FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office, with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio standing behind him, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 23, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper/File Photo
Longtime conservative columnist Matt Lewis, who supported Marco Rubio in 2016, expressed concerns about the Secretary of State's viability as President Donald Trump's presumed MAGA successor, questioning whether he is "damaged goods."
Writing for NOTUS, Lewis articulated his central worry: while a President Rubio offers "a tiny bit of hope," that optimism collapses under scrutiny of Rubio's Trump administration record.
Lewis recalled Rubio "sinking into that couch" while Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, symbolizing his passivity during presidential misconduct.
Lewis posed difficult questions about Rubio's identity, wondering if he is a "calculating conservative," a genuine populist nationalist, or "simply a chameleon."
He also warned, "If Rubio is an amoral Machiavellian, he might prove more dangerous than Trump, precisely because he’s more competent — and has had more time to observe the testing of America’s institutional guardrails."
"Then again, if a presidential candidate is willing to placate Trump to get elected, can we trust him to govern independently once he is in the White House?" He concluded.
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