Last week in Munich, Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a powerful foreign policy speech that not only calmed European anxieties but also stirred discussions about his political future in Washington.

This appearance showcased Rubio’s ability to blend traditional Republican strength with elements of Trump’s MAGA philosophy, earning accolades from both established Republicans and relieved European diplomats seeking consistent U.S. leadership.

However, it was in Washington, D.C., where Rubio’s speech made a significant impact, resonating like a political seismic event.

According to a Washington insider speaking to the Daily Mail, President Donald Trump was particularly pleased with Rubio’s performance, especially when compared to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s missteps on the international stage and California Governor Gavin Newsom’s criticized attempt to challenge the president abroad.

Speculation has increased since the speech, with Trump reportedly consulting allies about their preferences for a future ticket, considering either JD Vance or Rubio, as reported by Axios on Sunday. This has intensified discussions about the direction of the Republican Party in a post-Trump landscape.

The buzz has only grown louder since. Trump has now begun sounding out allies about whether they would prefer JD Vance or Rubio at the top of a future ticket, Axios reported on Sunday, fueling fresh whispers about the shape of the post-Trump era.

Even the president couldn’t resist joking about Rubio stealing the spotlight.

‘Marco, don’t do any better than you did, please, because if you do, you’re outta here,’ Trump quipped to laughter at an event on Thursday, before adding more seriously: ‘No, I want my guys to do great.’

For Rubio, the Munich address was more than a diplomatic win. It was a defining moment, a capstone to his first year in the job, and a performance that has suddenly pushed him to the center of Washington’s next-big-thing conversation.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s barnstorming foreign policy speech in Munich last week did more than soothe frayed European nerves. It sparked whispers in Washington about his future 

President Donald Trump stands next to Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the Situation Room

Long a student of former President Ronald Reagan, Rubio leaned heavily on the common nostalgia of the United States and Europe prevailing against the ‘evil empire’ of communism.

Establishment Republicans were pleased by the tone change, noting Rubio spoke to the Europeans in earnest, rather than delivering a scorching lecture.

That was classic Rubio, a former Rubio official told the Daily Mail.

‘He doesn’t do angry very well, he doesn’t lecture people well,’ the official said.

Rubio relies on storytelling as the most powerful speechwriting tool, the official noted, as his speech leaned heavily on history and philosophy to make his case.

Other former Trump officials praised Rubio for weaving Trumpian themes into the speech including warnings of the effects of mass migration and ceding industry and growth to the ‘climate cult.’

But rather than scolding Europe, Rubio admitted that America also struggled with the same issues.

‘We made these mistakes together, and now, together, we owe it to our people to face those facts and to move forward, to rebuild,’ he said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio gestures as he departs for a foreign trip

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, silhouetted against the setting sun, arrives at the Liszt Ferenc International Airport in Budapest

 Even former Trump officials praised the speech as an important moment for Trump’s former political rival on the national stage.

‘He’s not Liddle Marco anymore,’ one former Trump political operative noted to the Daily Mail, praising the Secretary of State for meeting the moment on the national stage. 

The Secretary of State, who also serves as Trump’s National Security advisor is the first since former President Richard Nixon’s Henry Kissinger to have so much influence in an administration.

At this point, Rubio’s proximity to the president coincides with his successful foreign policy agenda.

Rubio was closely involved with the president in the planning and execution of the very complex but successful extraction of dictator Nicholas Maduro in Venezuela. 

He also advised the president during the controversial 12-day war in Iran as the military executed an enormous display of air power to bomb Iranian nuclear production sites. 

Establishment Republicans in Washington, are vocally cheering Rubio’s performance for Trump on the global stage, even as US military assets are positioned for another looming military strike on Iran. Rubio is expected to travel to Israel next week as discussions about Iran’s future continue.

Former Trump officials described Rubio’s speech in Europe as an important sequel to the president’s first major foreign policy speech in Warsaw, Poland in July 2017, urging the West to rise up and save itself from malaise and decline.

But some more MAGA-aligned Republicans felt that Rubio was too soft with European leaders, noting that the damage to Europe with mass migration was a greater threat than most realized.

US Vice President JD Vance and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attend the inaugural meeting of the ‘Board of Peace’

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on Air Force One

‘The editorial board at the Wall Street Journal got goosebumps, the Atlantic Council said “statesmanlike.” But it’s 15 years too late,’ former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon told the Daily Mail. ‘Border security and immigration concerns are long past —Christendom in Europe can only be saved with mass deportations or “remigration” now. There is no alliance—there is only “civilizational erasure.”‘

Bannon conceded Rubio’s speech was inspiring, but ultimately just ‘happy talk’ that would not end with meaning full results, pointing to reports that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was blocking the United States for using British air bases for military strikes on Iran.  

Rubio’s speech was immediately contrasted with the more aggressive speech from Vice President JD Vance a year earlier.

When Vance went to Munich, he warned European leaders they were trending toward the wrong direction, warning that European censorship, canceled elections, and closed churches were signs they were the enemies of democracy, not the saviors they once were.

That angered Europeans, already reeling from Trump and Vance’s public scolding of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for not being grateful enough for America’s assistance in the war with Russia.

But rather than scolding Europe, Rubio took a different tact, admitting that America also struggled with the same issues.

‘We made these mistakes together, and now, together, we owe it to our people to face those facts and to move forward, to rebuild,’ he said.

Political operatives told the Daily Mail that Rubio’s speech swiftly became ‘must watch’ material in Washington, DC, even over the President’s Day holiday weekend.

On the flight back to DC Sunday, Trump praised Rubio who ‘did a great job in Munich’ to reporters. 

But he dismissed the idea of supporting him at the top of a presidential ticket, after a reporter suggested it. 

‘JD is fantastic. And Marco — they’re both fantastic,’ he said, reminding reporters he still had ‘three years to go’ in his second term.

ance describes Rubio as his ‘best friend’ in the president’s cabinet, as they spend a great deal of time together at the White House.

More recently, both Rubio and his wife Jeanette traveled to the Olympics in Milan with the Vance family to represent the United States.

Vice President JD Vance also went on Fox News Tuesday to praise the Secretary of State for the ‘very smart view of American foreign policy.’

US Vice President JD Vance (C), his children Mirabel and Ewan, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) attends the women’s preliminary round Group A Ice Hockey match

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends U.S. Vice President JD Vance bilateral meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Melon

The vice president added lightly that he was described as ‘the bad cop’ so that ‘Marco could be a good cop’ in Munich.

For months, Vance has bristled at any suggestion that somehow he and Rubio are in competition for the presidency in 2028, blaming the media for empty speculation.

‘The media wants to create this conflict, where there just isn’t any conflict,’ he insisted on Fox News in an interview with host Martha MacCallum.

But that’s not stopping establishment Republicans who are quietly boosting Rubio’s prospects to lead a future presidential ticket. 

The most charitable Trump supporters would like to see Rubio as part of a ‘dream team’ in the future, one source told the Daily Mail, arguing that a Vance/Rubio political ticket would be ‘unstoppable’ with Rubio as Vance’s running mate.

But a growing number of Republicans in Washington are openly questioning whether Rubio, a more traditional foreign policy expert belongs at the top of the ticket.