All Trump’s officials are miserable — except one

A White House Cabinet position is a high-pressure job no matter the administration, but perhaps especially so when it comes to President Donald Trump's administration. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is facing a spiraling economy while testifying before Congress about his Epstein ties. FBI Director Kash Patel is getting hammered by the press for reports of his excessive drinking. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is quagmired in Iran while battling the media. And Vice President JD Vance is being sent to the other side of the world to handle dubious negotiations while the Secretary of State — who would usually be tasked with such diplomatic missions — is hanging out with the president at UFC fights and jetting off to see the Pope, joking and doling out rap lyrics along the way.

That Secretary of State is Marco Rubio, who, according to the Atlantic, is not only having more fun than anyone in Trump’s Cabinet, but seems to be preparing a run for president.

“Last weekend, he was acting as a DJ at a family wedding, headphones to his ear with head and hand pumping to the beat. Midweek, the secretary of state was at the podium in the White House briefing room, spitting rap lyrics and cracking jokes. (‘Two more questions!’ he said, before entertaining seven more.) And toward the end of the week, he was in Vatican City, being escorted through marble hallways by members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard for an audience with Pope Leo XIV, who has been criticized by the president and vice president. Rubio comes across as the happy warrior, not the angry one — the one offering lighthearted jokes more than brash confrontation.”

As the Atlantic notes, while there was once much talk of Vance’s presidential chances in 2028, his star has fallen due to his failing involvement with the Iran negotiations, the electoral defeat of Hungarian strongman and MAGA darling Viktor Orban, and his forays into the Trump v. Pope beef. Now the buzz is around Rubio, and “it’s hard not to see a shadow Republican presidential primary beginning to emerge.”

Further evidence of this came from Rubio himself, who during a Tuesday press briefing delivered several lines about hope and the American dream, which the Atlantic noted were drawn directly from stump speeches used in his 2016 bid for the White House. Throughout the briefing, Rubio was noticeably playful with the press.

“Rubio is happy as a pig in s—— at this White House briefing. Careful [Vice President] JD Vance, Marco wants the top job and is coming for your (extremely unpopular) ass,” posted Tommy Vietor, a former spokesman for President Barack Obama.

What’s more, Rubio’s official State Department account on X has shared aspirational videos fusing clips of Rubio, Trump, and Ronald Reagan over Superman theme music that seem suspiciously campaign-oriented.

Whatever Rubio’s intentions, polling shows that he still has an uphill battle. While he has higher approval and lower disapproval ratings than most of Trump’s Cabinet, Vance still has a slightly higher approval rating, and a large percentage of those surveyed had “no opinion” about the Secretary of State. Rubio may be the happiest White House official, but he’s still going to need to overcome his net negative seven-point standing if he’s going to take the Oval Office in 2028.