Is Rubio’s star rising in Trump world? Duel with Vance for 2028 heats up

Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s relaxed White House podium debut fuels buzz about his future

It was the perfect split-screen for the race to succeed Donald Trump – so long as your name is Marco Rubio and not J.D. Vance.

In a packed White House briefing room, journalists shouted over each other in a bid to get a question from the US secretary of state.

At the same time Vice-President Vance – Rubio’s most likely rival for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination – was hundreds of kilometres away from the action at a political fundraiser in Oklahoma.

“Guys, this is chaos,” said Rubio as reporters desperately waved their hands at him.

The 54-year-old appeared to be enjoying his time standing in for press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who is on maternity leave.

He fielded a series of questions on Iran, Cuba and China with a relaxed style and dashes of humour – and little of the invective that Trump often unleashes in his briefing room appearances.