Marco Rubio Says We're Going to "Unleash Chiang," but What Is He Talking About?

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has his hands in a lot of foreign policy pots at the moment. The second Trump administration has begun attacking Iran and has already killed much of the country's leadership. In remarks to the press on March 3, Rubio introduced some people to a phrase they might not have been familiar with in explaining how the intensity of the attacks on Iran was set to ramp up.

"You’re about to see — we’re going to unleash Chiang on these people in the next few hours and days," he said. Now, many want to know what Rubio meant by "unleash Chiang." Here's what we know.

It's quite clear from the context of the quote that Rubio was suggesting that the administration was preparing to ramp up the intensity of its attacks on Iran, but most people weren't actually sure what he meant by "unleash Chiang."

That phrase has apparently been floating around in conservative circles for some time and was something that George W. Bush and his brother Jeb used to say.

Although its origins aren't totally clear, it apparently refers to a period in history when the U.S. was considering "unleashing" Chiang Kai-shek, a military leader and the former president of China, on the government of Mao Zedong after the communist revolution in that country. The idea was that Chiang might be able to retake China after he was exiled to Taiwan and formed a government in exile.

The phrase has come to mean an expression of overwhelming force and aggression that can't be matched, which is odd given that its origins are what they are. Chiang was beaten quite thoroughly by Mao's forces, which is the whole reason he retreated in the first place. There was never any realistic possibility that he would be able to successfully retake China, even as many Americans likely hoped that he could.

Apparently, George H.W. Bush might have originated the phrase and said it sarcastically at the time because there were some on the far right who believed that Chiang had only lost because he had been "leashed" by the United States. At some point in the game of telephone, though, the irony of the original comment appears to have gotten lost.

Rubio appears to have used the phrase and assumed that everyone listening would understand what he meant. The context is certainly helpful, and is a reminder that the Trump administration is planning to use overwhelming force when it comes to the bombing of Iran.

It's perhaps fitting that he used what was once in an ironic phrase so unironically in this context. Twenty-three years after George W. Bush and his administration decided to invade Iraq, the Trump administration has launched another war in the Middle East, although there's some disagreement about whether they think it's actually a war. One thing's for sure, though. They're going to unleash Chiang.