Secretary of State Marco Rubio dodged on a presidential run in 2028 on Saturday night, signaling he is content with his work at the State Department while also acknowledging “you never rule things out.”
In an interview with President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, Rubio was asked if he was eyeing a run for the presidency after Trump listed him as a potential successor along with Vice President JD Vance. Rubio, ultimately mum on ambitions of his own, responded with lavish praise for Vance, who he called his “close friend.”
“I think JD Vance would be a great nominee if he decides he wants to do that. I think he’s doing a great job as vice president and he’s a close friend. I hope he intends to do it,” Rubio said.
While silent on any plans for 2028, Rubio revealed that he would be “satisfied” with his work as state secretary as the “apex” of his political career.
“I feel, honestly — you never know what the future holds, you never rule things out or anything and that’s just because you just don’t know, things change very quickly — but that said, I believe that if I am able to be here through the duration of his [Trump’s] presidency and we get things done at the pace that we’ve been doing the last six months, I’ll be able to look back at my time in public service and say I made a difference, I had an impact, and I served my country in a very positive way. And I would be satisfied with that as the apex of my career,” Rubio said.
Rubio has been a central figure in Trump’s second administration, with him currently serving in four roles, three in an acting capacity. Those include state secretary, acting administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, acting archivist for the National Archives and Records Administration, and acting national security adviser.
Trump chose Rubio as his acting national security adviser following Mike Waltz’s departure from the role due to the Signal chat leaks earlier this year.
Trump first pitched Rubio as a potential successor in a Meet the Press interview in May, praising him as a “great” potential leader while also speculating that Vance may have the upper hand as vice president.
“Certainly you would say that somebody’s the VP, if that person is outstanding, I guess that person would have an advantage,” the president said.
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Trump had toyed with the prospect of running himself, which would be for an unconstitutional third term. But he has since maintained he’ll be a two-term president.
“There are many people selling the 2028 hat,” Trump said in May. “But this is not something I’m looking to do. I’m looking to have four great years and turn it over to somebody, ideally a great Republican, a great Republican to carry it forward.”