"Mr. Rubio could be the next leader of Venezuela, Mr. Trump suggested. And while the president’s aides say he was joking... the fact is that Mr. Rubio does not need to move to Caracas."

"He already runs Venezuela from Washington.... While he has not visited Venezuela in person since the U.S. took over, the secretary of state is deeply involved in the country’s day-to-day operations, keeping in close contact with Delcy Rodríguez, who was Mr. Maduro’s vice president and now leads her country on an acting basis, with the imprimatur of the United States. The two exchange messages in Spanish on WhatsApp, trading gossip, birthday greetings and selfies. Despite the banter, the relationship between Mr. Rubio and Ms. Rodríguez is far from a partnership. It is a manifestation of Trump-era American power, in which the winner takes all regardless of sovereignty and international law.... In the early hours of Jan. 3, shortly after Mr. Maduro was captured, Mr. Rubio reached Ms. Rodríguez by phone. Speaking in Spanish, Mr. Rubio told her that she had a choice between working with the United States or witnessing a broader attack targeting Venezuela’s infrastructure, military bases and senior officials. After some negotiation, Ms. Rodríguez agreed...."

From "How Marco Rubio is Running Venezuela From Afar/The secretary of state effectively controls Venezuela’s finances, the distribution of its natural resources and its government. His grip on the country is a vivid manifestation of American power in the Trump era" (NYT).

"The president's threatening to leave it permanently.... We'll just host weekly fights between people in politics, you know, and settle our scores that way...."

The comic stylings of Marco Rubio:

When did I first hear the joke that, instead of fighting wars, the individual world leaders ought to put on boxing gloves and fight it out one-on-one? I believe I heard it back in the 1960s and a few times since then, but I couldn't trace it to any particular comedian or commentator. It seems to be a longstanding folk joke.

It was basically the idea behind the MTV show "Celebrity Deathmatch." From 1999, here — at TikTok — are Bill Clinton and Ken Starr fighting it out in the ring.

And here's a serious look at that immense construction on the White House lawn. Maybe you don't think this is funny or cool at all. Maybe you are truly and righteously steamed:

"Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier that President Trump might deliver positive news about negotiations over the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran 'a little bit later today.'"

"He added that the world could learn 'over the next few hours' about progress on resolving the shipping crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and also about a 'process' on other major issues, including Iran’s nuclear program. Rubio, speaking at a news conference with his Indian counterpart in Delhi, said that 'significant progress, although not final progress,' had been made in negotiations."

The NYT reported 55 minutes ago.

15 hours ago, Trump posted this at Truth Social:

Vance or Rubio? "According to multiple people close to the president, Mr. Trump asks advisers who they prefer..."

"... before frequently musing that he should just have Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio run together on the same presidential ticket in 2028. Mr. Trump’s advisers say he is simply having fun polling people, and that 2028 is not at the top of his mind at all.... According to several people close to both men, Mr. Vance and Mr. Rubio, who are friends, do not want to be seen as competing against each other for the 2028 presidential nomination.... By several accounts, the two actually do get along. It is not uncommon to see them laughing together at White House events. They talk about sports and family when they are together. They are also both very aware of the chatter about their reputations and respective futures...."

I'm reading "Vance or Rubio? Trump Muses on Successor as the ‘Kids’ Fill Bigger Roles. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are boosting their profiles, generating speculation about who’s lining up for the 2028 presidential nomination" (NYT).

I'd like to see both of them running, and I'd like them to find a new way that could be fascinatingly cooperative. I'm inferring that they both strongly support each other and are used to working together. They don't have to compete against each other at all. Each could recommend the other. Debates could have both of them arguing for essentially the same thing but giving the people the opportunity to choose which one will be the presidential nominee and which the vice presidential nominee.

Jake Tapper looks supremely woeful as he labors to help us with Marco Rubio's 90s hip-hop references.

The pain in Jake Tapper‘s face is priceless-he really feels the need to let you know that Marco Rubio used hip-hop references 🤣 pic.twitter.com/gOHjK6g1Hj

— Karli Bonne’ 🇺🇸 (@KarluskaP) May 7, 2026

"Wow. Okay."

Said the Pope, accepting the gift of a paperweight from Marco Rubio.

I felt awkward just watching it.

"The move would topple a key figurehead but leave in place the repressive Communist government that has ruled Cuba for more than 65 years."

"The Americans have signaled to Cuban negotiators that the president must go, but are leaving the next steps up to the Cubans, the people said. The United States so far is not pushing for any action against Castro family members, who remain the country’s top power brokers, two of the people said. That is consistent with the general desire of Mr. Trump and his aides to force regime compliancerather than regime change in their foreign policy...."

From "Trump Administration Said to Tell Cuba That Its President Has to Go/The United States has told Cuba that for meaningful progress to be made in negotiations, President Miguel Díaz-Canel must step down, said people familiar with the talks" (NYT).

The article at the link on "force regime compliance" is especially interesting: "Trump and Rubio’s Vision of War: The Art of Destroy and Deal/Unleashing his inner hawk, Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans President Trump’s military interventions. So far, they favor regime compliance, not change":

5 things I've been finding unbloggable.

1. Nancy Guthrie, still missing.

2. Bondi yelling at congressfolk and getting yelled back at by. 

3. Millions of Jeffrey Epstein papers, full of names names names. 

4. Marco in Munich. 

5. Obama and the aliens.

"The U.S. has such a free hand in Greenland that it can pretty much do what it wants. I have a very hard time seeing that the U.S. couldn’t get pretty much everything it wanted if it just asked nicely."

Said Mikkel Runge Olesen, a researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies in Copenhagen, quoted in "Trump Administration Live Updates: Rubio Says President Wants to Buy Greenland" (NYT).

Under a little-known Cold War agreement, the United States already enjoys sweeping military access in Greenland... allow[ing] it to “construct, install, maintain, and operate” military bases across Greenland, “house personnel” and “control landings, takeoffs, anchorages, moorings, movements, and operation of ships, aircraft, and waterborne craft.” It was signed in 1951 by the United States and Denmark, which colonized Greenland more than 300 years ago and still controls some of its affairs.... 

So it's essentially already ours? But Rubio told Congress yesterday that Trump wants to buy Greenland.  Olesen told the NYT that "Greenland does not want to be bought by anyone — especially not the United States." Presuming that this Olesen knows what Greenland wants, I'd still regard that as a bargaining position. And they are bargaining with Trump. We'll see what happens.

"You can't turn Venezuela into the operating hub for Iran, for Russia, for Hezbollah, for China, for the Cuban intelligence agents that control that country."

"That cannot continue. Those things cannot continue to be in place. You cannot continue to have the largest oil reserves in the world under the control of adversaries of the United States, not benefiting the people of Venezuela, and stolen by a handful of oligarchs around the world including inside of Venezuela, but not benefiting the people of that country. You know, we've seen how our adversaries all over the world are exploiting and extracting resources from Africa, from every other country. They're not going to do it in the Western Hemisphere."

Said Marco Rubio, on "Meet the Press" this morning.

"'The task in front of him is stupefying,' said a senior U.S. official, noting the dizzying array of policy decisions related to energy, elections, sanctions and security that await."

"This person, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity to respond freely. The moment marks the realization of a long-held goal for Rubio, who has voiced his criticisms of Maduro and desire for change in Venezuela for well over a decade. Those who have worked closely with Rubio, whose parents left Cuba before the Communist takeover in 1959, say the issues of the region are close to his heart. 'Marco’s parents’ experience … is hardwired in him,' said Cesar Conda, a Republican strategist who worked as the former senator’s chief of staff between 2011 and 2014.... His Spanish proficiency, familiarity with Latin American leaders and the Venezuelan opposition make him a natural point man for Trump, said another senior U.S. official...."

From "Rubio takes on most challenging role yet: Viceroy of Venezuela/The top U.S. diplomat has pushed for regime change for over a decade. Now the hard part begins" (WaPo).

WaPo's use of the word "viceroy" expresses its own opinion — though few readers will have any idea what that opinion is and many will mistake it for an official title that has been given to Rubio. It's not.

Wikipedia says: "A viceroy is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning 'in the place of' and the Anglo-Norman roy (Old French roi, roy), meaning "king.' This denotes the position as one who acts on behalf of a king or monarch. A viceroy's territory may be called a viceroyalty...."

I guess this is raw meat for the "no kings" crowd. But then again, maybe it's just a tidbit for those of us who enjoy alliteration: Viceroy of Venezuela. Maybe "governor" is a more appropriate word, but save that for the Washington Post headline when we take over Greenland. Just an alliteration joke. I think the right answer is that no title at all is appropriate for what Rubio is doing and a descriptive phrase like "who is taking the lead role" is best.

Elon Musk loves the idea of Rubio as "president of Venezuela, governor of Cuba, and the Shah of Iran."

I support this 💯 https://t.co/MFckQ5VWqr

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 3, 2026

Rubio reposts what he said last July.

Link.

"The State Department is taking decisive action against five individuals who have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize, and suppress American viewpoints they oppose."

Said Marco Rubio, quoted in "'Witch hunt': Ex-EU commissioner Breton denounces U.S. visa ban targeting ‘censorship'" (CNBC). 

The Trump administration imposed visa bans on Thierry Breton, a former European Union commissioner behind the Digital Services Act (DSA), and four anti-disinformation campaigners, accusing them of censoring U.S. social media platforms.... The DSA forces tech giants like Google and Meta to police illegal content more aggressively, or face hefty fines.... 

Breton... wrote on X: “Is McCarthy’s witch hunt back?” He added: “As a reminder: 90% of the European Parliament — our democratically elected body — and all 27 Member States unanimously voted the DSA. To our American friends: Censorship isn’t where you think it is."

I can't find anything by Breton explaining his idea of "where" censorship really is. Try to persuade us, Thierry. Give us a chance to argue with you. If you've got a good idea put it up for sale in the marketplace of ideas. Prove us wrong.

ADDED: Breton seems to be giving priority to whatever the majority decides to do. We Americans have traditionally put individual rights above majoritarian choice. I suspect that when he says "Censorship isn’t where you think it is," he means it's never censorship when it's done democratically. Believe that, and you don't believe in individual rights. 

"Echoing President Trump’s call for classical style in federal architecture, Mr. Rubio’s order cited the origins of serif typefaces in Roman antiquity."

"Those typefaces, which are used by The New York Times, include small strokes at the edges of many characters. Admirers say those flourishes make letters look more elegant and make them easier to distinguish from one another, even though they can also create a sense of clutter. Serif typefaces are 'generally perceived to connote tradition, formality and ceremony,' Mr. Rubio’s order said, adding that they were used by the White House, Supreme Court and other state and federal government entities, as well as in the script on the side of Air Force One...."

From "At State Dept., a Typeface Falls Victim in the War Against Woke/Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the Biden-era move to the sans serif typeface 'wasteful,' casting the return to Times New Roman as part of a push to stamp out diversity efforts'" (NYT).

It's bizarre that wanting things to look normal again is counted as part of a "War Against Woke." I think the NYT is putting it that way to try to make sense of what the former administration did.

Why would the State Department want its official correspondence in the font you see here?

We're told the idea was to make reading easier for persons with dyslexia. Well, maybe, but that Calibri font seems to convey a message of informality or even humility. Don't take us so seriously, world.

Instead of holding the former administration to account for its poor choice, the new administration is framed as hostile to a vulnerable group!

"The President kind of holds up his hand and says, 'No, no, no, hold on a second. There's something much more important. Shoes.'"

"He peers over the Resolute Desk and he says, 'Marco, JD, you guys have shitty shoes.' He goes out and grabs a catalog... And he actually runs us through this incredible shoe catalog. The President is gifting us with four pairs of shoes.... He says, 'Marco, what's your shoe size?' And Marco's apparently an 11 and a half. He says, JD, what's your shoe size? My shoe size is 13. And he asked this [other] politician... what his shoe size is, and he says 7. The President leans back in his chair and says, 'You know you can tell a lot about a man by his shoe size.'"

Vice President JD Vance just dropped a hilarious Oval Office story leaving the entire room cracking up.

President Trump glanced over the Resolute Desk at VP Vance and Secretary Marco Rubio and said, “You guys have shitty shoes.”

Right then and there, Trump pulled out a shoe… pic.twitter.com/3Z2xyh9MZK

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) December 6, 2025

You can't lie about your shoe size if the shoes are going to be ordered by the other person and he's expecting you to wear them, and besides, if a man's shoe size is 7, his feet are going to look pretty small. So there was no escaping the penis-size innuendo. Or maybe Trump wasn't promising to buy that other guy new shoes. It was only Marco and JD who got called out for having "shitty shoes."

"Mind you, I am not at all against a negotiated solution. Indeed, from the beginning of this war I have made the point..."

"... that it will end only with a 'dirty deal.' But it cannot be a filthy deal, and the Trump plan is what history will call a filthy deal.... As my Times colleague David Sanger observed in his analysis of the plan’s content: 'Many of the 28 points in the proposed Russia-Ukraine peace plan offered by the White House read like they had been drafted in the Kremlin. They reflect almost all Mr. Putin’s maximalist demands.'... What would an acceptable dirty deal look like? It would freeze the forces in place, but never formally cede any seized Ukrainian territory. It would insist that European security forces, backed by U.S. logistics, be stationed along the cease-fire line as a symbolic tripwire against any Russian re-invasion. It would require Russia to pay a significant amount of money to cover all the carnage it has inflicted on Ukraine...."

Writes Thomas Friedman, in "Trump’s Neville Chamberlain Prize" (NYT).

Late last night, this went up at the NY Post: "Marco Rubio told US senators that Ukraine peace plan was not America’s — but a ‘leaked’ Russian ‘wish list.'" 

Republican Senator Mike Rounds is quoted at the Post: "[Rubio] made it very clear to us that we are the recipients of a proposal that was delivered to one of our representatives. It is not our recommendation. It is not our peace plan. It is a proposal that was received, and as an intermediary, we have made arrangements to share it — and we did not release it. It was leaked."

ADDED: "US senators say Rubio told them Trump’s Ukraine peace plan is Russia’s ‘wish list’" (AP).

"I think the people wouldn't like that. It's too cute. It wouldn't be right."

Said Trump, accepting the theory that he could run for a 3rd term by winning as the vice presidential candidate under a presidential candidate who would resign after winning. "Yeah, I'd be allowed to do that."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Fox News (@foxnews)

ADDED: I love the poker face on Marco Rubio. He must assume he'd be the winning presidential candidate in the "cute" scenario. Would I do it, if asked? Would I resign, if elected cutely?

"My husband Charlie — he wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life.... That young man — I forgive him."

"I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do."

Erika Kirk forgives the man who murdered her husband:

"My husband Charlie...he wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life...that young man...

I forgive him.

I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do." pic.twitter.com/Pd1yGRMRVw

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) September 21, 2025

That was the strongest moment of the 5-hour memorial, the widow forgiving the murderer — because it is what Christ did.

The other exceptionally strong statement of Christianity came from Marco Rubio:

Marco Rubio summoned his inner Father Mike Schmitz and explained the entire story of salvation history in under 90 seconds.

🙌❤️🔥✝️ pic.twitter.com/W7ZO11CjQ3

— Bree Solstad (@BreeSolstad) September 21, 2025

"After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE."

"Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

Writes President Trump, on Truth Social.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

AND: Here's Marco Rubio at the State Department website: "Over the past 48 hours, Vice President Vance and I have engaged with senior Indian and Pakistani officials, including Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shehbaz Sharif, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir, and National Security Advisors Ajit Doval and Asim Malik. I am pleased to announce the Governments of India and Pakistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire and to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site. We commend Prime Ministers Modi and Sharif on their wisdom, prudence, and statesmanship in choosing the path of peace."