President Donald Trump has spent months heaping praise on Secretary of State Marco Rubio, even as he privately tells donors the Republican Party should elevate another successor.
That puts Rubio in a tricky position as he weighs a 2028 run, which would almost certainly pit him against Vice President JD Vance in a Republican primary to determine who will carry on the 80-year-old president's MAGA legacy, reported MS NOW.
“Most of MAGA world is incredibly nerdy so Trump appreciates having the cool kid in the room,” a person close to Rubio said.
Trump has said Rubio could go down “as the greatest Secretary of State in the history of our country” and that “everyone [has] fallen in love” with him.
“He’s a master,” Trump said last month. “He’s an unbelievable man, really amazing.”
Trump’s private push for Vance casts “an awkward backdrop” over one of the biggest decisions of Rubio’s career, according to MS NOW.
Rubio has dropped some hints about his plans. Last week he gave a speech in Athens with the Acropolis behind him, putting his own stamp on “America First,” and he has stepped up his TV appearances. A Financial Times/Focaldata poll this month shows him trailing Vance among likely primary voters 38 percent to 24 percent, one of his strongest showings yet.
Other signs suggest he may sit the race out. Two people familiar with the matter said Rubio hasn’t been especially responsive to his donor network, and that he has made clear he doesn’t want to run against Vance.
Some who know Rubio say he may be tempted to cash in after more than two decades in public office, while a former aide said his current roles as secretary of state and national security adviser are his dream jobs.
“There is no indication he wants to leave the administration,” a White House official said. “That may change or he may end up doing it, but the indication I get is that he’s very happy doing what he’s doing.”
Trump, meanwhile, appears to enjoy the rivalry. In a June podcast interview, he said he studies the two men “as they’re with each other.”
“I find it very interesting,” he said.
Aides said Rubio will likely have to decide by next summer.
“Nobody knows what he is going to do except Marco Rubio,” a person close to Rubio said.