U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on May 5, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker getty images
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in a heated situation as he heads to the Vatican on Thursday for a crucial meeting with Pope Leo XIV to ease tensions.
Maybe when he has no reaction Asked the name of his DJBut Rubio was otherwise cool, calm and collected during the White House press briefing Stand-in appearance on Tuesday Due to which #Rubio2028 started trending on Facebook.
It was a good day for Rubio. With President Donald Trump’s approval ratings flagging and gas prices rising due to the ongoing war in Iran, Rubio has emerged as a rising star and appears to be separating himself from another candidate projected for 2028, Vice President J.D. Vance.
“Rubio is happy as a pig at this White House briefing. Watch out (Vice President) @JDVance, Marco wants the top job and is coming for your (extremely unpopular) a–.” tommy vierterthe Pod Save America co-host and former spokesperson for President Barack Obama wrote on Twitter as Rubio held court from the White House briefing room podium.
Rubio, who represented Florida in the Senate from 2011 to 2025 and made an unsuccessful bid for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, was filling in at press briefings for White House spokeswoman Carolyn Leavitt, who is on maternity leave and will be covered by a rotating group of administration officials while she is out.
It was a spontaneous performance by the Trump critic-turned-ally – who was previously known for insulting “Little Marco” By the president — who has made a name for himself wearing many hats in the second Trump administration. At various points during his tenure at the State Department, Rubio has served as Acting National Security Advisor, Acting Archivist of the United States, and Acting Director of the US Agency for International Development.
Rubio showed off his range over the weekend, captured in a moment DJing at a family wedding Video that was shared to X. Asked by a reporter at the briefing what his DJ name was, Rubio demurred: “My DJ name? You’re not ready for my DJ name.”
Rubio held the briefing for about an hour, telling jokes, switching to Spanish and questioning reporters on the war, gas prices and ongoing tensions with Cuba.
He would sometimes become angry, referencing rap songs from the 1990s when he called Iranian leaders “crazy out of their minds” (Cypress Hill) and told them to “check yourself before you ruin yourself” (Ice Cube). But in general, he conveyed the Trump administration’s sometimes confusing message on the Iran war in a digestible manner.
And although the president refused the initiative to guide the ships through the Strait of Hormuz a few hours after Rubio told the press about it, Rubio’s performance received rave reviews from the political right.
“Marco Rubio is showing the country and the world what we’ve known about him for decades! Rubio is one of the most eloquent, articulate, and incredibly capable politicians of our time. President Trump made an excellent choice in that. He proves it every day!” Florida Republican Representative Carlos Gimenez Posted on X.
Vance. Meanwhile, he was nearly 1,000 miles away, making his first stop in Iowa since becoming vice president.
His appearance in the Hawkeye State, where he traveled to support Republican Rep. Zach Nunn, who is locked in a tough re-election race, played differently than Rubio’s in Washington.
a clip of Vance is getting lost in the pages His speech and the forgetting of the name of the person who challenged the nun went viral on social media.
Sarah Longwell, a political pundit and publisher of the conservative, anti-Trump news site The Bulwark, is leading weekly focus groups that regularly ask Republicans who they want to inherit the party in 2028.
Increasingly, members of those groups are preferring Rubio over Vance, he wrote in The Atlantic this week.
“Although Vance may seem like the more natural MAGA successor, many Trump voters see Rubio as a steadying force who is much better suited inside the administration than many of his peers, including the vice president.” Longwell wrote.
Rubio is now heading to the Vatican to meet with the first American-born pope, who has been critical of some of the Trump administration’s policies. Rubio and Vance are both Catholic. Rubio was raised Catholic, while Vance converted as an adult.
Trump repeatedly attacked Pope Leo, saying the Supreme Pontiff’s stance on foreign policy is “putting a lot of Catholics in danger” in an appearance on the Hugh Hewitt radio show on Monday.
Rubio denied at the briefing that the trip was an attempt to damage the relationship.
“This is a trip we planned in advance and obviously some things happened between us. There’s a lot to talk about at the Vatican,” he told reporters.