"Not the 'Maduro Arrest Look'? Rubio Says, 'I Had the Outfit First'"

U.S. Secretary of State’s Gray Nike Tracksuit Goes Viral

“He copied me... It’s just a comfortable tracksuit”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio clarified that his choice of wearing a Nike tracksuit aboard Air Force One during President Donald Trump’s visit to China had no connection to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

According to AFP on May 15 (local time), Secretary Rubio said in an interview with NBC News regarding the photo of him taken inside Air Force One, “He (Maduro) copied me. I had it first.” He added, “I don’t know when he bought that outfit,” and emphasized, “What matters is, it’s just a comfortable tracksuit.”

Photo by Yonhap News - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

On May 12, Secretary Rubio boarded Air Force One bound for Beijing. During the flight, images circulated on social media showed him wearing an outfit similar to the gray Nike ‘Tech Fleece’ tracksuit that President Maduro wore when he was detained by the United States in January this year. Afterward, many users commented that Secretary Rubio was wearing the so-called ‘Maduro arrest look.’

Stephen Cheung, White House Director of Communications, also posted Secretary Rubio’s photo on his X (formerly Twitter) account, writing, “Secretary of State Rubio is wearing the Nike Tech ‘Venezuela’ (model) on Air Force One.”

Meanwhile, negative reactions surfaced on Chinese online platforms, with some claiming that Secretary Rubio’s outfit was meant to mock China’s sanctions and provoke China. A military influencer on Weibo commented, “Rubio intentionally wore the same outfit that Maduro had on when he was abducted by the U.S. military and boarded Air Force One,” adding, “It is full of hostility.”

Rubio, a Cuban-American, is known for his hardline stance against leftist regimes in Central and South America and for helping lay the groundwork for operations to oust Maduro. However, in the interview, Secretary Rubio repeatedly stressed, “It’s just comfortable clothing,” adding, “There was no message intended, and I didn’t even know a photo was being taken.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.