Not only did Trump prevail, he savaged Rubio, peppering him with insults and trolling his water bottle gaffe during a State of the Union response speech.

“When they put Marco on to refute [former President Barack Obama’s] speech, do you remember that catastrophe?” Trump asked in a mocking tone on the campaign trail. “And he’s like this, ‘And we will — I need water. Help me, I need water. Help!’ This is on live television! This total choke artist.”

Trump then held a bottle of water aloft and announced, “It’s Rubio!” before splashing some on the stage.

He’s singing a different tune today, as Trump continues to pile new hats onto Rubio and has trusted him to take on a Mr. Fix-it role.

Rubio became Secretary of State on Jan. 21, 2025, the U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator on Feb. 3, Archivist of the United States on Feb. 16, and national security adviser on May 1. He’s now arguably the most powerful Secretary of State since Henry Kissinger left office nearly 50 years ago.

“[Rubio is] a busy, busy guy,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) told the Washington Examiner. “He’s a very talented guy. Reminds me of back when Kissinger was both national security adviser and secretary of state for [President] Richard Nixon. But Rubio has got even more hats to wear.”

Kevin Wagner, a political professor at Florida Atlantic University, said he’s not especially surprised to see Rubio and Trump so close today. Past political rivalries often give way to “strategic alliances.”

“Politics typically reflects political pragmatism, especially in areas with shared priorities,” he said.

The water bottle incident wasn’t all that came between the pair nine years ago. Trump and Rubio took shots at each other throughout the 2016 race, with Rubio saying Trump had “small hands” and Trump dubbing his opponent, then a Florida senator, “Little Marco.”

When Rubio quipped at a debate that Trump might not answer a policy-based question, Trump shot back, “Don’t worry about it, Little Marco, I will.” Rubio likely did not help his cause by calling Trump “Big Don” in response, and Trump continued using the nickname at subsequent rallies.

The public name-calling went both ways.

“Donald Trump — a con artist — will never get control of this party,” Rubio said at a rally of his own. “It is time to open our eyes. We cannot allow a con artist to get access to the nuclear codes of the United States of America.”

The spat could have represented the end of Rubio’s political career.

As Trump began to pull away from the field, Rubio promised not to seek reelection to the Senate, saying he would become a private citizen in January 2017. If he’d pursued that path, his life would look much different today.

But Trump wasn’t having it, saying, “Run Marco!” and encouraging him to stay in the race to keep Florida, then considered a swing state, in the Senate’s GOP column. Rubio did so, endorsed Trump for president, and became a powerful ally during the first Trump administration.

“They always got along well behind the scenes,” said Alex Conant, a GOP strategist and a partner at Firehouse Strategies, which worked on Rubio’s 2016 campaign. “There was a lot of mutual respect, and Sen. Rubio worked really closely with the first Trump administration on everything from foreign policy to tax reform and pandemic relief. I’m not surprised that he continues to have a really good working relationship [with Trump].”

Though Rubio was seen as a more establishment-type candidate that year, he has become firmly embedded in the Trump-influenced New Right movement, embracing Trump’s relatively isolationist foreign policy stance and calling for common-good capitalism rather than unfettered free markets.

Politics aside, Rubio is held in high esteem by his former colleagues. He was confirmed 99-0 for Secretary of State in the Senate, while some of Trump’s other Cabinet nominees barely scraped by or were rejected altogether.

Rubio has also impressed Trump, wearing so many hats at once that he’s become the subject of memes online.

Conservative commentator and rumored Kentucky Senate candidate Scott Jennings says Rubio has earned his accolades.

“If you talk to people from the White House … they believe Rubio has done a terrific job,” he said on CNN. “He has been a consistent spokesperson for the president’s priorities. He did a great job on the El Salvador issue. He did a great job on the student visa issue. He is one of the smoothest communicators that the administration has. It’s obvious they have a lot of confidence in him.”

Whether that confidence means the Trump administration can overcome its many foreign policy challenges, including a tariff standoff with China, ending the war in Ukraine, and negotiating nuclear talks with Iran, remains to be seen.

“While [Rubio’s collection of job titles is] not unprecedented, it is unusual and could strain institutional norms,” Wagner, the FAU professor, said. “Concentrated responsibility raises questions about the ability of one person to maintain oversight, accountability, and sufficient bandwidth. Much may depend on how long this continues.”

The New Right: The issues, the major players, and its future

In the end, Rubio’s stylistic contrast with Trump, his relatively straightforward and understated style, may be why the pair complement each other so well, according to University of Central Florida political professor James C. Clark.

“I think his secret is that he knows his stuff,” Clark said. “In the Senate, his passions were foreign affairs and intelligence. Whether you agree with him or not, he has done his homework and is prepared. He doesn’t need the attention that Kristi Noem, and Pete Hegseth, and others in the Trump administration seek. He is willing to let others have the limelight.”

Ramsey Touchberry contributed to this story.