J.D. Vance may be Vice President, but Marco Rubio is the Deputy President, currently holding FOUR JOBS in the administration, including the all-important Secretary of State position as well as the National Security Advisor.
🤣 LMAO! Think you’re busy? Try being MARCO RUBIO! Who is now:
– U.S. Secretary of State
– Acting U.S. National Security Advisor
– Acting Archivist of the U.S.
– Acting Administrator of USAID pic.twitter.com/orwulW4NIb— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 1, 2025
Rubio has joked that the job he really wants to add to his portfolio is Librarian of Congress, but Trump doesn’t control the legislative branch, so that seems out of reach for now.
Rubio’s portfolio has expanded so much because he is just THAT good. Far from being the “squish” that so many MAGA folks feared he would be, Rubio has proven to be both brilliant at his job and a street fighter when it matters. For all the love that many people have for street fighters–everybody wants a gladiator to fight for them–the combination of competence and controlled aggression is pretty rare.
🔥 @SecRubio COOKS Sen. @ChrisVanHollen for his El Salvador trip: “We deported gang members — including the one you had a margarita with — And that guy is a human trafficker and that guy is a gang banger.” pic.twitter.com/zOIoxARDu5
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 20, 2025
Rubio has always been associated with the neocon faction of the Republican Party, but MAGA has warmed up to him as they realize that he is more of a “Peace through Strength” Republican than a “let’s bomb some new country today” old-style neocon. His performance has fit well with Trump’s America First agenda, while still appealing to Republicans who find Trump’s rhetoric and seemingly mercurial nature unsettling.
Personally, I think that Trump’s confidence in Rubio shows that he isn’t so much mercurial as sly–playing the “bad cop” to great effect.
Marco Rubio playing no games!🔥
“Our immigration policy should be based on the interests of the United States. End of story.
This notion that we have to accept anyone who wants to come to the United States is absurd! No country in the world has an immigration policy like that.” pic.twitter.com/wnmIE2H0Ok
— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) May 20, 2025
Rubio gives no quarter to the demagogues whose standard for allowing migrants in seems to be “the worst shall be first.”
Democrat Senator Tim Kaine asks about South African refugees coming to the USA: “Can you have a different standard based upon the color of somebody’s skin?”
Marco Rubio: “I’m not the one arguing that. Apparently you are because you don’t like the fact that they are White.” pic.twitter.com/AMQ7UavsJE
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) May 20, 2025
Rubio’s take-no-prisoners approach has won him many MAGA converts, and I find it difficult to believe that he could be this effective in his role without really being the guy he appears to be. This can’t be faked–the passion is real, and his patience with political gamesmanship seems to be used up.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has now revoked around 300 student visas for foreign born students who engaged in political activism or supported terrorist organizations pic.twitter.com/DN0BsjmVga
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 7, 2025
To the doubters who wonder at the apparent differences between the current Rubio and his more politic persona in the Senate I will repeat a phrase that often came up in my “education” in political science (yes, an oxymoron): “where you stand depends on where you sit.”
The meaning? Every position of power has constraints unique to it, so what is appropriate for a House member may be different from that of a Senator, and what seems appropriate for a Senator may not be for a President or Secretary of State.
Well, there are few people as close to acting as a president aside from Trump, and Marco Rubio is the top dog in that category. J.D. Vance is clearly in the mix, and I like him quite a bit. But Rubio is tested with the exercise of real power every day, and he is passing that test with flying colors.
