“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”
—Mark Twain
Mark Twain would’ve been a frickin’ beast on social media. His insights were so quotable, he became America’s backwoods, homespun Voltaire. Twain’s X-game would’ve been a sight to behold! (Assuming, of course, he wasn’t canceled by the P.C. mob.)
Alas, the aforementioned quote about “the two most important days of your life” almost certainly didn’t spring from the mind of Twain. He’s still credited for it, of course, but the idea wasn’t originally his. As far as we can tell, it was first said by a New York City minister named Ernest T. Campbell in the 1970s.
No matter: It’s the idea that counts, authenticity be [darned]. So, if we want to popularize the idea, Mark Twain is an infinitely superior vehicle. And it’s not that Campbell was a nobody; he was a man of great accomplishment.
But he was no Mark Twain.
Few are.
This brings us to Marco Rubio, arguably the least “authentic” member of the MAGA militia. Of all the players in the MAGAverse, Rubio’s 2024 credentials were the most suspect:
- Whereas a key MAGA mantra is holding a hard line on immigration, Rubio’s electoral history is far more forgiving.
- Whereas MAGA seeks friendlier relations with Russia, Rubio has called Putin a “gangster” and an “organized crime figure who runs a country.”
- Whereas MAGA is moving towards a post-NATO world, Rubio introduced legislation in 2019 to prevent Trump from withdrawing the U.S. from NATO without a two-third Senate vote. According to Rubio, NATO was “more important than ever with Russia’s growing subversive activities in the region and beyond.”
- Whereas MAGA opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (Trump killed it within his first days in office), Rubio once called it a “pillar” of a potential Rubio presidency.
- Whereas MAGA opposed unchecked globalism, Rubio has welcomed it. As he wrote in his 2015 book, “American Dreams:”
Whether we like it or not, globalization is real and it is here to stay. Our challenge now is to position ourselves to take advantage of the opportunities it presents us, not simply suffer from the disruptions it creates. We are in competition with other nations for the investment, innovation, and talent that will create good, well-paying jobs.
- Whereas MAGA is focusing on rebalancing trade deals, Rubio “didn’t understand” why it was necessary:
TRUMP: We have a trade deficit with Mexico of $58 billion a year. We're going to make them pay for that wall. The wall is $10 billion to $12 billion. I don't mind trade wars when we're losing $58 billion a year. Mexico is taking our businesses. They de-value their currencies to such an extent that our businesses cannot compete with them, our workers lose their jobs. You wouldn't know anything about it because you're a lousy businessman.
RUBIO: About the trade war — I don't understand, because your ties and the clothes are made in Mexico and in China. You're going to start a trade war against your own ties and suits. Why don't you make them in America?
That’s an awful lot of political headwinds.
Yet here we are in 2025, and Trump has only named two potential MAGA successors: Marco Rubio and JD Vance. NBC News wrote today:
As President Donald Trump tiptoed away this week from the idea that he might try to win a third term, he opened the door to a fresh round of intrigue: Whom does he see as his successor?
In practically the same breath in an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Trump suggested national security adviser and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance — in that order — as potential candidates.
It’s a remarkable reversal of political fortunes: Just a decade earlier, the MAGAverse mocked Rubio, nicknamed him “Little Marco,” and considered him part of the GOP establishment. Now, he’s the potential heir.
NBC News, quite naturally, is hoping for a feud:
That [President Trump] mentioned Rubio at all [as a potential successor] struck a senior White House aide as notable, given that it was the first time Trump had so publicly identified him as a favorable prospect. And the development, while not exactly surprising to anyone aware of Rubio’s long-held White House ambitions, quickly injected the elements of competition and rivalry that Trump has long enjoyed fostering among those who work for him.
…Rubio is, without question, ascending in Trump world. His rise was punctuated last week when Trump appointed him as his interim national security adviser. Rubio is the first person to hold both roles at the same time since Henry Kissinger in the mid-1970s.
While internally there has long been an overwhelming sentiment that Vance will be the first in line to carry on Trump’s political legacy, even some White House advisers are starting to see him and Rubio on an equal playing field in Trump’s estimation.
On the outside looking in, JD Vance is still perceived as the most likely heir to the MAGA crown. (One of the nice things about the vice presidency is, it has all the panache of power without any of the pesky responsibilities.) But there are no guarantees in politics.
The world is a weird place. Who knows what might happen between now and then?
The expanded portfolio is a signal that Rubio, according to four sources who have long advised him, is building a substantial footing that can position him well as the heir apparent to Trump — if Vance stumbles over the next three years.
“You would still have to give the advantage to Vance because he is the sitting vice president,” a Rubio ally said of the hypothetical 2028 showdown. “But everyone in Rubio’s orbit is feeling really good about how things are playing out. If for any reason Vance isn’t the guy or the electorate is seeking an alternative, there is no question that Rubio is in the pole position for that.”
“He is a guy who can speak MAGA but can also gather the confidence of your more traditional Republican,” this person added.
Another longtime Rubio ally allowed that “Vance is the guy for now, but as we have seen, for now isn’t forever.”
If Rubio is wise, he’ll direct those “sources who have long advised him” to stuff a sock in their mouth and shut the [expletive] up. (And why are they talking to NBC News anyway?!) Openly plotting your own White House run is a bad look.
Rubio’s vulnerability is that he’s a Johnny Come-Lately to the MAGA movement, and new converts are gonna be viewed with suspicion. Being perceived as disloyal — and/or overly ambitious — is the absolute worst thing he could do, because it would call into question his core authenticity: Who is the “real” Marco Rubio?
That would kill him with the MAGA faithful.
But if he doubles-down on loyalty, his political “brand” will be defined by something else: competency.
Marco Rubio can actually get stuff done!
He’s a professional. He won’t embarrass you on national TV, or put his foot in his mouth on “Meet the Press.” He rolls up his sleeves, works hard, and gets results.
Related: Brainless Biden Bounces Back, Banally Blabbering, Bumbling, and Bloviating in BBC Babblefest
Ideas and execution are two different things.
In American politics, ideas are commonplace. They’re not at all unique. Competency, however, is quite rare.
Donald Trump has so thoroughly transformed the Republican Party, the 2028 primaries will almost certainly be populated by candidates spouting very similar ideas. The “Never Trumpers” are gone for good; they have no power in GOP politics anymore. The future will not be theirs.
Well, if all the 2028 candidates have very similar ideas and positions, what, then, will differentiate ‘em?
Rubio just might have the perfect answer.
Even if it didn’t originally come from him.
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