State Secretary Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that Marc Fogel, an American who had been held in Russia Since 2021 it has been released because the US has a “strong president” in President Donald Trump.
Rubio made the comments during an appearance on ‘Hannity’ from Fox News’.
“We have a great team here … But this is not all possible without President Trump,” said Rubio. “This is the 10th American who came home after being held somewhere abroad in just three weeks. And for the White House it is an extraordinary achievement. This is what happens if you have a strong president.”
“Look, when an American comes home, we have to be enthusiastic about it. This is a case that got away under the Biden administration, they really didn’t give it a priority. And so tonight is really a happy opportunity. It should be for everyone Americans, but certainly for Mr. Fogel and his family, “he continued.
Freed American Gostage Marc Fogel lands in the US after years in Russian imprisonment
US President Donald Trump welcomes Marc Fogel to the United States after being released from the Russian detention on 11 February 2025 in the White House in Washington, DC (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Fogel, a history teacher who worked at the Anglo-American school in Moscow, returned to the US after his release with the Trump government after his release from Russia.
He served a 14-year prison sentence after his arrest in August 2021 at a Russian airport possession of drugsOf which his family said he was prescribed medical marijuana.
After his arrival in the US, Fogel, from Pennsylvania, met Trump in the White House and called him a “hero” for securing his release. In a statement, his family also thanked Trump for his “relentless leadership” that Finel Ficel helped.
When asked by reporters on Tuesday whether the US had given up something in exchange for Fogel, Trump replied “not much” without offering additional details.
Marc Fogel, an American teacher who has been holding up in Russia since August 2021, gestures on an airplane that flies to the United States after the American special envoy Steve Witkoff has secured his release on 11 February 2025. (Adam Boehler/Handout via Reuters)
Rubio emphasized the importance of having a strong leader as a president in dealing with sensitive matters with other leaders around the world.
“We have a strong president, I think people forget how important that is,” Rubio told host Sean Hannity. “At the end of the day we have to deal with strong leaders around the world. We may not love them or what they do, but these are strong leaders who respect strength. And that is what we have with Donald Trump in it White house.
He also suggested that with Trump in officeThe US government could achieve other goals of foreign policy, including the termination of the war in Russia and Ukraine and the war in Israel-Hamas, which is now under a ceasefire.
US President Donald Trump Greets brought the American teacher Marc Fogel, who has been held in Russia since 2021 in the White House in Washington, DC, 11 February 2025. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
“I think the reason why this can be linked to so many other things over time because of that power,” said the secretary. “If you have a president who is strong, such as Donald Trump, you will get the chance to achieve things, whether it is in Ukraine and ends that war, whether it is a number of conflicts that we now see in the middle -old Or somewhere in the world because they don’t play. “
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“He says he’s going to do it, and then he does it,” Rubio added. “And this is not a president who wastes a lot of time on things he will never do or does not want to do. If he says he is going to do something, he will do it. And these leaders know it.
