{"id":2599137,"date":"2026-05-05T18:22:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T22:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/marco-rubio-schools-white-house-press-corps-with-master-class-in-wit\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T18:24:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T22:24:07","slug":"marco-rubio-schools-white-house-press-corps-with-master-class-in-wit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/marco-rubio-schools-white-house-press-corps-with-master-class-in-wit\/","title":{"rendered":"Marco Rubio schools White House press corps with master class in wit"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmarco-rubio-schools-white-house-press-corps-with-master-class-in-wit%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2599137&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Marco Rubio entered the White House <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/president-trump-senate-republicans-pile-on-pressure-to-approve-2k-stimulus-payments\/\" title=\"President Trump, Senate Republicans pile on pressure to approve K stimulus payments\">briefing room<\/a> as the \u201csubstitute teacher\u201d for the press secretary, and the exchange quickly turned chaotic and comedic.Reporters joked among themselves as Rubio took questions about Iran first, but things unraveled when he began calling on people in the back row, leading to back-and-forth queries on Iran, Cuba, and even Cuba-related speculation.<\/p>\n<p>when asked about a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >social-media photo allegedly showing<\/a> him with a Cuba map from a meeting with U.S. Southern Command, Rubio deflected with wry humor-claiming it was simply as Cuba is the most relevant country in SOUTHCOM\u2019s area-and added that \u201cwe have maps of other countries,\u201d signaling that the drama was overstated. He also repeatedly emphasized his broader point about Iran\u2019s behavior around the Strait of Hormuz, describing the likely economic and generational damage Iran would face if it continued along its current path.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond policy, Rubio struggled to keep track of who was in the room, joking that he was \u201cwinging it,\u201d noting he\u2019d lost the seating map, and implying he didn\u2019t recognize familiar press faces. Cameras and shouted questions filled the moment, with reporters piling in during pauses-especially on Cuba-until rubio left, having made his main argument even amid the uproar.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>The briefing room door slid open 6 inches and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/marco-rubio\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/marco-rubio\/\">Marco Rubio<\/a> pushed his face through the gap. It was less like Jack Nicholson in <em>The Shining<\/em>, and more like a goofy substitute teacher pulling a face to win over what he knew would be a difficult room. <\/p>\n<p>It worked. Up to a point.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/washington-secrets\/4555009\/marco-rubio-white-house-press-briefing-media-drought\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Marco Rubio ends his media drought in the highest-profile way possible<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/washington-secrets\/4553496\/pat-buchanan-lifetime-bulldog-award-media-watchdog\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Pat Buchanan is honored with lifetime \u2018Bulldog\u2019 award by media watchdog<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/washington-secrets\/4553280\/ice-funding-vote-next-challenge-swing-seat-republicans\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Why an ICE funding vote could be the next challenge for swing seat Republicans<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>The audience chortled while the dual-hatted secretary of state and national security adviser took on yet another role: maternity cover for press secretary <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/karoline-leavitt\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/karoline-leavitt\/\">Karoline Leavitt<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>\u201cThank you for having me today,\u201d he said, before launching into his spiel about why \u201cProject Freedom\u201d was very much a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4555991\/rubio-project-freedom-defensive-operation\/\">defensive operation<\/a> to keep Iranian gunboats from interfering with shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a completely different proposition to Operation Epic Fury, which was over anyway.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives to speak at a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newsom-extends-southern-california-stay-at-home-order-for-at-least-another-three-weeks\/\" title=\"Newsom Extends Southern California Stay...at...Home Order For at Least Another Three Weeks\">press briefing<\/a> in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Things started smoothly enough. The first question went to a reporter in the new media seat. She asked about whether he had evidence Iran was ready to drop its nuclear weapons program.<\/p>\n<p>Things began to unravel when he called on someone in the back row. They had questions about Iran and about Cuba.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo they get to ask two questions on this?\u201d Rubio muttered in the direction of White House communications director Steven Cheung, who was making a rare visit to the briefing room as if he knew it was going to be quite the show.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can ask two questions and I\u2019ll give you one answer \u2026 I\u2019ll take the one I like best,\u201d he said with a smile after apparently making up his own policy on the matter.<\/p>\n<p>Someone crammed into the aisle took a selfie in the meantime, capturing their own image with the secretary of state in the background. It was that kind of a day.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press briefing in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A reporter in the back row welcomed Rubio to the White House. He probably would have handed him an apple too if he hadn\u2019t been at the back of the room.<\/p>\n<p>At every pause, a sea of hands erupted into the air. Questions were shouted on Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba \u2026 especially Cuba, one of Rubio\u2019s pet subjects.<\/p>\n<p>A reporter from the <em>Daily Mail<\/em> asked him <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Southcom\/status\/2051723140254843043\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Southcom\/status\/2051723140254843043\">about a photograph<\/a> posted on social media from a meeting he had with the U.S. Southern Command. It showed Rubio in front of a map of Cuba, raising intense speculation that the communist island was about to be Venezuelaed or worse.<\/p>\n<p>It brought a master class in press handling from Rubio. His answer dripped in humor of the sarcastic variety, and left the story as deep underwater as those seven Iranian gunboats he likes to talk about.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCuba\u2019s in SOUTHCOM, you know?\u201d he said. \u201cThere happened to be a map of Cuba because it\u2019s like the closest thing that\u2019s in SOUTHCOM to the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4556121\/marco-rubio-un-iran-resolution\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4556121\/marco-rubio-un-iran-resolution\/\"><strong>RUBIO SLAMS UN INACTION OVER MINES IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Secretary of State Marco Rubio gestures after speaking at a press briefing in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He wasn\u2019t done. After a pause he delivered the coup de grace:\u00a0\u201cWe have maps of other countries!\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The substitute teacher was showing who was in charge. The elite members of the White House press corps were being treated like dim students.<\/p>\n<p>It brought another chuckle from reporters who are more used to drier answers and less-camouflaged contempt.<\/p>\n<p>But he still didn\u2019t know who anyone was.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m winging it guys,\u201d he said at one point as he searched for familiar faces.<\/p>\n<p>He said he\u2019d been given a seating map but he\u2019d lost it en route to the lectern.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome of you had little red crosses,\u201d he said to more gales of laughter. It was funny because it was probably true.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m kidding,\u201d he added, with the sort of denial that made it seem even truer.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Sec. Marco Rubio on Cuba: &#8220;Their economic model doesn&#8217;t work, and the people in charge can&#8217;t fix it, and the reason they can&#8217;t fix is not just because they&#8217;re communists\u2014that&#8217;s bad enough. But they&#8217;re incompetent communists. The only thing worse than a communist is an incompetent\u2026 <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/plXVDG3Pno\">pic.twitter.com\/plXVDG3Pno<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Breaking911 (@Breaking911) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Breaking911\/status\/2051747720931799495?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 5, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Everyone had their hand in the air by this point. Everybody was shouting at the nation\u2019s top diplomat as if he were an Amazon delivery driver taking a plasma TV to the wrong house.<\/p>\n<p>And everyone was pretending that the Rubio finger had pointed at them, not the person of the opposite sex dressed in pink five seats away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first one I called on,\u201d said Rubio. \u201cThis is chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Next time, he said, he would bring a laser pointer.<\/p>\n<p>Yet he made his point above the hubbub. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">.<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecRubio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SecRubio<\/a> on the Iranian people: &#8220;I don&#8217;t know of any country in the world where there&#8217;s a bigger difference between the people and the people who run the country.&#8221; <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tnInng8Lgo\">pic.twitter.com\/tnInng8Lgo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RapidResponse47\/status\/2051752469269541198?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 5, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>At times he did it with humor, at times by hammering the same point. With a wrinkled brow and the tone of a teacher explaining the error of their ways to a child who has been held back more than one school year, he gently spelled out the consequences for Iran of keeping along the same course.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey are facing real, catastrophic destruction to their economy, generational destruction to their economy, generational destruction to the wealth of their country imposed on themselves by the actions that they\u2019re taking,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey should check themselves before they wreck themselves,\u201d Rubio added.<\/p>\n<p>He was gone soon after, his final words drowned out in more shouted questions about Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba. Especially Cuba.<\/p>\n<p>His job was done. The room had been schooled.<\/p>\n<p><strong><strong><em>You are reading\u00a0a bonus edition of<\/em> Washington Secrets<em>, a guide to power and politics in D.C. and beyond. It is written by Rob Crilly, who you can reach at <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#a7d4c2c4d5c2d3d4e7d0c6d4cfcec9c0d3c8c9c2dfc6cacec9c2d589c4c8ca\"><span class=\"__cf_email__\" data-cfemail=\"7b081e18091e0f083b0c1a081312151c0f14151e031a1612151e0955181416\">[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/a> with your comments, story tips, and suggestion<\/em><\/strong><em><strong>s. If a friend sent you this and you\u2019d like to sign up, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/click1.trk-washingtonexaminer.com\/xprvgynrhhctscghtpnrptnqlrtypjmjlkrlcnpvhgpdcr_jtjrvfbrrsmwbqmnsbmvsv.html?a=Washington+Secrets+Lara+Trump&#038;b=01%2F21%2F2026&#038;c=WEX_Washington+Secrets&#038;d=25812206&#038;e=da31c45955c9411a6c40ecd0e967fa8def1f0fc08362faaa0dee09386ff5c41b\">click here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The briefing door opened; Marco Rubio joked his way in, but it only worked temporarily<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4136,"featured_media":2599138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/rubio-collage-2-e1778018517658.jpg?1778002603&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[34360,32818,3735,79166,79167],"class_list":["post-2599137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-marco-rubio","tag-press-conference","tag-schools","tag-white-house-press-corps","tag-wit"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/rubio-collage-2-e1778018517658.jpg?1778002603&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2599137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2599137"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2599137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2599141,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2599137\/revisions\/2599141"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2599138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2599137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2599137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2599137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}