US Secretary of State Rubio, who has been sanctioned by China, boarded Air Force One to Beijing with President Trump, wearing the same style of tracksuit that Venezuela’s former President Maduro wore when he was arrested by the US, sparking heated discussion. Chinese netizens said his behavior was "full of hostility, provocative, and playing little tricks."
Steven Cheung, Director of the White House Office of Communications, posted on social media platform X early Wednesday morning Malaysia time: "Secretary Rubio wearing a ‘Nike Tech Venezuela Edition’ on Air Force One!" The post also included a "laughing to tears" emoji.
According to Fox News, Rubio swapped his usual suit for a Nike tracksuit aboard Air Force One, which contrasted markedly with the formal attire typically worn by senior US officials during official trips, making for an unexpectedly casual look. It quickly spread across social media, eliciting heated reactions from netizens and soon drawing connections to political memes about the outfit Maduro wore when arrested.
The Weibo military blogger "Sham Lion_EL", who has over a million followers, reposted the photo and said: "Rubio deliberately wore the same outfit Maduro was wearing when he was abducted by the US military to board Air Force One—full of hostility." Another military blogger with a million followers, "Westernization Pioneer Zhang Zhidong," reposted and agreed: "When you find out US officials like to play such meaningless little tricks, it just means they don’t dare to use any of their more meaningful big moves for now."
Chinese netizens commented that Rubio was "coming here and still being provocative," and that dressing like this could well be a taunt at the sanctions: "his intentions are truly reprehensible."
Pro-Beijing Hong Kong media outlet "Ta Kung Wen Wei Net" posted a photo of Rubio in Maduro’s identical outfit on Weibo, accompanied by a "vomiting" emoji.
This is Rubio’s first visit to China. In the past, he has paid close attention to human rights issues in China, and China has twice imposed sanctions on him in retaliation—a move more commonly seen when the US targets its opponents.
Rubio is a strongly anti-communist, Cuban-American. He was the main drafter of US congressional legislation that, citing allegations of China forcibly employing mainly Muslim Uyghur minorities, imposed broad sanctions against China. He has also publicly opposed Beijing’s crackdown on Hong Kong.