at 9 : 30 pm EST., President Marco Rubio addresses the nation from the White House and announces that the U.S. armed forces killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, which he describes as a massive victory against terrorism. He pledges that the fight against ISIS will keep going until ISIS' total defeat and America's total victory against ISIS.


-All across the United States and all across the world, the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is celebrated.

[UWS]

President Marco Rubio adresses the nation from the White House and announces Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's death

Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS and a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children around the world, including here in the United States.

Throughout the last two years, America suffered 3 major attacks by ISIS in Garland, San Bernardino and Orlando where was committed the deadliest terrorist attack on our national territory since September 11 2001. Several families suffered the loss of their beloved ones. Our values such as freedom, democracy, justice, freedom of speech and freedom of religion were under attack. But the American people is united by its determination to defend its values, its freedom and its national security. We were also united in our resolve to protect our nation and to bring those who orchestrated these barbaric attacks to justice. It was clear that ISIS, just like other radical Islamic terrorist organizations did in the past, declared war to the United States and was committed to killing innocents in our country and around the globe. And so, along with our allies, we went to war against ISIS to protect our citizens, our friends, and our allies. And I repeatedly made it clear that we will never surrender to terrorism, extremism and barbarism and that we will never surrender in front of radical Islamic terrorists.

Over the last 3 years, thanks to the tireless and heroic work of our military and our counterterrorism professionals, we've made great strides in that effort. We've disrupted terrorist attacks and strengthened our homeland defense. But in the last few months, we did much more by sending, along with our allies, all the necessary troops and arsenal to finish off ISIS and stabilize Syria and Iraq. We freed all the massive territory ISIS once occupied in the last 3 years and we put them on defense because that's what we have to do in order to defeat radical Islamic terrorism. Shortly after taking office, I directed my national security team to make make the killing or capture of Baghdadi the top priority of our war against ISIS even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network. Since then, we worked with our friends and allies to capture or kill, around the world, scores of high-ranking ISIS jihadists.

Today, at my direction, the United States launched, along with our Iraqi allies, a targeted operation against Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi at Mount Alfaf in Iraq. Tens of thousands of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. After a battle, they killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

For 3 years, Baghdadi has been ISIS' leader and has continued to plot attacks against our country and our friends and allies like it happened in Paris, Nice, Brussels, etc. The death of Baghdadi marks one of our greatest victories in our fight against terrorism and in our nation's efforts to defeat ISIS.

But his death does not mean that our fight against ISIS and international radical Islamic terrorism is over. ISIS will undoubtebly continue to plot attacks against us and our allies. That's why we have to remain vigilant here and abroad. And as long as we stand with our allies, keep our military strong, stay on the offense, track terrorists whereever they are and give efforts to rebuild and stabilize the Middle East, we will defeat ISIS and other radical Islamic terrorist organizations and we will obtain total and unconditional victory against them for the sake of security, freedom, democracy, justice and peace.

While speaking with Prime Minister Fuad Masum on the phone, we both agreed that this is a great and historic day for both of our countries. We know the costs of war, but we will never allow our national security to be threatened. We will remain strong in defense of our citizens, our friends and our allies. We will remain committed to defend the values that make us who we are. And today justice has been done.

Tonight, we thank all the large number of countless intelligence, counterterrorism professionals and men and women in uniform who've worked tirelessly to achieve this victory. Even though we don't know their names nor we necessarily know them personnally, we are thankful of their work and the result of their pursuit of justice. We are thankful of the work, courage and service of the men and women who carried out this operation. Their patriotism and their love for America and its values inspired them and gave them the determination to defend this great and beautiful nation as well as its values and promises. That's what they did by heroically fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq and by killing Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi today.

To the families who lost loved ones in Garland, San Bernardino and Orlando, let say to you that we have never forgot nor we'll ever forget your loss, nor broken our commitment to do whatever it takes to make sure we'll prevent another attack on our shores. Tonight, let's feel the sense of unity that prevailed in the last 3 years. The accomplishment we made today is testament to America's greatness and to the determination of the American people.

Our fight to secure our country and to defeat radical Islamic terrorism is not complete and that's why we will give all the necessary efforts to accomplish this. But tonight, we remember that America is the land where everything is possible and that our country has the reputation as the land of opportunity. That's the story and history of all Americans whether it's the pursuit of happiness, the pursuit of prosperity, our determination to stand up for our values here and abroad and the sacrifices that were made in order to make America and the rest of the world a better, fairer, freer and safer place. This day is a historic day that marked another victory for freedom and justice in our fight for the preservation, protection and defense of the values for the sake of liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. God bless you. God bless the United States of America.

[UWS]

Marco Rubio's Presidency
June 2017, Part 2

June 9 :
-President Rubio announces in a speech at the Department of Transportation that he will set up a special council to speed up the permit process to build roads and bridges.

-President Rubio holds a bilateral meeting and joint press conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, discussing issues such as NATO, Ukraine and Russia.

June 10 :
-The Senate approves Senator Ron Johnson's Intelligence Security Act that would increase the counter-terrorism budget of both the CIA and the NSA. The bill passes the Senate with 68 YEA votes and 32 NAY votes. The vote at the House of Representatives will be set on June 17.

-Two days after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed by the U.S. Marines, Abu Fatima al-Jaheishi succeeds him as leader of ISIS.

June 11 :

-During a diplomatic trip in Turkey, Secretary of State Lindsey Graham pledges that Abu Fatima al-Jaheishi will meet the same fate as his predecessor.

June 12 :
-President Rubio promotes opening technical apprenticeships to teenagers in a workforce development roundtable discussion in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

June 13 :
-President Rubio gives a speech in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he celebrates the recent strong economic progress. Here are some extracts from the President's speech :

After years of sluggish economy, we are finally seeing strong economic growth. Throughout the last 5 months, we created over 2 million new jobs and the unemployment rate is reduced from 5.5 % in January to 4.9 % today. We did that by cutting taxes for all the American people, including the midle class, by reducing taxes an regulations on businesses, which increased their competitiveness, their productivity and their ability to innovate, to emerge, to expand and to create jobs. We also did that by ending the War on Coal through the abolition of regulations of America's energy industry, which is bringing our coal jobs back home and encouraging clean coal technology. By doubling permits on federal lands and by multiplying oil drilling and production, we are not only boosting job creation but also taking advantage of our own sources of energy and getting the revenues which a part will be invested for the development of renewable energies for the sake of both our economy and the environment. Thanks to the ratification of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, we increased our exports and imports as well as our competitiveness in the world economy, thus bringing strong job creation in America. And by cutting taxes and regulations on our manufacturing industry and by reducing our corporate tax rate from 40 % to 20 %, we are bringing American manufacturing jobs back home while allowing us to pursue our quest for open markets in the world. The best is yet to come and that's why we will keep fighting to make America the best place in the world to do business and to reduce the fiscal burden for all Americans in order to bring us to full-employment.

Thank you. God bless America.

[Crowd cheers and applauds]

June 14 :
-President Rubio campaigns for Evan McMullin in Provo, Utah, in the context of the special election in Utah's 4th congressional district. Here are some extracts from President Rubio's speech :


In a time in which you have a choice to make in order to decide who will be your next congressman, let me tell you this : America is back.

[Crowd cheers and applauds]

Our nation is recovering. In the last few months, our economy is strengthening through the creation of over 2 million new jobs due to tax cuts for our people and for businesses across America, through the increase of energy production by taking advantage of our oil, gas, coal, wind and solar energies, through the promotion of free trade, through school choice in order to increase the access to education and through the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act. Our national security is stronger than ever before and ISIS is declining. By reinforcing and modernizing our military, by strengthening our alliances and by deploying all the necessary troops and military arsenal in Syria and Iraq, we freed all of ISIS' territory in this region, we tracked and fought ISIS terrorists wherever they hide and our brave soldiers killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, which is a great victory over terrorism. The fight against radical Islamic terrorism is not over yet and that's why we will keep delivering efforts to defeat it through a stronger military, stronger alliances, stronger diplomacy and stronger American engagement.

And in the context of this special election, we have in Evan McMullin a candidate who knows what it takes to defeat radical Islamic terrorism due to his experience as CIA operations officer and as senior adviser on national security issues for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. By reinforcing our majority and by bringing such experience in the Congress, we will strengthen a terrific team, we will adopt all the measures needed to defeat radical Islamic terrorism, to reinforce our national security as well as our freedom and our democracy and to grow the economy. And that's why I'm calling on you to go to the polls on June 20 and vote for Evan McMullin as your next congressman.

Thank you. God bless Utah and God bless the United States of America.

June 15 :
-President Rubio signs an executive order promoting apprenticeships, increasing the funding for job-training programs by 5.5%, and giving more freedom to third-party companies and schools to craft these programs.

June 16 :
-Refusing to step down, Syrian dictator Bachar el-Assad pledges to fight the Coalition forces until the end.

-The United States and their allies decided to topple the Assad regime in order to reinforce freedom, democracy, stability and security in Syria and to make sure that Assad's repressive policies will no longer push anti-Assad Syrian citizens to radicalization and to jihadism.

June 17 :
-Thanks to the military training and the arms provision they received from the U.S. Army, the Kurds managed to free the city of Maadan from the Assad's army and all the cities and villages around Maadan. Meanwhile, the U.S. troops and their allies defeated Assad's troops in Al-Taybah and in As-Sukhnah.

-President Rubio along with First Lady Jeanette Rubio made his first visit to Camp David.

-The House of Representatives approves the Intelligence Security Act with 326 YEA votes, 104 NAY votes and 5 abstentions. The bill is signed into law by President Rubio, thus increasing the counter-terrorism budgets of both the CIA and the NSA.

June 18 :

-President Rubio nominates former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Israel due to Cantor's strong support to Israel and to his opposition to a nuclear Iran. His nomination will have to be confirmed in the U.S. Senate.


-In Syria, the U.S. troops as well as the Kurds and the moderate Syrian rebels took all the cities surrounding Aleppo, one of the biggest Syrian cities. Meanwhile, the United States and their allies started their military offensive in Palmyra after destroying the city's defenses through airstrikes.

June 19 :
-President Rubio hosts Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela at the White House, to discuss organized crime and drug trafficking.

-In reaction to the death of Otto Warmbier, a prior detainee of North Korea, President Rubio accuses North Korea of contributing to Warmbier's death through torture and calls the regime of Kim Jong-un an oppressive regime and pledges that the United States and their allies will be able to handle it.

-President Rubio hosts the heads of major American technology companies at the White House for the first meeting of the American Technology Council.

June 20 :

-The U.S. and their allies defeated Assad's army in Palmyra while the Syrian rebels took the cities of Qaryatayn, Sadad and Mahin.

-U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Dan Coats and his allies in the U.N. agreed to increase sanctions against Russia for its support to the Assad regime and to the pro-Russian insurgency in Ukraine.

-President Rubio meets with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko at the White House, as new sanctions against Russia are announced.


-In the context of the special election to fulfill the House seat of Mia Love (who was appointed Senator by Utah Governor Gary Herbert after Mike Lee became Supreme Court Justice) in Utah's 4th congressional district, Republican Evan McMullin easily wins the election with 64 % of the vote over Democrat Kathie Allen's 34 %. All the pundits predicted McMullin's victory due to the fact that this election was held in Utah, a strongly conservative state, and also due to President Rubio's strong job approval rating. On the campaign trail as well as in his campaign TV ads, McMullin also used the recent death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (killed by the U.S. armed forces under President Rubio's watch) as an asset while describing his opponent as weak on foreign policy and terrorism. So it marks a third consecutive electoral win for the Republican Party since President Rubio's inauguration.

[UWS]

Marco Rubio's Presidency
June 2017, Part 3

June 21 :
-The U.S. armed forces as well as their NATO allies, the Kurds and the mainstream Syrian rebels started the siege of Aleppo, the second largest Syrian city.

-The Syrian rebels started sieging the city of Hama.

June 22 :
-After freeing all the cities between Palmyra and Homs, the U.S. and their allies started the siege of Homs.


-Republican Senator Richard Burr and Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren team up to co-sponsor their « Veterans Care Financial Protection Act » proposal. Should it pass, this bill would make the federal Department of Veterans Affairs work with state and federal agencies to stop con men who are diverting federal aid away from veterans. The vote in the Senate will be set on June 29 while the one in the House (should it pass the Senate) will be set on July 6.


-President Rubio flies to Los Angeles, California, where he gives a speech at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum promoting Los Angeles' candidacy to hold the 2024 Summer Olympics. He promises the development of all the necessary infrastructure to make the 2024 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles spectacular, dynamic and successful. The selection of the host city by the International Olympic Committee will be decided between the two candidates Los Angeles and Paris on September 13 2017.


June 23 :
-After a battle costing the life of 126 Coalition soldiers and 900 Syrian soldiers, Homs is taken by the Allies and the Syrian rebels.

-President Rubio holds a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the White House.

June 24 :

-The Allies won the battle of Aleppo over the Syrian Armed Forces. The battle saw the death of 15 000 Syrian soldiers as well 101 Coalition soldiers and 147 Syrian rebels. Assad's defeat in Aleppo is a major one as he lost the control of over the three quarters of Syria's territory.

-President Rubio issues an executive order to abolish the sales taxes on manufacturing equipment, thus boosting America's manufacturing industry and encouraging job creation in this sector.

June 25 :
-The Syrian rebellion defeated the Syrian army in Hama.

-President Rubio holds a bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House.


-In the context of the 2017 Virginia Gubernatorial election, former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie narrowly wins the Republican primary with 44 % of the vote over Corey Stewart (chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors) who received 42 % of the vote while State Senator Frank Wagner received 14 % of the vote. On the Democratic side, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia  Ralph Northam won the Democratic primary with 56 % of the vote over former Congressman Tom Perriello's 44 %. In New Jersey, Republicans nominated Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno while the Democrats nominated former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Phil Murphy.


-In the context of the 2017 senatorial special election caused by West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito's nomination by President Rubio as Administrator of the EPA, businessman Don Blankenship, former CEO of Massey Energy, largely wins the Republican primary with 48 % of the vote over Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's 30 % and Navy veteran Jack Newbrough's 22 %. So Blankenship will face incumbent Democratic Senator Earl Ray Tomblin appointed by West Virginia Governor Jim Justice. Unsurprisingly, Blankenship, who is leading Tomblin with 57 % of the voting intentions over Tomblin's 35 % in the polls, has the advantage in this special election in a state nicknamed « coal country », the moreover that he could use his coal business background to win among coal workers in a time America's coal industry is rising again due to the Rubio Administration's tax cuts and regulation cuts on the energy industry.

June 26-27 :
-President Rubio meets with state governors and tribal and local leaders at the White House to discuss American energy independence.

-The Coalition's navies bombard the Syrian coastal cities of Latakia, Tartus and Baniyas while the local Syrian troops are also hit by intensified NATO airstrikes, which forces them to surrender, thus handing victory to the Coalition.

June 28 :
-National Security Advisor McMaster confirms that he is preparing a military option for President Rubio in respect of North Korea.

-Vice President Haley delivers a speech at Tendon Manufacturing in Bedford, Ohio, concerning tax cuts and employment.

-President Rubio hosts the 2016 World Series Champions Chicago Cubs at the Oval Office.


-The Coalition as well as the Kurds and the Syrian rebels started a military offensive in Damascus, the capital of Syria. This battle is crucial not only because Damascus is Syria's capital but also because it could mark the end of Assad's dictatorship.

June 29 :
-The Senate approves the Veterans Care Financial Protection Act with 71 YEA votes and 28 NAY votes. The vote in the House will be held in one week.

-President Rubio hosts South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House.

June 30 :
-President Rubio and South Korean President Moon discuss trade and the North Korean threat in a second day of summit talks.

-Vice President Haley and South Korean President Moon attend a wreath-laying ceremony at the Korean War Veterans Memorial.

-President Rubio signs an executive order reviving the National Space Council.

[UWS]

Marco Rubio's Presidency
July 2017, Part 1

President Rubio's job approval rating :
Approve : 73 %
Disapprove : 24 %
Unsure : 3 %

July 1 :
-A CNN/ORC poll indicated that President Rubio's job approval rating strongly raised to 73 %. This is due to the killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by the U.S. Marines, to ISIS' decline and to the recent strong economic growth America is enjoying.

-President Rubio makes telephone calls to Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss trade issues and the North Korean threat, in advance of the 2017 G20 summit.

July 2 :

-After 4 days if siege, the Allies took 3/4 of Damascus. When they launched their final offensive, they easily defeated Assad's army while Bachar el-Assad committed suicide by shooting a bullet in his own head. The U.S. and their allies won the battle of Damascus during which they overthrowed the Assad regime.

-In Washington, President Rubio announced the topple of Assad and described it as a victory for democracy, freedom, justice, integrity and international security (since Assad's repressive policies will no longer push people in Syria to radicalization and terrorism).

July 3 :
-President Rubio speaks by telephone to German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussing issues including climate change, the Women’s Entrepreneurship Financing Initiative and trade.


-The Senate holds a congressional hearing to confirm Eric Cantor's nomination as U.S. Ambassador to Israel.

July 4 :

-North Korea successfully conducts a nuclear test with an ICBM missile potentially capable of reaching Alaska or Australia. President Rubio condemns this nuclear test during a press conference at the White House.

-Secretary of State Lindsey Graham states that the US "will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea".


-President Rubio hosts military personnel and their families for a picnic and fireworks show at the White House as part of Independence Day celebrations.

July 5 :
-President Rubio, his family and advisors arrive in Warsaw, Poland ahead of the G20 summit.

-Ambassador Coats informs the UN Security Council that the US is prepared to deploy any of its military options to defend itself and its allies from North Korea if other options fail.


-President Rubio attends a joint press conference in Warsaw with Polish President Andrzej Duda, reaffirming the US commitment to NATO, and citing the "severe" options available in respect of North Korea.

July 6 :
-President Rubio and the First Lady, attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the Warsaw Uprising Monument, and delivers a speech in defense of shared democratic values and calling on Russia to cease all destabilizing activity.

-President Rubio attends the Three Seas Initiative to discuss the reduction of Central and Eastern European nations' dependency on Russian oil and gas imports and increasing US LNG imports.

-President Rubio meets with Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic privately to discuss issues including security and energy.

-President Rubio arrives in Hamburg, Germany, ahead of the G20 summit.


-President Rubio meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Hotel Atlantic to discuss issues such as trade, climate change, Russia, global security, terrorism and the threat of North Korea's nuclear program.

-President Rubio attends the Northeast Asia Security Dinner, discussing with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe calling on China to restrain North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

-Vice President Haley visits the Kennedy Space Center as part of the National Space Council.

-The House of Representatives approves the Veterans Care Financial Protection Act with 297 YEA votes, 122 NAY votes and 6 abstentions. The bill remains to be signed into law by President Rubio at his return from his international trip.

July 7-8 :
-President Rubio attends the G20 summit hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.


-The G20 final communique placed a new emphasis on the need for trade deals to be reciprocal and non-discriminatory towards developing countries. The members of G20 also agreed to emphasize the promotion of free market economics across the globe. All agreed to continue regulating financial markets and to combat radical Islamic terrorism as well as financing terrorism and tax evasion. All the members of G20 followed President Rubio's proposal that the international community makes contributions to finance the reconstruction of Syria after Assad's overthrow in order to make sure that Syria's future will be bright, that this country will reclaim its  prosperity and that terrorism will never rise again in that region. All the countries participating at the G20 engaged to take all the necessary measures, including economic and diplomatic sanctions and anti-missile shields, to stop North Korea from boosting its nuclear program and from triggering a nuclear war in the Pacific.

-President Rubio holds a bilateral meeting with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, welcoming increased US participation in the ASEAN-US Summit, East Asia Summit, and APEC.

-President Rubio holds a bilateral meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, promising to work on doing more trade deals and business between both countries, which he describes as achievable thanks to the TPP.

-President Rubio together with Chinese President Xi Jinping agrees that both countries should put more pressure on North Korea.

-A new jobs reports notes that 244 000 new jobs are created in the United States in June due to  the recovery of America's manufacturing industry, to increased exports and imports and to increased business activity in the USA favored by tax reform. The unemployment rate is reduced from 4.9 % to 4.7 %.

July 9 :
-President Rubio, his family and advisors arrive in Washington D.C.

-President Rubio signs the the Veterans Care Financial Protection Act into law.

-Vice President Haley holds bilateral meetings with Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed at the White House where they talked issues like terrorism, security, energy and trade. Haley also speaks by telephone to Macedonian Prime Minister, Zoran Zaev, and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

July 10 :

-A year from the 2018 midterm elections that will be held on November 6 2018, in the middle of Republican President Marco Rubio's first term, Ohio Governor John Kasich (one of Rubio's former rivals in the 2016 GOP primaries), whose term will end in 2019 due to term limits, has announced in Columbus, Ohio, that he's running for Senate in 2018. The other contenders for the Republican senatorial nomination in Ohio are investment banker Michael E. Gibbons and businesswoman Melissa Ackison, but the popular Ohio governor is the favorite with 50 % of the voting intentions in the polls. So if Kasich were to win the GOP senatorial primary in 2018, he will face incumbent Democratic senator Sherrod Brown.

[2016]

I was suspecting some big Republicans would announce intentions to run for Senate given President Rubios astronomical high Approval Ratings. Great Recruitment by the NRSCC getting Kasich to run.

[UWS]

Senate hearing to confirm Eric Cantor's nomination as U.S. Ambassador to Israel

John McCain : Congressman Cantor good morning and congratulations for your nomination. I had the opportunity to appreciate your leadership as House Majority Leader for three years. Let's come to my first question. A few years ago, you said that the United States must stand with Israel like they stand against ISIS. We all know that ISIS has a branch in Egypt, especially in the Sinai Province, so its geographically close to Israel. Do you think that ISIS' threat in Egypt represents a great example of how important it is to stand with Israel like we stand against ISIS like you said?

Eric Cantor : Of course it is. The moreover that ISIS terrorists in Egypt shot 3 grad rockets on 3 July 2015 from Sinai to southern Israel near the Gaza Strip. And we'll have to work with Israel and Egypt in order to defeat ISIS in Egypt and in the Middle East. We have a common enemy and it's ISIS. Defeating them requires a stronger military and stronger alliances. And that is exactly what the Rubio Administration is doing and that's how we managed to free all of ISIS' territory in Syria and Iraq and to find and kill Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. And I will follow this administration's foreign policy decisions in order to defeat terrorism in that region through strong alliances, including with Israel.

John McCain : Recently, the Assad regime is toppled and we are about to give contributions along with our allies to ensure the reconstruction of Syria in order to restore this country's stability and democratization. Do you think it's in Israel's interests to make contributions to reconstruct Israel?

Eric Cantor : It's in Israel's national security interests because Israel and Syria are neighbors so Israel's security depends on the situation in Syria. By contributing to Syria's reconstruction and democratization, Israel will ensure that Syria will reclaim its freedom, destiny and integrity under a democratic government and that terrorism will never rise again in that region, which will be due to a more stabalized Syria with the establishment of all services that the Syrian people needs such as homes, hospitals, schools, groceries. And like the President of the United States said, by making contributions, like we're about to do, to train the new Syrian army, Israel will make sure that these new Syrian Armed Forces will be fully ready to defend their country and to fight and defeat terrorism. I think we must not repeat the mistakes of the past that we saw in Iraq and Afghanistan.

John McCain : All right. As we all know, even though Pakistan is in throes of radical Islamic terrorism, Pakistan has been suspected to sponsor terrorist groups in addition of having arrested Shakil Afridi while he assisted U.S. efforts to locate Osama Bin Laden. And we also know that Pakistan has abundant nuclear energy in addition of having nuclear weapons, which created the potential that these weapons could fall between the hands of terrorists in Pakistan or Hezbollah terrorists supported by Iran (Israel's main enemy), which would cause nuclear attacks by these terrorists against our nation and our allies. Do you believe that the eventuality of such a scenario should convince Pakistan to do more to fight terrorism as well as Iran's nuclear threat?

Eric Cantor : Well, Senator, I think it is foolish and suicidal of Pakistan to sponsor terrorist groups while this country suffered from terrorism for decades, including before and during the War on Terror. Both the United States and Pakistan agree that Pakistan's nuclear weapons must never fall between the wrong hands, which would be catastrophic through nuclear attacks that could cause millions of deaths. That's why we have to work together to finish the job of defeating radical Islamic terrorism in Afghanistan, in Pakistan and in all the Middle East. And that's why we have to work with Pakistan to put in place all the necessary sanctions against Iran to make sure that Iran's nuclear energy will be used for civilian and economic purposes, not for military objectives.

[UWS]

Marco Rubio's Presidency
July 2017, Part 2

July 11 :
-The United Nations announced the formation of provisional government in Syria in order to stabilize the country during the time of political transition in which democratic institutions, political parties as well as conditions of power balance will have to be established.

-During a rally in Tampa, Florida, President Rubio unveils his space policy agenda.

-President Rubio speaks on the phone with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with whome he discusses issues like trade, energy, Pakistan and terrorism.

July 12 :

-In the context of the fight against terrorism, including in the Indian Subcontinent, President Rubio announces, during a press conference at the White House, a proposal aimed at reducing at the U.S. aid to Pakistan from 800 million dollars a year to 100 million dollars in economic and military aid and sales of military equipment due to Pakistan's sponsoring of terrorist groups in the region and also due to Pakistan's decision to arrest Shakil Afridi who made a great contribution in assisting U.S. efforts to find and kill Osama Bin Laden. President Rubio's measure has the objective of encouraging India to play a larger role in the War in Afghanistan by sending military ground troops in Afghanistan to fight terrorism (including ISIS, Al Qaida and the Taliban). In exchange of a stronger Indian engagement in Afghanistan, the United States will deploy 25 000 more troops in Afghanistan to eradicate terrorism. The President of the United States stated that the U.S. aid to Pakistan would rise again only if Pakistan accepts to stop sponsoring terrorist groups, to fully side with the United States and to bring full cooperation with full Pakistani cooperation with the United States in the War on Terror as well as broader counterterrorism efforts in the region. The Senate will vote on President Rubio's proposal on July 19 while the House of Representatives will do the same, should this proposal pass the Senate, on July 26.


-Arizona Senator Jeff Flake announces during a rally in Phoenix, Arizona, that he's running for re-election for a second term in 2018.

July 13 :
-President Rubio and the First Lady arrives in Paris, France, for a two-day state visit.

-President Rubio hosts a ceremony in the American embassy in Paris honoring World War II veterans.

July 14 :
-President Rubio and the First Lady attends a Bastille Day military parade in Paris with President Macron.

July 17 :

-At the White House, President Rubio awards the Medal of Honor to the U.S. Marines who participated at the Operation Phallanx that killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi at Mount Alfaf in Iraq last month.

-In India, Ram Nath Kovind, the Bharatiya Janata Party (right) presidential nominee, is elected President of India with 66 % of the vote over Indian National Congress presidential nominee Meira Kumar's 34 %.

-President Rubio speaks on the phone with Indian president-elect Ram Nath Kovind to congratulate him on his electoral victory.

July 18 :
-Vice President Haley attends the Retail Advocates Summit organized by the National Retail Federation promoting tax reform as well as child credit tax.


-The Senate votes 69-30 for Eric Cantor's nomination as U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Cantor officially becomes the new U.S. Ambassador to Israel.

July 19 :
-The U.S. Senate votes 94-3 in favor President Rubio's proposal to reduce U.S. aid to Pakistan due to this country's support to terrorist groups in the region in an effort to convince India to make stronger involvement against terrorism in Afghanistan.

July 20 :
-President Rubio has a luncheon with Republican senators in the White House, calling on them to work on passing tax reform and child tax credit.

July 21 :
-President Rubio has a meeting at The Pentagon with his national security team covering areas such as troop levels in Afghanistan and the fight against ISIS.

July 22 :
-President Rubio honors the surviving members of the USS Arizona during a visit to the White House.

July 23 :
-President Rubio officially commissions the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.

July 24 :
-President Rubio holds a bilateral meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri at the White House to discuss issues like the reconstruction of Syria, Hezbollah and anti-terrorism.

July 25 :
-President Rubio awards the Medal of Honor at the White House to James McCloughan, a former army medic who served during the Vietnam War.

July 26 :

-The House of Representatives votes 421-10 for President Rubio's proposal to reduce U.S. aid to Pakistan. The new bill is signed into law by President Rubio, thus reducing U.S. aid from 800 million dollars to 100 million dollars.

July 27 :
-Vice-President Haley visits Islamabad, Pakistan where she meets Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain with whom she holds a joint press conference in which they discussed issues like the relations between the United States and Pakistan, India, counter-terrorism, Iran, human rights, economic ties between the two countries and energy.

-Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain pledges that Pakistan will stop sponsoring terrorist groups, to fully side with the United States and to bring full Pakistani cooperation with the United States in the War on Terror as well as broader counterterrorism efforts in the region. Hussain cites that « Pakistan, India and the United States have a common enemy and this enemy is radical Islamic terrorism. Our three countries suffered from this threat and we have to work together to defeat it. »

July 28 :

-Vice-President Haley visits New Delhi, India where she meets Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

-Vice-President Haley and President Kovind hold a press conference in New Delhi where they discussed issues such as counter-terrorism, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, the economy, free trade, energy, democracy, freedom of religion.


-Due to the reduction of the U.S. aid to Pakistan and to Pakistan's pledge to bring stronger efforts to fight terrorism instead of sponsoring it, Indian President Kovind announces the deployement of 60 000 troops in Afghanistan in the next few weeks to fight ISIS, Al Qaida and the Taliban. He promises that the final victory against radical Islamic terrorism is approaching.

July 29 :

-President Rubio holds a trilateral meeting with Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain at the White House to discuss diplomatic relations, counter-terrorism, national security, defense ties, Afghanistan, Iran, economic relations, energy, trade, democracy and religious freedom.


-Along with Kovind and Hussain, President Rubio gives an historic speech in Washington D.C. announcing the agreement between the United States, India and Pakistan to work together to fight and defeat radical Islamic terrorism and to ensure security and stability in the Indian Subcontinent, including in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

[UWS]

President Marco Rubio's speech in Washington D.C. about the renewed relations between Pakistan and India on July 29 2017

My fellow Americans. Today is a great day for our relations with our Indian and Pakistani allies. For over 70 years, for too long, India and Pakistan have been fighting each other for territorial, economic, religious, geopolitical and security purposes, which has diminished stability and security in the Indian Subcontinent. The world deserves better than that. These two countries may have differences, but in this time of war against terrorism, extremism and tyranny, we have to understand what unites us as allies and partners. Both India and Pakistan suffered centuries of colonial oppression and they together, they fought for their national independence. So, in some ways, Indians and Pakistanis are brothers in arms. Both India and Pakistan have a common goal : restoring peace, stability and security in the Indian Subcontinent. We all agree that Iran must never get nuclear weapons that would be aimed at attacking any nation in the world. Just like the United States did, India and Pakistan all suffered from terrorism. They both have a common ennemy. It is radical Islamic terrorism, a clear and present danger that is operating in Afghanistan, which is next to Pakistan, and in Pakistan, which is next to India.

That's why India and Pakistan have announced today their agrement to renew their relations and to work together to fight terrorism and restore security and peace in the Indian Subcontinent. Only together, we can defeat radical Islamic terrorism and eradicate it in the region, including in Afghanistan and in Pakistan, once and for all. That will be done thanks to the combination of our military powers (with the United States as the first military power in the world, India who is the 4th military power and Pakistan who is the 13th). That way, thanks to our powerful military arsenals, to our collaboration and to a strong diplomacy, we're going to ensure the success of our fight against ISIS, Al Qaida and the Taliban in the region. By finishing our duty to train the Afghan army and to rebuild Afghanistan, we will prevent any further terrorists from emerging in this region. That way, we will make sure that there will be no safe haven for terrorists and we are ready to work with both Pakistan and India to make sure we will accomplish this goal for the sake of international security, justice, freedom and democracy. United we stand. Divided we fall. Thank you. May God bless our allies and God bless America.

[Crowd cheers and applauds as President Rubio, Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain shake their hands]

[UWS]

Marco Rubio's Presidency
August 2017, Part 1

President Rubio's job approval rating :
Approve : 71 %
Disapprove : 26 %
Unsure : 3 %

August 1 :
-President Rubio, as part of 'American Dream Week', holds a small business owners event at the White House touting American growth.

-Treasury Secretary Mitt Romney announces slate of sanctions against Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.

-The United Nations adopted a plan providing 60 billion dollars for the reconstruction of Syria after the toppling of the Assad regime.

August 2 :
-President Rubio has a meeting with Republican and Democratic senators in the White House, calling on them to work on passing a plan to provide 20 billion dollars of U.S. contributions to the reconstruction of Syria.


-In the context of the 2018 midterm election campaign, Indiana Governor Mike Pence announces that he's running for Senate. The other main contenders for the Republican senatorial nomination in Indiana are Congressman Luke Messer and Congressman Todd Rokita but Pence is leading them in the polls with 42 % of the voting intentions over Rokita's 28 % and Messer's 20 %. The race in Indiana seems to be a great opportunity for a Republican pick-up in the Senate since Marco Rubio won this strongly conservative state by 17 percentage points in the 2016 presidential election and also due to strong job approval rating towards his presidential performance.

August 3 :
-President Rubio hosts a Veterans Affairs Telehealth Services event at the White House unveiling a new service for veterans allowing patients to schedule health care appointments from their smartphones or home computers.


-President Rubio attends a rally at Huntington, West Virginia, where Governor Jim Justice announces his switch from the Democrats to the Republicans.

August 4 :
-President Rubio and Vice President Haley visit the FEMA headquarters to review preparations and emergency responses for the upcoming hurricane season.

-President Rubio discusses in a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron increased cooperation in Iraq, Syria and countering Iranian influence in the Middle East.

August 5 :
-In the Senate, Nevada Senator Joe Heck (R) and Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey Jr. (D) introduced a bipartisan legislation named the Syria Restoration Act that would provide 20 billion dollars for the reconstruction of Syria, for this country's democratization and for the provision of military training for the new Syrian Army in order to ensure their full readiness to defend their country and to fight terrorism. The Senate will vote on this bill on August 12 and the House of Representatives (should the bill pass the Senate) on August 15.


-In the context of the post-Assad Syria, Riad Darar, co-leader of the Syrian Democratic Council, announces that he is founding the Progressive Party of Syria (left) and will seek the presidency of Syria.

August 6 :
-President Rubio has a phone conversation with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, discussing ways to increase pressure and sanctions on North Korea to end its nuclear program.

-Secretary of State Graham attends the ASEAN summit in Manila to push its members and partners to apply more pressure on North Korea to halt its nuclear program.

August 7 :
-Secretary of State Graham meets with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte to discuss global terrorism, economic cooperation and the security situation in Marawi.


-In the context of the escalation of the 2017 North Korea crisis, a spokesman for the Korean People's Army announces that the country is examining a plan to strike the U.S. territory of Guam.

August 8 :

-In response to North Korea's threat to launch a nuclear attack against the United States in Guam and to retaliate against new United Nations sanctions, President Rubio warns North Korea of an « unpleasant and disastrous confrontation that will bring devastating consequences for North Korea », declaring at the same occasion that North Korea « should not in any circumstances understimate the incredibly powerful military strength of the United States of America that made major contributions to our victories along with our allies in the two World Wars, in the Korean War, in the Cold War, in the Gulf War and in the War on Terror that we are about to win just like it will, along with our strong alliances, contribute to our victory in any eventual war against North Korea. »

-Secretary of State Graham has discussions with Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai on regional security and trade in Bangkok.

-Secretary of State Graham has a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in Kuala Lumpur focusing on bilateral relations, trade matters and international issues of mutual concern such as the North Korean nuclear threat.

-President Rubio holds a press briefing in Philadelphia, calling for tougher enforcement to combat the opioid problem in the country.

August 9 :
-Defense Secretary Mattis warns North Korea that an attack on the US or its allies will prompt "the destruction of its people".

August 10 :
-Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan (R) and California Senator Kamala Harris (D) introduced a bipartisan bill called the North Korea Sanctions and Enhancement Policy Act of 2017 that would increase diplomatic and economic sanctions against North Korea, put North Korea back on the list of state sponsors of terror and impose sanctions on any individual, company, firm or bank around the world that serve as financial intermediaries for dollar transactions to North Korea to help the regime of Kim Jong-un to evade U.N. sanctions and to fund the development of North Korean nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. This bill would also cut North Korea's crude oil supply since oil is the very lifeblood of any modern military, authorize the UN Security Council sanctions on individuals who knowingly furnish or purchase certain metals, aviation equipment, or fuel supplies to or from the North Korean government. It would allow the UN Security Council to sanction individuals who knowingly purchase or otherwise support North Korean fishing and agricultural production, or North Korea’s transportation, mining, energy, or commercial industries. The Senate vote on this bill will be set on August 11 and the House vote on August 14.

August 11 :
-In the context of the escalation of North Korea's nuclear threat, President Rubio holds a press briefing in San Francisco, where he reiterates that all the options, including the military option, are on the table but hopes that diplomatic pressure on North Korea will force the communist regime to back down.

-President Rubio holds a workforce and apprenticeship discussion with Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta on ways to help Americans access affordable education and training which, according to a spokesperson, will equip them with relevant skills to help them secure good jobs.

-The Senate votes 98-2 for the North Korea Sanctions and Enhancement Policy Act of 2017.

August 12 :
-President Rubio speaks on the phone to Chinese President Xi Jinping who requests restraint concerning tensions in the Korean peninsula.

-The Senate votes 68-31 for the Syria Restoration Act. This bill has yet to pass the House of Representatives on August 15 to become law.


-President Rubio condemns the violence committed at a far-right rally at Charlottesville, Virginia, and calls for law and order to be restored. During his adress, he condemns the Alt-right protestor James Fields for the murder of counter-protester Heather Heyer and also condemns the Neo Nazi movement which had invited Fields to attend the protest, thus effectively equating the murder of Heather Heyer by a Neo Nazi sympathizer with the minor incidents of disorderly conduct carried out by the counter-protesters.

August 13 :

-President Rubio orders the reinforcement of the U.S. military presece in the Pacific Ocean through the deployment of additional American warships there, through the deployment of THAAD missiles on the strategic zones of the Pacific such as Hawaii, Alaska, the Western Coast, Japan, South Korea, etc. and through the establishment of a multi-faceted defense system and of an anti-missile shield on the Pacific that will be aimed at intercepting and destroying any nuclear missile launched by North Korea against the United States or their allies.

-Attorney General Ted Cruz denounces the fatal vehicular attack on counterprotestors in Charlottesville on August 12 as an « act of terrorism ».

August 14 :
-President Rubio speaks by phone to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on finding ways to prevent North Korea launching ballistic missiles at Guam across Japanese territory.

-The House of Representatives approves the North Korea Sanctions Act of 2017 with 429 YEA votes and 6 NAY votes.

-President Rubio signs the North Korea Sanctions Act of 2017 into law, thus establishing all the sanctions against North Korea that are included in this law.

August 15 :
-The House of Representatives votes 375-60 for the Syria Restoration Act. Later that day, the bill is signed into law by President Rubio, thus providing 20 billion dollars for the reconstruction of Syria.

-President Rubio and his national security team start an Asian-Pacific tour to meet the allies of the United States in the region in the context of the North Korea's nuclear crisis.

[2016]

Great Vote by Congress to restore Syria. I like the bipartisan negotiations regarding Legislation this year. Never happened this often the last 8 years. Looks like Lawmakers moving back to the middle which is good because that get's stuff done. President Rubio looks to be on Track for a Record Approval year.

The President seems well respected even by Mainstream Democrats.

[BigVic]

Rubio's bipartisan administration working with the Democrats boosts his popularity amongst the two major parties

[UWS]

Marco Rubio's Presidency
August 2017, Part 2

August 16 :

-As part of his Asian-Pacific tour, President Rubio arrives in Sydney, Australia where he meets Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull with whom he holds a joint press conference during which they discussed issues like economic ties, free trade, terrorism and North Korea's nuclear threat.

August 17 :
-President Rubio visits Singapore where he meets with Singaporean President Tony Tan with whom he discussed issues such as trade, energy, defense ties, territorial disputes between Singapore and China and North Korea. At this occasion, the President of the United States reiterates his hope that China will increase diplomatic pressure on North Korea in order to stop the regime of Kim Jong-un from launching nuclear attacks in the Pacific.


-The reconstruction of Syria begins with the arrival of the international funds to ensure it. In addition of pursuing the fight against ISIS and the U.S. troops started training the new Syrian Armed Forces in order to ensure their readiness to defend their country and to fight terrorism.

August 18 :
-President Rubio lands in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where he meets Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak. Both men discussed economy, trade, energy, counter-terrorism and human rights. During a joint press conference in Kuala Lumpur, President Rubio declares that « the United States and Malaysia are determined, now more than ever, to defeat terrorism, including Abu Sayyaf who also operates in Malaysia (in addition of doing so in the Philippines) and to defeat North Korea's nuclear threat.

-In the context of Syria's reconstruction, Bashar al-Zoubi, former general of the Free Syrian Army, announces that he forms the Conservative Party of Syria (CPS) and will seek the presidency of Syria.

-After India and Pakistan renewed and improved their diplomatic relations to fight terrorism and after India agreed to intervene militarily in Afghanistan, in exchange of which the U.S. would deploy 20 000 additional troops there, the Senate votes on such an authorization of military force. The Victory in Afghanistan Act sponsored by Indiana Senator Todd Young and that would allow the deployment of additional troops to Afghanistan is approved by the Senate with 60 YEA votes and 39 NAY votes. The vote in the House of Representatives will be set on August 22.

August 19 :

-President Rubio and the First Lady arrive in Tokyo, Japan, where they received warm welcome from the public and where they meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. At the Kantei, the two leaders discussed issues like economic ties between the United States and Japan, free trade, energy, defense ties, China, the Senkaku Islands (on which President Rubio recognized Japan's sovereignty in the context of the territorial disputes over these islands between Japan and China), the Kuril Islands disputed between Japan and Russia (a conflict in which President Rubio sides with Japan) and North Korea, all issues they strongly agree on. Later that day, they visited the Tokyo Imperial Palace before dining at the Tsukiji Market (the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world) and holding a bilateral press conference at the Edo-Tokyo Museum where Prime Minister Abe declared that the relations between the U.S. and Japan are stronger today than ever before.

President Rubio reiterates the 2 countries' commitment to develop stronger economies through stronger trade relations and the promotion of free enterprise and free market and to restore international peace and security through stronger defense ties. He once again called on China to do more to stop North Korea's nuclear threat, declaring that « it's in China's interests because North Korea's nuclear missiles are so powerful that they can cause explosions that could extend on a very large zone, like the whole city of New York, and if North Korea launches a nuclear attack on Seoul, for example, it would be bad for China's economic activities in the Yellow Sea, especially fishing since several of local aquatic resources would also be destroyed by nuclear radiations. In addition, if South Korea is bombarded and annihilated by North Korean nuclear weapons, China would lose its second main import partner that is none other than South Korea because South Korea imports 10 % of exported Chinese products in the world. And the less importers China will have, the less they can boost their economy. So, for China, giving more efforts against the North Korean threat would save its economic interests in addition of ensuring national security all around the Pacific Ocean. That's why China has to join us to increase diplomatic pression on North Korea and together we and our allies will defeat North Korea's nuclear threat and restore peace through collaboration and strength. »

August 20 :
-In Washington D.C., President Rubio holds meetings with the Small Business Administration chief Linda McMahon on finding ways to help small business who have difficulty getting loans and finding workers.

-President Rubio signs a veterans' education bill to provide college assistance for military veterans and increase these payments if they complete science, technology and engineering courses.

-President Rubio praises 30,000 protestors against a right-wing rally in Boston for "speaking out against bigotry and hate".

-Vice President Haley holds meetings with Argentinian President Mauricio Macri in Buenos Aires, Argentina, focusing on strengthening business ties between both countries.


-In response to President Rubio's speech in Japan on North Korea, Chinese President Xi Jinping accepts to increase diplomatic and economic sanctions against North Korea, declaring, as the U.S. President said, that it will be mutually beneficial for both the United States and Chinawhen it comes to their economic and national security interests.

August 21 :
-President Rubio signs Global War on Terrorism War Memorial Act authorizing the construction of a memorial to the US servicemen, who participated in the global war on terrorism.

-In Santiago, Chile, Vice President Haley has a meeting with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to build business ties between both countries and to call for Chile to break its diplomatic ties with North Korea.

-President Rubio holds a conference at Camp David with his national security team to discuss moving forward with new military operations in Afghanistan to combat ISIS, Al Qaida, the Taliban and the flow of narcotics.

August 22 :
-The White House announces a deal whereby the United States can resume exports of pork to Argentina for the first time since 1992.

-Vice President Haley has meetings with Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela focusing on commercial and security ties, as well as tackling drug trafficking and money laundering, culminating with a tour of the Panama Canal.

-The House of Representatives votes 281-149 for the Victory in Afghanistan Act, thus extending the authorization of military force in Afghanistan as well as the U.S. military collaboration with India to fight local terrorism. The bill is signed into law by President Rubio.

-President Rubio gives an address at Fort Myer, Virginia, regarding the war in Afghanistan, reaffirming the United States' military commitment to the Afghanistan government while praising India's decision to send military troops in Afghanistan to fight terrorism.

August 23 :

-Indian President Ram Nath Kovind officially announces the deployment of 60 000 Indian troops in Afghanistan to fight ISIS, Al Qaida and the Taliban while President Rubio announces the deployment of 20 000 additional troops there for the same purposes. This day seems to mark a decisive chapter of the War in Afghanistan, a chapter strongly giving the upper hand to the Allies since there will be a combination of the military strengths of both the United States, the first military power of the world, and India, the fourth military power of the world (after the United States, Russia and China). Meanwhile, Pakistan increases its efforts to fight terrorism on its own national territory, especially in Northern Waziristan.

-President Rubio announces that the United States and all their allies around the Pacific will hold a summit in Seattle to discuss the measures to take against North Korea's nuclear threat. This summit will be set on August 26.

[UWS]

Marco Rubio's Presidency
August 2017, Part 3

August 24 :
-President Rubio phones Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards regarding both states' preparations for Hurricane Harvey and pledges all federal government resources to help in preparation, and rescue and recovery efforts.

-Sipan Hemo founds the Kurdish Party of Syria which purpose will be to defend the interests of the Kurdish people in Syria.

August 25 :
-President Rubio monitors the situation with Hurricane Harvey from Camp David, Maryland, and signs a disaster proclamation that will guarantee federal aid to the region affected.

-President Rubio signs an executive order barring the United States financial system from any dealings in new bonds and stocks issued by the Venezuelan government and its state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A.

-U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Dan Coats criticizes the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon commander Major General Michael Beary for not tackling the flow of illegal arms to Hezbollah-dominated Southern Lebanon.

-Chinese President Xi Jinping officially announces the establishment of economic and diplomatic sanctions against North Korea.

August 26 :

-President Rubio meets all the allies of the United States surrounding the Pacific Ocean in Seattle, where they hold a summit to discuss the North Korean nuclear threat and how to stop it. All the leaders unanimously agreed to create an anti-missile shield, to increase defense budgets in order to put in place all the necessary arsenal on the Pacific and to increase economic and diplomatic sanctions against North Korea in order to decrease their ability to develop their nuclear arsenal. During this summit, the United States and their allies announced the creation of a NATO-like intergovernmental military association called the Pacific Treaty Organization (PTO), but that would include the United States and its allies around the Pacific, especially Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, etc. This new military association's goals are to maintain security and peace on the Pacific Ocean, to defeat North Korea's nuclear threat, to fight terrorism in the Asia-Pacific region (including Abu Sayyaf), to fight China's territorial violations in the South China Sea and to promote human rights in the region. President Rubio called the creation of the PTO « a great and decisive moment in our mission to keep the Pacific Ocean pacific. »


August 27 :
-In the context of the post-Assad Syria, the United Nations officially announced that Syria will hold its first democratic elections on June 2018.

August 28 :
-President Rubio meets with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö at the White House to discuss terrorism, Afghanistan, Russia, the Baltic Sea and the Arctic.

August 29 :

-President Rubio and First Lady Jeanette arrive in Corpus Christi, Texas, to meet with Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Texas Senators George P. Bush and John Cornyn, and FEMA Administrator Brock Long to get updates on government relief efforts in areas affected by Hurricane Harvey.

-President Rubio arrives in Texas Department of Public Safety’s Emergency Operations Center in Austin, Texas, where state leaders brief him on Hurricane Harvey.

-President Rubio, in a phone call with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, accepts Singapore's offer of the use of its Texas-based Chinook helicopters to assist in Hurricane Harvey disaster-relief efforts.

August 30 :
-President Rubio gives a speech in Springfield, Missouri, calling for tax reform and child tax credit.

-Vice-President Haley in a speech to the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce's annual business summit called for tax overhaul reform, describing it as beneficial to employment and entrepreneurialism.


-The United States and India destroyed 3 ISIS training bases located at the east of Kabul through airstrikes, thus killing 126 terrorists.

August 31 :
-Vice-President Haley arrives in Corpus Christi, Texas, to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey and meet with people affected by the storm.

-Energy Secretary Harold Hamm authorizes the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to release oil supplies to combat fuel price spikes, due to shutdown of oil refineries in Texas which were affected by Hurricane Harvey.


-The U.S. and Indian troops in Afghanistan started their military operations, including Operation Eagle Beak, that has the objectives of securing the Kabul region by eradicating terrorists in that region, of destroying ISIS bases in eastern Afghanistan, including in the Nangarhar Province and other provinces that are bordering Pakistan and Northern Waziristan. In this military offensive, the Allies' number of troops is elevetated at 50 000 soldiers, including 20 000 U.S. troops, 20 000 Indian troops and 10 000 NATO troops.

[Pennsylvania Deplorable]

I actually laughed out loud as the general election map. A guy who wants abortion banned under all circumstances winning New Jersey? LOL. Rubio would have lost PA, MI, MN, and NM too for sure. The assumption that him being Cuban gives any significant increase in his favorability with Mexican-American voters is dubious and Gang of Eight cost him support with the base enough to cancel it out, especially with Trump voters in the primaries focused in on the issue.

I'd also note that you changed far more than just him winning Iowa. You changed him into a champion debater when in reality he chocked in the debate before the NH primary, allowing Kasich to take second while he slipped behind Cruz. This was far more decisive than a small percentage swing in Iowa. I do think that without the bad debate Rubio would have done much better because Kasich would have dropped out before Super Tuesday and Rubio could then have won VT and VA. Losing FL would still have sunk him though he might have won more than one county were his campaign not clearly floundering. Still an interesting scenario.

[UWS]

Marco Rubio's Presidency
September 2017, Part 1

President Rubio's job approval rating :
Approve : 72 %
Disapprove : 25 %
Unsure : 3 %

September 1 :
-President Rubio signs a declaration designating 3 September 2017, as a "Day of Prayer" for victims of Hurricane Harvey.


-As the election of the host city of the 2024 Summer Olympics on September 13 approches, the United States Olympic Committee broadcast a series of T.V. commercials promoting Los Angeles' candidacy demonstrating the wonderfulness, dynamism and diversity of the city. These ads describe Los Angeles as a city of promise and opportunity where the impossible becomes possible, which the narrator of these ads considers as a reason why the city is nicknamed the City of the Angels.

September 2 :
-The NATO coalition in Afghanistan captures all the training camps of the Taliban that were surrounding Kabul, thus ensuring Afghanistan's national capital's security.

September 3 :
-The Indian troops defeated the Taliban in the Afghan city of Mahmud-i-Raqi where a clash between Indians and the Taliban caused the death of 463 Taliban and 19 Indian soldiers.

September 4 :

-With a little more than a year from the 2018 midterm elections, Republican Mark Green, former Congressman, former U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania and 2006 Republican nominee for Wisconsin Governor, announces his candidacy for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin during a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin. With his experience as Congressman, as U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania and as director of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (a non-profit organization that has the objectives of enhancing national security, forward American business interests, and improve humanitarian assistance around the world), Green seems to be the best Republican candidate to take on Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin. The other candidates for the Republican senatorial nomination in Wisconsin are military veteran and businessman Kevin Nicholson as well as State Senate Assistant Majority Leader Leah Vokmir.

-The U.S. troops and their allies freed all the cities controlled by the Taliban located between Asadabad and Parun.

September 4-7 :

-During Operation Eagle Claw, the American and Indian troops in Afghanistan destroyed all of ISIS training bases in the Nangarhar Province and in the Kunar Province through land military offensives and airstrikes and killed or captured all the local ISIS or Al Qaida jihadists. During this successful military operation, the Allies killed at least 8000 Taliban, 267 Al-Qaeda jihadists and 506 ISIS jihadists, including the leader of the ISIS branch in Afghanistan. The Allies' victory in the Nangarhar Province cut all supply routes for the terrorists from Pakistan to Afghanistan, thus allowing the Allies to surround the terrorists in Northern Waziristan and clearing the way for a military offensive in this region.

September 5 :
-In response to the North Korea threat, President Rubio states that he will allow South Korea and Japan to purchase additional sophisticated military equipment from the United States.

September 6 :
-President Rubio declares emergencies in Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands for Hurricane Irma, instructing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts.

September 7 :
-President Rubio holds talks with Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at the White House regarding developing economic, financial, commercial and defense ties between both countries.

-President Rubio talks to officials led by Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York and Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey about the Gateway Tunnel project as part of the administration's avowed priority on modernizing the nation's infrastructure.

-President Rubio approves South Carolina's request for an emergency declaration in the state in preparation for Hurricane Irma.

September 8 :
-President Rubio speaks by phone to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, the United Arab Emirate's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, concerning regional stability.

-In Afghanistan, the U.S. troops defeated ISIS and the Taliban in all the cities and villages between Ghazni and Gardez.

September 9 :
-The U.S. and Afghan armed forces captured ISIS' positions at the east of the Afghan city of Khost.

-At Camp David, President Rubio and his cabinet hold team-building sessions, hurricane briefings and strategy meetings, with special focus on Hurricane Irma and child tax credit.

-President Rubio speaks by phone to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreeing to further strengthen bilateral relations and increase stability in the Middle East.

September 9-12 :

-The American, Indian and other NATO-allied troops launched a military offensive during which they freed all the terrorist-controlled cities and villages located at the west of Khost and from Ghazni and Sharana to Tarinkot and Qalat. Approximately 119 ISIS jihadists, 9500 Taliban and 92 Coalition soldiers are killed during this military offensive.

September 10 :
-President Rubio approves a disaster declaration for Florida which will authorize federal funding for areas affected by Hurricane Irma and will reimburse local and the state authorities for costs of response and recovery.

-During a visit to FEMA headquarters in Washington, Vice President Haley made assurances that the federal assistance was on its way to help the people of Florida recover from the effects of Hurricane Irma.

September 11 :

-President Rubio and First Lady Jeanette lay a wreath at the September 11 memorial at The Pentagon, and, later that day, pay tribute to the nearly 3,000 Americans killed that day during a speech in New York City while describing the deaths of Osama Bin Laden and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as great victories against global terrorism and pledging to defend America's values by continuing to confront radical Islamic terrorism until America's total victory against this evil.

September 12 :
-President Rubio holds meetings with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak at the White House focusing on trade, Islamic terrorism and Malaysian interest in Rubio's infrastructure program.

-President Rubio holds a dinner with a group of bipartisan senators at the White House to discuss tax reform.

September 13 :
-President Rubio declares in a proclamation that September 15 to October 15 as National Hispanic Heritage Month, citing the accomplishments and contributions of Hispanic Americans.


-The International Olympic Committee voted to select the host city of the 2024 Summer Olympics on September 13 2017 at the 130th IOC Session in Lima, Peru. Since there is only 2 candidates to host the 2024 Olympics (Los Angeles and Paris), only one vote is needed to select the host city. During the vote, Los Angeles is selected with 60 votes over Paris' 35 votes. So Los Angeles will host the 2024 Summer Olympics that will be held from August 2 2024 to August 18 2024, which will mark the third Olympic Games in Los Angeles after this city hosted them in 1932 and 1984.

[kyc0705]

These ads describe Los Angeles as a city of promise and opportunity where the impossible becomes possible, which the narrator of these ads considers as a reason why the city is nicknamed the City of the Angels.

Maybe La La Land actually won Best Picture in this TL

[UWS]

Marco Rubio's Presidency
September 2017, Part 2

September 14 :

-President Rubio and Vice President Haley travel to Fort Myers, Florida, to be briefed on Hurricane Irma relief efforts with state and federal leaders, while praising first responders and local officials for their work and lives saved.

-President Rubio, Vice President Haley and the First Lady help to distribute food and supplies to survivors of Hurricane Irma at Naples, Florida.

September 15 :
-Dan Coats and Secretary of Defense James Mattis give statements on North Korea, with Mattis stating the United States has options to use against North Korea if sanctions do not work.

-President Rubio in a phone call to Jewish leaders and rabbis reaffirms the administration’s strong support for Israel and honors the upcoming celebration of High Holy Days such as Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana.

-President Rubio and the First Lady meet with military families and watch an air show at Andrew Airforce Base, with the President honoring the resolve of the nation’s Air Force and warning foes and international terrorist groups that the U.S. military would respond to any threats.

-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis meets with his Mexican counterparts in the Mexico City to reinforce military ties and take part in commemorations of Mexico's independence day.

September 15-18 :
-The Coalition in Afghanistan launched an offensive towards western Afghanistan in order to free all the local terrorist-controlled cities and villages. During this offensive, the U.S., Indian and Afghan troops defeated the Taliban and Al Qaida jihadists in the cities of Baghran, Musa Qala, Kajaki, Girishk, Nawzad as well as the Kaki Saled District. Approximately 3434 Taliban, 30 Al Qaida jihadists and 78 Coalition soldiers were killed during the offensive.

September 16 :
-President Rubio, in a phone call to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, pledges to impose stronger sanctions on North Korea to counter its missile and nuclear programs.

September 17 :
-President Rubio attends a political rally in Charleston, West Virginia, in support of the special election campaign of Don Blankenship.

September 18 :
-President Rubio attends the 'Reforming the United Nations: Management, Security, and Development' forum at the United Nations, calling on members to pay more for joint projects such as peacekeeping missions.

-President Rubio has a bilateral meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss a possible future peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians, including Iranian aggression in the Middle East region as well as a possible Israeli NATO membership.

-President Rubio has discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron regarding the Paris Climate Change Agreement, Iran's nuclear threat and terrorism.

-President Rubio has dinner meeting with Latin American leaders such as Brazilian President Michel Temer, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela and Argentinian Vice President Gabriela Michetti to discuss the restoration of democracy in Venezuela as well as free trade.

September 19 :

-During his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, President Rubio states that if Kim Jong-un violates the UN sanctions and launches a nuclear attack the United States or their allies, North Korea will have to assume the disastrous consequences such actions will have on its people. Rubio also calls the on the UN to work to lead Venezuela to democracy and denounces Iran's sponsorship to terrorist groups. He also praised the efforts of the United States and their allies to defeat radical Islamic terrorism and declared that this year is a decisive and remarkable year of progress in the International Community's objectives, which are to restore international peace, freedom and security, that the best is yet to come and that victory against global terrorism is imminent.

-President Rubio has a state and power luncheon meeting hosted by UN Secretary General António Guterres, seating on the same table with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, Swiss President Doris Leuthard, Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė and Guinean President Alpha Conde.


-President Rubio holds a bilateral meeting with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to discuss solving the dispute between Qatar and the Arab states.

September 20 :
-President Rubio holds a bilateral meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan discussing the issue of fighting terrorism in the Middle East and praising Jordan for taking refugees from Syria.

-President Rubio in a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas promised to work on a peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East.

-President Rubio hosts a working lunch with African Union leader Alpha Conde and leaders from Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Namibia, Senegal, Uganda and South Africa, discussing economic opportunities in the African continent and the security situation South Sudan and Congo.

-President Rubio and UK Prime Minister Theresa May hold discussions on issues of common interest such as trade, North Korea and Iran.

-President Rubio in a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi mentions he was considering the resumption of the foreign military aid to Egypt.

September 21 :
-President Rubio and Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko discuss issues such as trade between both countries, Russia and the security situation in Ukraine.

-President Rubio has a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in to discuss about the recent provocations by North Korea.

September 22-24 :

-In a new military offensive towards southern Afghanistan, the U.S. and Indian armed forces managed, thanks to airstrikes as well as the launch of Indian Pinaka rockets, to weaken the Taliban defenses in their controlled cities of Marja, Nawa-i-Barzakzayi, Khanashin, Dishu, Shorabak and the Reg District. Then, they started a land assault in all these cities and captured all of them. The offensive resulted to 2675 casualties among the Taliban, 500 among Al-Qaeda jihadists and 114 among the Coalition.

September 24 :
-President Rubio signs a presidential memorandum directing the Department of Education to allocate at least $200 million per year in grant funds to the study of science and engineering.

September 25 :
-Vice President Haley attends a campaign rally in Richmond, Virginia in support of Ed Gillespie in the Virginia gubernatorial election.

September 26 :
-President Rubio meets with a bipartisan group of members of House Ways and Means Committee to discuss tax reform and tax cuts.

-President Rubio attends a briefing on damage caused Hurricane Maria on the island of Puerto Rico, promising to visit the island and send more aid.

-Defense Secretary James Mattis meets with Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi to discuss defense, trade and technology.

September 27 :
-Defense Secretary James Mattis arrives in Kabul, Afghanistan with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and discuss the security situation in the country and combating the Taliban.

September 28 :
-President Rubio attends the celebration for the 70th anniversary of the National Security Council at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

-President Rubio meets Chinese Vice-Premier Liu Yandong to discuss Rubio's visit to China and international cooperation between both countries.

September 29 :
-President Rubio speaks to the National Association of Manufacturers about the economy and his tax plan.

-Secretary of State Lindsey Graham meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, China to discuss bilateral relations between both countries and President Rubio's upcoming visit to China in November.

September 30 :

-After the selection of Los Angeles as the host city of the 2024 Summer Olympics, President Rubio flies to Los Angeles where he meets Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to discuss the development and construction of infrastructures for the Olympics such as Banc of California Stadium and the Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park. He expresses his optimism for the 2024 Olympic Games.

[UWS]

President Marco Rubio's First Speech at the United Nations

Seven decades ago, we have witnessed the end of the deadliest conflict in the history of humanity. Then, together, we created the United Nations in order to prevent any such conflict, to fight terror, tyranny and corruption and to promote international peace, stability, security, freedom and prosperity through economic liberty. And the year 2017 has proven to be a remarkable year in which we made strong progress in accomplishing these goals.

We live in a time of extraordinary opportunity. Breakthroughs in science, technology, and medicine are curing illnesses and solving problems that prior generations thought impossible to solve. But each day also brings news of growing dangers that threaten everything we cherish and value. Terrorists and extremists have gathered strength and spread to every region of the planet. Rogue regimes represented in this body not only support terror but threaten other nations and their own people with the most destructive weapons known to humanity.

Authority and authoritarian powers seek to collapse the values, the systems, and alliances, that prevented conflict and tilted the word toward freedom since World War II. International criminal networks traffic drugs, weapons, people, force dislocation and mass migration, threaten our borders and new forms of aggression exploit technology to menace our citizens. To put it simply, we meet at a time of both immense promise and great peril. It is entirely up to us whether we lift the world to new heights or let it fall into a valley of disrepair. We have it in our power, should we so choose, to lift millions from poverty, to help our citizens realize their dreams, and to ensure that new generations of children are raised free from violence, hatred, and fear.

This week gives our country a special reason to take pride in that example. We are celebrating the 230th anniversary of our beloved Constitution, the oldest constitution still in use in the world today. This timeless document has been the foundation of peace, prosperity, and freedom for the Americans and for countless millions around the globe whose own countries have found inspiration in its respect for human nature, human dignity, and the rule of law. The greatest in the United States Constitution is its first three beautiful words. They are "We the people." Generations of Americans have sacrificed to maintain the promise of those words, the promise of our country and of our great history.

No one has shown more contempt for other nations and for the well-being of their own people than the depraved regime in North Korea. It is responsible for the starvation deaths of millions of North Koreans. And for the imprisonment, torture, killing, and oppression of countless more. We were all witness to the regime's deadly abuse when an innocent American college student, Otto Warmbier, was returned to America, only to die a few days later. North Korea's reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles threatens the entire world with unthinkable loss of human life. It is an outrage that some nations would not only trade with such a regime, but would arm, supply, and financially support a country that imperils the world with nuclear conflict. We will not take the military option off the table. But in order to remove this threat without any war against North Korea, my administration took real and strong action such as sanctions against international firms that were used as financial intermediaries to Kim Jong-un's regime, sanctions on North Korea's crude oil supply (which is the very lifeblood of any modern military), reinforcement of our military presence on the Pacific Ocean and establishment of an anti-missile shield aimed at destroying any ballistic missile launched by North Korea against any nation. But if Kim Jong-un violates the UN sanctions and launches a nuclear attack against us or our allies, he will have to assume the consequences on the North Korean people. For him to underestimate the incredibly military power of the United States would be a serious mistake. We Americans are not alone. We have a huge number of allies and we are the strongest military power in the world. If North Korea decides to declare war against us, we will prevail.

The Iranian government masks a corrupt dictatorship behind the false guise of a democracy. It has turned a wealthy country, with a rich history and culture, into an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed, and chaos. The longest-suffering victims of Iran's leaders are, in fact, its own people. Rather than use its resources to improve Iranian live, its oil profits go to fund Hezbollah and other terrorists that kill innocent Muslims and attack their peaceful Arab and Israeli neighbors. That's why we restored sanctions against Iran in order to stop its government getting capitals he would use to develop nuclear weapons and to sponsor terrorist groups.

We will stop radical Islamic terrorism because we can't allow it to tear up our nation and the entire world. We have to make sure that there won't be any safe haven, transit, funding, and any form of support for terrorism. We have to wipe them off the map and our total victory against radical Islamic terrorism is imminent. Throughout this year, we and our allies launched a military intervention in Syria and Iraq and thanks to our military strength, we took all of ISIS' territory in Syria and Iraq and our brave soldiers killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. We then restored freedom and democracy in Syria after Assad's topple and we are reconstructing Syria in addition of training its new armed forces, which will finally bring freedom, stability, security and peace back to Syria and in the entire region. We have finally restored Syria's sovereignty just like we will defend Ukraine's sovereignty by doing whatever it takes to make sure Ukraine has all the arsenal and tools to defend itself against Russia's expansionist policies. Last month, I announced a new strategy for victory against radical Islamic terrorism in Afghanistan. In addition of sending additional troops there, we have convinced India to deploy troops there. We are making strong progress there and thanks to the combination of the military strengths of the first military power in the world (the United States) and of the fourth (India), we will finally defeat this evil in Afghanistan and Pakistan and finish our duty to reconstruct Afghanistan and ensure its troops' readiness to defend their country against any enemy.

Nations of the world must take a greater role in promoting secure and prosperous societies in their own region. That is why in the Western Hemisphere the United States has stood against the corrupt, destabilizing regime in Cuba, the land which my ancestors came from, and embraced the enduring dream of the Cuban people to live in freedom. My administration recently announced that we will not lift sanctions on the Cuban government until it makes fundamental reforms. We have also imposed tough calibrated sanctions on the socialist Maduro regime in Venezuela, which has brought a once thriving nation to the brink of total collapse. The socialist dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro has inflicted terrible pain and suffering on the good people of that country.

This corrupt regime destroyed a prosperous nation by imposing an ideology that has produced poverty and misery everywhere it has been tried. To make matters worse, Maduro has defied his own people, stealing power from their elected representatives, to preserve his disastrous rule. The Venezuelan people are starving, and their country is collapsing. Their democratic institutions are being destroyed. The situation is completely unacceptable, and we cannot stand by and watch. As a responsible neighbor and friend, we and all others have the objective to help them regain their freedom, recover their country, and restore their democracy. I would like to thank leaders in this room for condemning the regime and providing vital support to the Venezuelan people. The United States has taken important steps to hold the regime accountable. We are prepared to take further action if the government of Venezuela persists on its path to impose authoritarian rule on the Venezuelan people.

We are fortunate to have incredibly strong and healthy trade relationships with many of the Latin American countries gathered here today. Our economic bond forms a critical foundation for advancing peace and prosperity for all of our people and all of our neighbors. That's why our country is committed to expand trade and we are doing so not only through lower tariffs, stronger trade ties with other nations and stronger competitiveness in the world economy but also through tax reform that reduced corporate tax rates as well as fiscal burden on manufacturing industry, thus making our free trade deals fairer. Free enterprise is the only economic system in the world in which everything is possible and in which every individual can live free, have a fair chance to experience opportunity and prosperity and accomplish dreams.

If we are to embrace the opportunities of the future and overcome the present dangers together, there can be no substantive for strong, sovereign, and independent nations, nations that are rooted in the histories and invested in their destiny, nations that seek allies to befriend, not enemies to conquer, and most important of all, nations that are home to men and women who are willing to sacrifice for their countries, their fellow citizens, and for all that is best in the human spirit.

In remembering the great victory that led to the United Nations' founding, we must never forget that those heroes who fought against evil, also fought for the nations that they love. Patriotism led the Poles to die to save Poland, the French to fight for a free France, and the British to stand strong for Britain.

Freedom, democracy, security, stability, integrity, prosperity, economic liberty and free enterprise are all values that are worth fighting for. My friends, it is our duty to keep working together to defeat international terrorism, tyranny and corruption. So let this be our mission, and let this be our message to the world. We will fight together, sacrifice together, and stand together for peace, for freedom, for justice, for family, for humanity, and for the almighty God who made us all.

Thank you, God bless you, God bless the nations of the world, and God bless the United States of America.

[UWS]

Marco Rubio's Presidency
October 2017, Part 1

President Rubio's job approval rating :
Approve : 72 %
Disapprove : 24 %
Unsure : 4 %

October 1 :
-In Afghanistan, the US and Indian troops started their military offensive towards northern Afghanistan against ISIS and the Taliban. They recaptured the city of Qale-Zobayd where 411 Taliban and 24 Coalition soldiers are killed.

October 2 :
-President Rubio holds talk in the White House with the Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to discuss improving trade relations between both countries.

-President Rubio has dinner with Republican members of Congress at the White House to discuss immigration reform and improving border security.

October 3 :
-President Rubio meets with US Virgin Islands Governor Kenneth Mapp on board the USS Kearsarge to discuss the territory's immediate funding needs in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

-President Rubio and the First Lady attend a briefing in San Juan, Puerto Rico with senior military personnel and government officials, including Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rosselló on hurricane recovery efforts in Puerto Rico.

-Vice President Haley meets with representative of local businesses, community leaders and families, with Arizona Governor Doug Ducey in Phoenix, Arizona, to discuss efforts for tax reform and child tax credit.

October 3-4 :
-The American and Indian armed forces freed the cities of Jawand and Ghormach from Taliban's occupation.

October 5 :
-President Rubio has a briefing and dinner with senior military leaders at the White House to discuss the current situation with Iran and North Korea.

-Vice President Haley holds a meeting of the National Space Council with several White House officials and space industry executives focusing on moving away from the current outsourcing of manned launches and building a foundation to send Americans to Mars.


-American troops in Afghanistan successfully defended the city of Maymana against a Taliban assault. Then they defeated the Taliban and ISIS in the neighboring city of Pashtun Kot where they killed the last remaining pockets of ISIS jihadists in Afghanistan. As a result, ISIS is eradicated in Afghanistan.

October 6 :

-President Rubio marks the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month at the White House pointing to the recovery efforts in Puerto Rico and the United States' commitment to the people suffering under the oppressive governments of Cuba and Venezuela.

-President Rubio signs a proclamation honoring October 6 as the National Day of Manufacturing, stating that jobs are coming back to the United States with the creation of thousands of new manufacturing jobs.

-President Rubio approves an emergency declaration that will allow federal resources to supplement local efforts and allow FEMA to coordinate disaster relief efforts in Louisiana in preparation for Hurricane Nate.

-A new jobs report notes that 132 000 new jobs are created in the United States and that the unemployment rate decreased from 4.5 % to 4.4 %. This is partly due to the beginning of the development of new infrastructures for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

October 7 :
-The Coalition in Afghanistan defeated the Taliban in Khamyab.

October 8 :

-A year from the 2018 midterm elections, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was considering running for Governor, has announced her candidacy for U.S. Senate. The National Republican Senate Campaign Committee saw a great opportunity clearing in California due to some of Senator Dianne Feinstein's positions that angered the left wing of the Democratic Party. In fact, Senator Feinstein supports the Patriot Act and she even called Edward Snowden a traitor. In addition, she doesn't support a single-payer healthcare. All of that are factors of her challenger for the Democratic senatorial nomination Kevin De Leon's advantage among Bernie Sanders' supporters in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary race. Meanwhile, Rice's moderate stance on abortion could help her to win a race in a traditionnally blue state like California and her foreign policy experience could also give her the advantage in a context of strong foreign policy leadership by the Rubio Administration that contributed to ISIS' decline and to a safer America.

October 9 :
-The Coalition in Afghanistan defeated the Taliban in Khamyab.

-President Rubio issues a presidential proclamation commemorating Columbus Day.


-Vice-President Haley holds a fundraiser at Newport Beach, California, to raise funds for 2018 Republican senatorial candidates.

October 10 :
-President Rubio hosts two-time winners of the Stanley Cup, the Pittsburgh Penguins at the White House.

-President Rubio approves a federal disaster declaration for California in response to the Californian wildfires that will provide funding to state, local and tribal governments to help fight the fires and rebuilding efforts.

-President Rubio and Vice-President Haley visit the California Office of Emergency Services at Sacramento, California, to be briefed on operations on battling the Californian wildfires.

October 11 :
-President Rubio holds a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the White House where they discuss trade, economic ties, energy, environment, counter-terrorism, Syria's reconstruction, Afghanistan and North Korea.

October 12 :
-The Rubio Administration announces that the US will withdraw from UNESCO, citing an "anti-Israel bias".

-The White House approves new sanctions against the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps for supporting terrorism.

October 13-17 :
-The Allies started a military offensive against Al Qaida and the Taliban in Northeastern Afghanistan. Took all the remaining cities and villages occupied by the Taliban, including Imam and Khan Abad, in addition of destroying Taliban's and Al Qaida's training bases. As a result, all of the Afghan territory occupied by the Taliban is freed.

October 15 :
-President Rubio attends a rally in Reno, Nevada, in support of Senator Dean Heller to raise funds for his 2018 senate re-election campaign.

October 16 :
-President Rubio attends a rally in Phoenix, Arizona, in support of Senator Jeff Flake to raise funds for his 2018 senate re-election campaign.


-President Rubio has a working lunch with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to discuss legislative issues such as the budget, tax reform, child tax credit and immigration.

October 17 :
-President Rubio and his wife First Lady Jeanette celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary with their family and with the President's Cabinet at the White House.

[UWS]

Marco Rubio's Presidency
October 2017, Part 2

October 18 :
-President Rubio holds a bilateral meeting at the White House with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to discuss Greek efforts to reform their economy and military ties between both countries.

-President Rubio and Vice-President Haley hold a Diwali celebration at the White House, hailing the contributions of the Indian-American community and the strong relations between both countries.

-President Rubio addresses the Heritage Foundation’s President’s Club Meeting, speaking of 'American values' and his administration's tax reform efforts.

-President Rubio meets with Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló at the White House to discuss the island's recovery efforts after Hurricane Maria and its immediate needs.

October 19 :
-President Rubio attends a gala dinner at the Kuwaiti Embassy, where the Kuwait-American Foundation is trying to raise money for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and to honor First Lady Jeanette Rubio for her dedication to causes affecting women and children in the US and abroad.


-President Rubio holds a meeting in the White House with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to discuss issues of mutual interest, the fight against terrorism, tensions in the Korean peninsula and situation in the Middle East, including finding ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the United Nations.

October 20 :

-President Rubio flies to Virginia Beach, Virginia, where he campaigns for Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie. Here are some parts of the President's speech :

In two weeks, the people of Virginia will go to the polls. They will have a chance to make a contribution to the continuation of the strong progress made throughout this year nationally. We cut taxes for all Americans and for all businesses across the nation, which increased our people's  purchasing power, made America the best place in the world to do business, created over four and a half million new jobs and decreased the unemployment rate from 5.4 % to 4.4 %. Thanks to my administration's approval of the construction of the Kesytone XL pipeline and of the Dakota Access pipeline and also through the doubling of liscenses and permits on federal lands and through the end of the War on Coal, we are about to make America energy independent, thus ensuring further strong job creation. And thanks to the repeal and replacement of Obamacare, we made health care services available for all Americans, thus giving them all the health services they need. As Governor of Virginia, Ed Gillespie will keep doing all that work for the sake of the people of Virginia by cutting taxes and regulations, which will make Virginia a better business friendly environment, by approving the Atlantic Coast pipeline (that would go from West Virginia to North Carolina), by promoting school choice, by defending the Second Amendment and protecting unborn children's right to appreciate life. Otherwise, if Ed's opponent is elected, you will see your taxes increasing, your jobs going away, your gun rights taken away and regulations on Virginia's coal rising up. So, for the sake of your future, I call on you to go to the polls on November 7 and elect Ed Gillespie as your Governor. Thank you God bless Virginia. God bless America.

October 22 :

-Secretary of State Lindsey Graham attends a cooperation council in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia attended by Saudi Arabia and Iraq, where he hailed the cooperation between both countries and called on Iran to remove its paramilitary forces from Iraqi territory.

-Secretary of State Lindsey Graham holds meetings with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha, Qatar to find ways to resolve the diplomatic crisis between Qatar and other Gulf states.


-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wins re-election in the 2017 Japanese general election by winning 33 % of the vote and 284 seats for Liberal Democratic Party while Yukio Edano (leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party) received 19 % of the vote and 55 seats, Yuriko Koike's Kibō no Tō 17 % of the vote and 50 seats and Natsuo Yamaguchi's Komeito 13 % of the vote and 29 seats. As a result, Abe won more than the required number of seats to form a majority government, the moreover that he formed a coalition with Komeito, which gives him a total of 313 seats on 465. This victory clears the way for an eventual referendum on a possible modification of the Article 9 of Japan's Constitution that outlaws war as a means to settle international disputes, which would allow Japan to militarize itself in the context of the increasing tensions in the Korean Peninsula caused by the escalation of North Korea's nuclear threat.

-President Rubio speaks with Shinzo Abe on the phone and congratulates him for his election victory in Japan. The two leaders discuss issues like trade, economic ties, energy, the eventuality of a modification of Article 9 of Japan's Constitution, North Korea, and China.

October 23 :
-President Rubio holds a bilateral meeting with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to discuss the North Korean nuclear threat, defence and economic relationship between both countries, whilst overseeing the signing ceremony between Singapore Airlines and Boeing for US$13.8 billion worth of new planes.

-President Rubio holds a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House for Captain Gary Michael Rose who was wounded in combat during Operation Tailwind in the Vietnam War.


-Secretary of State Lindsey Graham holds meetings in Kabul, Afghanistan with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his officials on discussing strategies on ending the conflict in the country.

October 24 :
-President Rubio holds an awards ceremony at the White House as part of National Minority Enterprise Development Week.

-Secretary of State Lindsey Graham holds meetings in Islamabad, Pakistan, with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, concerning the combating of extremist fighters. Later that day, during a bilateral press conference, Secretary Graham announced that the United States, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan are preparing to launch a military offensive against Al Qaida and the Taliban in Northern Waziristan, their bastion.

October 25 :
-President Rubio attends a briefing in Dallas, Texas on the recovery efforts by Hurricane Harvey and addressing the long-term flood mitigation plans in the state.

-Secretary of State Lindsey Graham holds meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to discuss bilateral trade and defense between both countries.

October 27 :
-President Rubio signs a presidential memorandum declaring a nationwide public health emergency and ordering all federal agencies to take measures to reduce the number of opioid deaths in the country and to allocate funds from the public health emergency fund.

October 28 :
-US Ambassador to the United Nations Dan Coats in a meeting with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit in Juba, South Sudan, calls on him to find ways to end the conflict in the country.

October 30 :

-The United States, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan started a military offensive against Al Qaida and the Taliban in Northern Waziristan. It started with airstrikes against terrorist positions in the region, which diminished their defenses. Later that day, the Allies' ground troops triggered the offensive.

-American commandos arrested Mustafa al-Imam, a suspect in the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

[UWS]

Marco Rubio's Presidency
November 2017, Part 1

President Rubio's job approval rating :
Approve : 72 %
Disapprove : 23 %
Unsure : 5 %

November 1 :
-President Rubio holds a rally in Huntington, West Virginia, to campaign for Don Blannkenship in the context of the senate special election that will be held there on November 7 at the same time as the gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey. Here is what the President has said during his speech :


Thank you West Virginia. In onw week, you will have a choice to make : either we keep forward, or we go backwards. West Virginia has a great role to play in America's path to energy independence. This year, we ended the War on Coal, which brought coal mining jobs back here in America, allowed us to create more jobs through the exploitation of coal mines and helped us developing technologies that will produce clean coal and facilitate America's path to energy independence, including carbon capture and storage technologies. And to facilitate coal's transportation from mines to markets, we will approve the construction of more coal pipelines. That way, we will produce more electricity and give a better access to heat for all the American people. We can get all of this done by reinforcing our majority to the Senate on November 7, which requires electing Don Blankenship as your Senator.

Senator Tomblin will do whatever it takes to impose regulations on West Virginia's coal and energy, which will bring America backwards and kill great opportunities to encourage job creation and a clean environment. But as CEO of the Massey Energy Company, Blankenship knows what it takes to create jobs and to get America to energy independence. He knows that the right solution to our economic challenges is not to make the government bigger, but to make it smaller and to make it easier for businesses to be competitive in order to ensure job creation. Energy independence will deprive terrorists of revenues from our imports of oil from unstable countries in throes of terrorism due to our energy dependence. It will decrease their ability to finance and organize their terrorist activities.

So I call on you, West Virginia, to go to the polls on November 7 and elect Don Blakenship. Thank you. God bless West Virginia and God bless the United States of America.

[Crowd cheers and applauds]

November 2 :
-House Republicans publish their forthcoming tax bill, with President Rubio's provisional approval.

-In the context of Operation Checkmate, a military offensive against ISIS, Al Qaida and the Taliban in Northern Waziristan, the U.S., Indian and Pakistani troops successfully defended the Pakistani city of Quetta, where they killed 374 Al Qaida jihadists and 200 Taliban.

November 3 :
-President Rubio starts a diplomatic tour of Asia.

-The Coalition launched airstrikes against an ISIS training base near from the Pakistani city of Kohat, killing 350 jihadists.


-Through airstrikes, drone strikes and attacks from its military helicopters, the Coalitions destroys all of Al Qaida's bases in the mountains surrounding the city of Miramshah in Pakistan, which killed 456 Al Qaida jihadists and 656 Taliban.

November 5 :

-President Rubio arrives in Kabul, Afghanistan where he meets American and Afghan military officials before joining Afghan President Ashraf Ghani for a joint press conference where they talk about the progress made in Afghanistan, about terrorism, economic ties, energy and Afghanistan's reconstruction.

November 6 :
-President Rubio flies to Islamabad, Pakistan, where he meets Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain with whom he discusses issues like relations between the 2 countries, counter-terrorism, oil, freedom of religion and human rights.

-The U.S.-Indian armies secured the Pakistani region of Chitral by capturing all of the local ISIS-controlled villages and terrorist training bases.

-The Indian Army took an ISIS base between the Pakistani provinces of Swat and Dir, which cuts the terrorist organization's provisions between these two provinces.

November 7 :

-The Coalition takes all of terrorist bases neighboring the city of Razmak in the context of Operation Checkmate, killing 566 Al Qaida jihadists, 736 Taliban and 100 ISIS jihadists while losing 86 soldiers, thus securing all of North Waziristan. Over 30 Al Qaida fighters and 35 Taliban surrendered. This victory by the Coalition officially eradicated Al Qaida and the Taliban in Pakistan.

-President Rubio lands in New Delhi, India where he meets Indian President Ram Nath Kovind. Both leaders discussed issues like counter-terrorism, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, energy, economic ties, trade relations, China, North Korea and defense of human rights.


-In the context of the gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey, Republican nominee Ed Gillespie is elected as the 73rd Governor of Virginia with 52 %, defeating his Democratic opponent Lieutenant Governor Ralph Shearer Northam who earned 46 % of the vote. Meanwhile, in New Jersey, the Democrats made a net gain through the election of Democratic nominee Phil Murphy who earned 53 % of the vote over Republican Kim Guadagno's 47 %. These results are mostly due to incumbent Governor Chris Christie's unpopularity. Another big victory for the Republicans has occured in West Virginia in the context of the local special senate election necessitated due to Shelley Moore Capito's appointment as EPA Administrator in the Rubio Administration. Businessman Don Blakenship, the GOP nominee, largely won the election with 65 % of the vote over incumbent Democratic senator Earl Ray Tomblin's 35 %. Blakenship's focus on coal and on President Rubio's accomplishments throughout the first year of his first term seems to have clearly worked. These results reinforced the Republican majority in the Senate (56-44), thus reinforcing the likelihood of the success of President Rubio's agenda.

-President Rubio speaks with Don Blakenship, Ed Gillespie and Phil Murphy and congratulates them for their victories.

November 8 :
-For the first anniversary of his election at the presidency of the United States, President Rubio enumerates the successful elements of his agenda on Twitter, including a stronger economy through the creation four an a half million new jobs, a stronger national security, the reduction of the terrorist threat (notably with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's death and the eradication of ISIS in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan), etc.

-Continuing his tour of Asia, President Rubio arrives in Beijing, China, where he holds a bilateral joint press conference with Chinese president Xi Jinping. They talked issues such as trade, economy, North Korea, human rights, democracy, territorial disputes in South China Sea and energy. The President of the United States praised the improvement of the relations between the two countries due to China's acceptance of doing more efforts to stop North Korea's nuclear threat by imposing more sanctions on them thanks to a diplomacy based on common interests. He also called for a stronger respect of human rights around the world, including in China.

November 9 :
-President Rubio arrives in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where he is welcomed by Vietnamise Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc. They discussed issues like economic and trade ties, defense ties, human rights and North Korea.

November 10 :

-President Rubio arrives at an APEC CEO summit in Da Nang, Vietnam. In a speech to delegates, he talks of « stronger trade relations with our regional allies that reinforced our economies and boosted job creation through lower tariffs and tax reform. » He also condemned North Korea's nuclear program, urging Russia and China to place pressure on North Korea.

-The Coalition's troops took ISIS' final bases in Pakistan that were neighboring the city of Saidu Sharif. During this offensive, 217 jihadists and 15 Coalition soldiers were killed and 60 ISIS fighters surrendered. As a result, ISIS is eradicated in Pakistan.

November 11 :
-President Rubio arrives in Kyoto, Japan, where he meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with whom he discusses new arms sales to Japan and agrees that the country would shoot down North Korean missiles.

November 12 :
-In the final day of his Asian tour, President Rubio arrives in Seoul, South Korea, where he's welcomed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Both men discussed issues like economic and trade ties between the two countries, defense ties, North Korea and China. During their joint press conference in Seoul, President Rubio declares that he "hoped to God" not to have to use military force against North Korea and urges Kim Jong-un to negotiate. Both leaders visit the U.S. military base Camp Humphreys located near Anjeong-ri and Pyeongtaek.

November 15 :

-On the evening of 15 November 2017, after 37 years of Robert Mugabe's dictatorship, terror and oppression in a country suffering increasing poverty and economic crisis, the Zimbabwe Defence Forces launched a coup d'état in Harare, Zimbabwe and dealt with the "criminals" around Mugabe responsible for the socio-economic problems of Zimbabwe. Mugabe was under house arrest, thus reinforcing the speculation that Zimbabwe could turn to democracy.

-In Washington, President Rubio calls on Robert Mugabe to resign and praised Zimbabwe's transition to democracy.

November 16 :

-President Rubio visits the U.S. Capitol in advance of the passing by the House (269-163) of a tax reform bill in support of Rubio's tax-cut initiative. Among numerous proposals are included an expansion of the child tax credit from $1000 to $2000 and the abolition of the Family Flexibility Credit, the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax. The vote in the Senate will be set on November 28.

[UWS]

Marco Rubio's Presidency
November 2017, Part 2

November 18 :
-President Rubio officially announces that North Korea will be reinstated to the United States' list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, from which it was removed in October 2008.

November 19 :

-Less than a year before the 2018 Senate elections, Florida Governor Rick Scott announced during a rally in Tampa, Florida, that he launches a bid for the U.S. Senate in 2018. With his gubernatorial job approval rating rising up due to his appreciated handle of the catastrophe caused by Hurricane Irma, Governor Scott starts his campaign as with the status of frontrunner for the Republican senatorial nomination with 41 % of the voting intentions over Tom Rooney's 7 %, David Jolly's 6 % and Augustus Sol Invictus' 3 %. If he were to win the GOP nominee, he could count on the fact that Florida is President Rubio's home state as well as on the President's strong job approval ratings.

November 20 :
-Republican Michigan Congressman Dave Trott announces his candidacy for U.S. Senate in 2018.

November 21 :
-A U.S. drone strike kills more than 100 Al-Shabaab in Somalia.

-Robert Mugabe sent a letter to Zimbabwe's Parliament resigning the presidency. Second Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko became the Acting President. As a result, Zimbabwe started its democratic transition.

November 22 :

-The United States and India started teaming together to complete the reconstruction of Afghanistan and of the training of the Afghan troops.

November 23 :
-The Algerian Armed Forces announced to have officially eliminated tha last pockets of ISIS jihadists in the Algerian territory.

November 24 :

-Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in as President of Zimbabwe.

November 25 :
-Vice-President Haley holds a rally in Miami, Florida to raise funds for 2018 Republican gubernatorial candidates.

November 26 :
-With the Keystone XL pipeline's construction almost completed, President Rubio holds a dinner with Republican senators at the White House where the President calls on them to work to pass tax reform the day after tommorrow and to approve the construction of the TransAmerica pipeline (that would be located from Pennsylvania to California).

November 27 :
-Due the strong progress made in Afghanistan, the United States plan to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan by 2021.

November 28 :

-The Senate approves Rubio's tax reform proposal (55-42), thus expanding the child tax credit from $1000 to $2000 and abolishing the Family Flexibility Credit, the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax.


-President Rubio calls the approval of his tax reform plan by both houses of the Congress « good news for hard working families and for the economy in general. »

November 29 :
-Secretary of State Lindsey Graham condemns religious discrimination orchestrated in Myanmar.

November 30 :
-President Rubio hosts Polish President Andrzej Duda at the White House where they discussed relations between the United States and Poland, economic ties, trade, energy, counter-terrorism and Russia.