{"id":2603008,"date":"2026-05-15T07:47:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T11:47:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/are-marco-rubios-2028-presidential-prospects-on-the-rise\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T07:48:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T11:48:00","slug":"are-marco-rubios-2028-presidential-prospects-on-the-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/are-marco-rubios-2028-presidential-prospects-on-the-rise\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Marco Rubio&#8217;s 2028 presidential prospects on the rise?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/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%2Fare-marco-rubios-2028-presidential-prospects-on-the-rise%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=2603008&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>Secretary of State Marco Rubio\u2019s May 5 White House press briefing-where he stood in for maternity-leave press secretary Karoline Leavitt-has sparked renewed talk that he could become a major contender for the 2028 GOP nomination.Rubio won praise for his confident performance,his handling of national security topics (including criticism of Iran\u2019s Strait of Hormuz blockade),and even for switching smoothly into Spanish when asked.<\/p>\n<p>While some Trumpworld figures and conservative media are already framing Rubio as a potential post-Trump \u201cAmerica First\u201d leader, many insiders caution that a strong media moment doesn\u2019t settle the nomination.They suggest political momentum might potentially be more about media dynamics than a solid shift in the GOP landscape, noting that Trump ultimately decides and has repeatedly signaled versatility between Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.<\/p>\n<p>The buzz is also reflected in early prediction-market movement, where Rubio temporarily climbed ahead of Vance on Kalshi, though Polymarket still shows Vance with better odds and Rubio trailing closely behind. Even friends and allies of Trump, such as Urban Meyer, amplified Rubio\u2019s appearances with social posts. Still, moast accounts emphasize that 2028 is far from set and will depend on upcoming political realities, including midterm pressures and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >unresolved national security issues<\/a>.  <\/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>A recent all-star week for Secretary of State <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/marco-rubio\/\">Marco Rubio<\/a> is fueling fresh chatter about a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4558079\/rubio-white-house-moment-america-first-glimpse-post-trump\/\">2028 presidential bid<\/a>. But insiders in the orbit of President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> aren\u2019t jumping on the bandwagon just yet.<\/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\/videos\/4565759\/inside-scoop-trump-mamdani-restoring-america-women-far-left\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Inside Scoop: Trump and Mamdani, Restoring America, why women are moving left<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/magazine\/4556342\/inside-scoop-jim-antle-left-violence-epidemic-ballroom-king-charles-visit\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Inside Scoop: Left-wing violence epidemic, White House ballroom momentum, tale of two kings<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/videos\/4537693\/inside-scoop-jim-antle-un-reparations-drinking-america-in-space\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Inside Scoop: UN calls for reparations, drinking at all time low, what\u2019s next for America in space<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Rubio\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/releases\/office-of-the-spokesperson\/2026\/05\/secretary-of-state-marco-rubio-remarks-to-press-9\">May 5 appearance<\/a> in the White House briefing room ignited a wave of praise across conservative media and Trumpworld. Rubio, 54, made his debut as a stand-in for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/white-house\/\">White House<\/a> press secretary <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/karoline-leavitt\/\">Karoline Leavitt<\/a>, who was on maternity leave. Rubio made history as the first sitting secretary of state to conduct a White House press briefing.<\/p>\n<p>Rubio, at the White House podium, addressed a range of national security issues, such as the Iranian blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, which he condemned as \u201cillegal\u201d and \u201cunacceptable.\u201d He also jokingly cited the \u201cchaotic\u201d atmosphere of the briefing room. At one point, he responded to a reporter, \u201cYou can ask me two questions, I\u2019ll give you one answer, and I\u2019ll pick the one I like better.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The Miami-born Rubio, whose parents are from Cuba, also won praise in some quarters for seamlessly switching to Spanish when asked a question in that language.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Secretary of State Marco Rubio walks out to speak to reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Rubio\u2019s turn at the White House podium fueled speculation that the former 2016 presidential candidate may be emerging as a serious contender for the GOP\u2019s post-Trump future. Though Rubio, also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lack-of-leadership-is-the-greatest-threat-to-the-nation-gen-keith-kellogg\/\" title=\"\u2018Lack of Leadership... Is the Greatest Threat to the Nation: Gen. Keith Kellogg\">acting national security adviser<\/a>, would presumably have to get through Vice President JD Vance for the 2028 Republican nomination.<\/p>\n<p>Dennis Lennox, a Republican strategist based in battleground Michigan, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that \u201cnobody who isn\u2019t being paid to say otherwise watched Rubio\u2019s presser and didn\u2019t think, \u2018Can\u2019t we make him president right now?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yet even many Republicans fueling the excitement acknowledge it\u2019s unclear whether the momentum reflects a genuine shift in the GOP\u2019s 2028 landscape, or the political world simply getting carried away after a strong media performance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes it\u2019s Rubio\u2019s day. Sometimes it\u2019s the vice president\u2019s day. Sometimes they\u2019ll be onstage together,\u201d a former senior White House official told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cThe only constant is dealing with the media trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Republicans say Tuesday\u2019s briefing crystallized something already brewing inside MAGA: a growing belief that Rubio has evolved from an establishment-minded Florida senator once mocked by Trump as \u201cLittle Marco\u201d into a polished messenger for America First.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just think [2028] is Rubio\u2019s time,\u201d one veteran Republican operative, who worked on two of Trump\u2019s presidential campaigns, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cThat\u2019s not a knock against the vice president. I just think \u2014 when you compare Rubio from yesterday to where he was in 2016, debating President Trump, he\u2019s like a totally different person. He\u2019s gotten his hands dirty. He\u2019s showing what MAGA can be after Trump. He\u2019s ready.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2028-field-slowly-begins-to-gel\">2028 field slowly begins to gel<\/h2>\n<p>The renewed attention on Rubio has also coincided with movement in prediction markets. In the hours after Rubio\u2019s White House podium appearance, he overtook Vice President JD Vance and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) on Kalshi as the most likely winner of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/kalshi.com\/markets\/kxpresperson\/pres-person\/kxpresperson-28\">2028 presidential election<\/a>. However, Polymarket still gives Vance <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/polymarket.com\/event\/presidential-election-winner-2028\">better odds<\/a> of winning, with Rubio in a close third behind Newsom.<\/p>\n<p>Even college football legend Urban Meyer, a close friend and supporter of Trump, joined what one former Trump White House official jokingly described as the \u201cMarco love-fest.\u201d On Wednesday, Meyer posted a clip from Rubio\u2019s briefing in which the secretary outlined his \u201chope for America.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy hope for America is what it\u2019s always been,\u201d Rubio said in the one-minute video. \u201cI think it\u2019s the hope, I hope, we all share. We want it to continue to be the place where anyone from anywhere can achieve anything, where you\u2019re not limited by the circumstances of your birth, by the color of your skin, by your ethnicity, but frankly, it\u2019s a place where you are able to overcome challenges and achieve your full potential.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rubio\u2019s government X account posted the same exchange, with some enhanced graphic work, granting the clip a campaign ad-esque feel.<\/p>\n<p>But even as Rubio dominated the conversation this week, a longtime, out-of-government adviser to Trump told the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>that one good press briefing was unlikely to seal the 2028 GOP nomination for any candidate. Instead, the adviser said Trump would make his own decision on who to back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNobody at the White House is sitting down and tracking who got better coverage on any given day, and President Trump certainly isn\u2019t <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/marco-mania-or-mountain-out-of-a-molehill-trumpworld-debates-rubios-rise\/\" title=\"Marco-mania or &#039;mountain out of a molehill?&#039; ...world debates ...&#039;s rise\">letting social media influence<\/a> who he\u2019ll eventually pick as his successor when he leaves office,\u201d the adviser said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s been abundantly clear there \u2014 JD and Marco, Marco and JD,\u201d they added. \u201cYou put those two on the ticket, and it\u2019s eight more years of Republicans in the White House.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4558079\/rubio-white-house-moment-america-first-glimpse-post-trump\/\"><strong>RUBIO\u2019S WHITE HOUSE MOMENT OFFERS GLIMPSE OF AMERICA FIRST AFTER TRUMP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Still, 2028 predictions at this point are wildly early. Republicans face strong political headwinds ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Trump\u2019s approval rating is falling consistently as gas prices rise, and the Iran war remains unresolved, among other national challenges.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, in recent decades, the White House has largely fluctuated between the two parties. It\u2019s a cycle that has accelerated in recent years, with eight years under former President Barack Obama followed by Trump\u2019s first term. Democratic President Joe Biden served for a single, four-year term, only to be followed by the return of his predecessor, Trump.<\/p>\n<p><em>Christian Datoc (@TocRadio) is a White House reporter for the <\/em>Washington Examiner<em>.<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marco Rubio\u2019s White House stint sparks 2028 bid buzz, but Trump insiders aren\u2019t convinced<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2645,"featured_media":2603009,"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\/WB.WhiteHouse.052026.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[54436,60797,34360,35343],"class_list":["post-2603008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-2028-presidential-election","tag-election-prospects","tag-marco-rubio","tag-u-s-politics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/WB.WhiteHouse.052026.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2603008","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\/2645"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2603008"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2603008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2603012,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2603008\/revisions\/2603012"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2603009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2603008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2603008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2603008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}