“Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.” – Proverbs 14:29
That passage comes to mind after a contentious interaction between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, went viral Tuesday morning.
In a clip posted by C-SPAN that’s been seen over 530,000 times since posting, Rubio came out looking quite impressive after a verbal spat with an antagonistic Van Hollen.
The Maryland senator?
Not so much.
The terse exchange, as is typical with Democrats, naturally began with Van Hollen insulting Rubio.
“I have to tell you directly and personally, that I regret voting for you for Secretary of State,” Van Hollen said. That’s some real productive law-making, eh, Chris?
Rubio, who was testifying in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the State Department’s budget proposal, didn’t get angry or lose his cool at the out-of-bounds cheap shot.
Instead, he countered with a muted retort that clearly hit close to home for Van Hollen.
Was Marco Rubio a good pick for Secretary of State?
“Well, first of all, your regret for voting for me confirms I’m doing a good job,” Rubio responded.
“That’s a flippant statement,” Van Hollen interjected, despite previously yielding back his time.
Oh, you don’t say, Senator? That’s a flippant statement? Not telling someone to his face that you “regret” voting for him? The hypocritical self-delusion would almost be funny, if these weren’t actual lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Van Hollen then angrily fussed for a moment, sounding like a bratty child demanding that everyone pay attention back to him, now that his insult was one-upped with a much better one.
Rubio was eventually allowed to speak over the senator’s temper tantrum, and calmly refuted a number of Van Hollen’s allegations.
It’s all good stuff, and the relevant exchange happens right at the beginning:
Sen. @ChrisVanHollen: “I have to tell you directly and personally that I regret voting for you for Secretary of State.”@SecRubio: “Your regret for voting for me confirms I’m doing a good job.”
Van Hollen: “That’s a flippant statement.” pic.twitter.com/2UHH7tkkrT
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 20, 2025
It’s a funny thing, isn’t it? The Democratic left loves to morally condemn others for not following its arbitrary code of conduct, but the instant it’s thrown back in their face — even in spectacularly muted fashion — they throw a hissy fit befitting an adolescent.
Well, it would be funny if the party didn’t still carry so much sway in this country.
Look, Democrats and their supporters can howl all they want about President Donald Trump and his mean tweets (now X posts). But Trump’s biting tongue is a drop in the bucket compared to the constant barrage of insults, otherization, and fear-mongering that comes out daily hourly from the Dems.
The moral high ground they claim to stand on is little more than a mountain of dust, toppling over at the slightest breeze of scrutiny.
This juxtaposition of an angrily blathering Van Hollen and a collected Rubio proves that.
So, in that sense, thank you, Senator. You actually did something useful.
Now, go scurry back to your Democrat echo chamber and lick your wounds. Rubio just crushed you.
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