Marco Rubio appeared on Lara Trump's Fox News' My View with Lara Trump on Saturday night, and I'll admit that I almost didn't watch the entire interview. It started with his generic answers to the same old questions.
But Lara is, in my opinion, very good at what she does. When she interviews someone like our dear secretary of state, she doesn't just ask about Iran and China and Venezuela, she asks him about, well, him. She wants to know about the person behind the news. I love that — it breaks up the monotony of geopolitical situations that he can't really talk about in full publicly, and it gives us a little glimpse into how he's handling all of these new-ish roles he's taken on, after we've known him as Senator Rubio for so many years.
On Saturday night, he talked family, football, days off, and even that meme the internet just can't seem to get enough of, and it was a nice refreshing change of pace, so I thought I'd share some of the details.
Lara started by asking how he has changed through all of his many political seasons of life — senator, presidential candidate, secretary of state — and how he thinks the American people perceive him.
He gave an answer that I think most of us who have reached middle age can relate to:
You asked me if you’ve changed. I think everybody – you go through life, right? And as you go through life you learn new things, you see things you hadn’t seen before, you hear things you haven’t heard before. Certainly, I am a different person at 55 than I was at 25 or even 35 because I have 20 and 30 years of experience in between – in life and in work – that inform that.
I think at your core you always want to remain the same person, though, right? And that is what are your priorities in life and what are the values that sort of drive you to do what you do, and I hope that hasn’t changed. And by the way, the world changes too. There are things that are true today that weren’t true 10 years ago. So, I think that’s true for all of us, not just me.
She also brought up his famous meme that I think everyone is familiar with at this point. As it turns out, Rubio says he hated the initial picture of him sitting on the sofa in the Oval Office, all slumped over, that inspired the meme. He said if you sit there without a pillow behind you, you sink. He said he doesn't keep up with the meme that closely, but people love to show it to him, and he does think it's funny.
Sec. Marco Rubio reacts to his viral meme:
— America First Policy Institute (@A1Policy) August 2, 2026
“When it first came out, I hated that picture!” 😂 pic.twitter.com/E1a60nYLRi
On balancing life as the busiest man in the Donald Trump administration with being a husband and father of four, he said it's actually not that difficult. His children are 26, 24, 21, and 18, and the youngest just graduated high school, so they're off focusing on careers, furthering their education, and enjoying their own lives. He said because the kids are all grown up, it also makes it easier to spend more time with his wife. "So, it’s the second phase of that relationship, I guess, after all these years," he said.
So, what does Secretary Rubio do when he finally goes home at night? She asked if he goes right to sleep, and he said no, because when you're working for Trump, who seemingly rarely sleeps, it's impossible to do that. He also said it's good to take some time to do something to disconnect completely from his job, like watch a movie or a sporting event. But he also admits that the "world doesn't wait for you" in this role, and that plans to do something as simple as watch a movie is often disrupted.
"It’s harder – it was a lot easier to do that when you’re a senator," he said. "It’s much harder when you’re in this role and in this job, because the world isn’t going to stop and wait for you. Like, you may have made a plan tonight to watch a movie, but in the middle of that movie something blows up somewhere in the world, and you’ve got to know about it and you may have to do something about it. So, it’s harder, but it’s not forever, and it’s fulfilling to be in that role."
Finally, Lara asked him what he would do if he could have a full week off without anyone having access to him. If you're familiar with Rubio, his answer probably won't surprise you.
"If I had a full week off, I’d be wondering what was going on," he said, proving why he's exactly the right person for his job. "I’m being honest, and maybe that’ll change when I’m out of this job."
But if he could stop the world for a minute and ensure nothing happens?
"Well, my wife’s going to hate this answer, but I’d love to sit down and watch, like, every college football game starting at noon Eastern until one – when the West Coast games end at 2:00 a.m. our time Eastern. I’d love to be able to do that at least one weekend. I doubt I’ll be able to do that anytime soon."
SECRETARY RUBIO on if he had a week off: “My wife is going to hate this answer, but I’d love to sit down and watch every college football game.” pic.twitter.com/gV1sZgfzU5
— Department of State (@StateDept) August 2, 2026
It's the stuff football fans' dreams are made of. Rubio is, of course, a huge Florida Gators and Miami Dolphins fan, and I hope he gets to watch at least a few games this fall.
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