"INSANE IN THE BRAIN": Sec. Rubio on Iran & America's New "Project Freedom"
SmartHERNews
Jenna Lee
4.9 • 660 Ratings
🗓️ 6 May 2026
⏱️ 22 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Sec. Rubio takes the podium ... in the White House Press Briefing room?
Jenna reports on the Secretary of State briefly serving as de facto White House press secretary Tuesday, fielding questions on Iran. Note this update: Hours after America's top diplomat spoke at the White House, President Trump announced progress in talks with Iran AND a pause of Project Freedom. Here's how we got to this point:
Sec. Rubio confirmed that Operation Epic Fury has ended (we explain) and outlined a new effort, Project Freedom, aimed at reopening shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz amid what he called Iran’s blockade and piracy.
Sec. Rubio says about 23,000 civilians from 87 countries remain stranded at sea due to Iran's illegal actions in the Strait, and says 10 civilian sailors have died since the war has begun due to the blockade.
He stressed the mission is defensive—U.S. forces will respond only if attacked—confirming the U.S. destroyed seven Iranian fast boats who threatened the U.S. efforts.
Rubio argued Americans should care about Iran and the Strait of Hormuz due to the global economic impacts of the waterway as well as the precedent set if Iran can shut down the freedom of navigation in international waters.
Jenna asks about the effectiveness of Sec. Rubio's argument as Americans experience higher gas prices and provides a quick update on upcoming Iran-China and Trump-Xi meetings.
References: Triple AAA Fuel Gauge Report
00:00 Rubio Takes Podium
00:28 Briefing Room Chaos
01:24 Cypress Hill Moment
02:47 Why Rubio Was Picked
04:14 War Powers Deadline
05:33 Project Freedom Explained
08:10 Defensive Rules of Engagement
11:07 Allies and Navigation Law
13:07 Why Americans Should Care
17:37 Gas Prices and Inflation
20:13 China Meetings and Wrap
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has a brand new job. Hi, everybody. I'm Jenna, and this is |
| 0:09.1 | smarter news, and I say that a little tongue-in-cheek. Secretary Rubio is not only Secretary |
| 0:13.0 | State and the president's top national security advisor and the one-time leader of the National Archives. |
| 0:19.8 | He also was the de facto White House press secretary, |
| 0:22.3 | albeit just for a day on Tuesday, when he stepped to the podium in front of the White House |
| 0:26.1 | Press Corps to share some news on Iran as well as answer some questions. We do not think this is a |
| 0:31.4 | permanent role. In fact, at times, the secretary seemed a little overwhelmed by what was |
| 0:36.9 | happening inside the press briefing |
| 0:38.3 | room. |
| 0:39.3 | Take a listen. |
| 0:40.3 | In the black. |
| 0:41.3 | Why are you in the black? |
| 0:42.3 | Thank you, Mr. President. |
| 0:43.3 | Where you? |
| 0:44.3 | No, right there, you, you're both wearing black. |
| 0:46.3 | Thank you. |
| 0:47.3 | She's closer. |
| 0:48.3 | No, you don't have black. |
| 0:49.3 | You have blue on. |
| 0:50.3 | I'm colorblind, but I know blue and black. |
| 0:51.3 | Right there. |
| 0:52.3 | Yes, ma'am. No, no, you. The first one I called on. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. This is chaos, guys. Go ahead. Welcome to the White House. Okay, you got a little snarky comment there in the background. Welcome to the White House, to the chaos. It is a lot. There's a lot of people in that room. And Secretary Rubio joked with the crowd of journalists that some of them had read X's over their spots, |
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