For his part, Rubio did throw a few rhetorical punches at Trump. During a primary debate in 2016, he suggested Trump had a small penis, noting, “I’ll admit he’s taller than me. He’s like 6’2’’, which is why I don’t understand why his hands are the size of someone who’s 5’2’’. Have you seen his hands? And you know what they say about men with small hands?”
Rubio also sold “#NeverTrump” merchandise on his campaign website.
Eventually, Rubio said that he apologized to Trump for the penis jibe, and it became clear that as Trump amassed political power, Rubio would fall in line with the man who took great pleasure in humiliating him.
In the 2024 cycle, Rubio campaigned for Trump and was reportedly in the running for the vice-presidential position—but was again snubbed by Trump, who instead chose JD Vance.
Trump’s past treatment of his subordinates, particularly his secretaries of state, make it extremely likely that he will humiliate Rubio while he serves as America’s chief diplomat.
Trump’s first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, served for just a little longer than a year and was later quoted as saying that Trump was completely unprepared for a meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. In response, Trump wrote that Tillerson was “dumb as a rock.” Similarly, Trump recently announced that there would be no place for Mike Pompeo, his other secretary of state, in his next administration.
Rubio appears to consider Trump’s past insults water under the bridge and is willing to grin and bear it—or maybe he just likes it, because more is surely to come.
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