The US Secretary of State wore the same sports outfit as the former Venezuelan president

“Secretary of State Rubio wore a Nike Tech ‘Venezuela’ tracksuit on Air Force One!”, White House communications director Steven Cheung wrote on X on May 13, sharing a photo of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wearing a gray tracksuit while on his way to China.

The post immediately attracted attention with more than 1.6 million views, because the outfit Mr. Rubio wore was identical to the outfit former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro wore when he was escorted to the US in January. President Donald Trump then posted a photo of Mr. Maduro wearing a gray Nike tracksuit, blindfolded and handcuffed.

“Legend!”, White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly commented.

The post attracted mixed reactions from public opinion. Some right-wing commentators in the US expressed interest, while some thought that the Secretary of State should wear more serious clothes because he was traveling with the US President.

TV channel NewsX pointed out that Beijing in 2020 imposed an entry ban on Mr. Rubio related to his critical statements about China’s policies in Xinjiang and Hong Kong. This channel commented that the Secretary of State wearing a Nike Tech outfit was a tactic to “joke” with the media.

China said on May 12 that it would not block Mr. Rubio from entering the country because of his actions in the past. “The sanctions target Mr. Rubio’s statements and actions related to China when he was a senator,” said Chinese Embassy spokesman Liu Bangyu.