Rubio Rips ICC 'Lunatics and Crazies' in Blistering Manila Broadside

Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a blistering rebuke of the International Criminal Court while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Manila, declaring bluntly that the tribunal is stacked with "lunatics and crazies" who have no business threatening American servicemembers or sitting presidents. Rubio's comments came in response to questions about the ICC's continued efforts to assert authority over U.S. personnel despite Washington never having signed on to the Rome Statute. He made clear that the court's ambitions to prosecute a sitting or future American president are dead on arrival, stating flatly that such a move "is just not going to happen."

Rubio's remarks reaffirmed a bipartisan cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy stretching back decades: the United States is not a party to the Rome Statute and does not recognize the ICC's jurisdiction over American citizens, military or civilian. The secretary argued that the court has no legitimate claim to prosecute officials from nations that never joined the treaty, and he suggested that any country wishing to subject itself to the ICC's authority is free to do so, but America never will. His comments underscore growing frustration within the administration over what it views as a politicized international body overstepping its legal bounds to target U.S. interests and allies, including Israel.

The blunt language is likely to resonate strongly with supporters who have long viewed the ICC as an unaccountable body more interested in targeting American and allied leaders than confronting the world's actual war criminals. Rubio's willingness to speak so plainly on the world stage signals that the administration has no intention of softening its posture toward international institutions it sees as hostile to U.S. sovereignty. With tensions between Washington and The Hague showing no signs of easing, Rubio's Manila remarks stand as a clear marker that the United States will continue to draw a hard, uncompromising line against any attempt to hold its officials accountable to a court it never agreed to join.