Marco Rubio heads to the Vatican as 2028 presidential buzz ramps up

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on May 5, 2026 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker | As he heads to a critical meeting to smooth tensions with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is riding a hot streak. He may not have had a response handy when asked his DJ name , but Rubio was otherwise calm, cool and collected during a White House press briefing stand-in appearance on Tuesday that led to #Rubio2028 trending on X. It was a good day for Rubio. Despite President Donald Trump 's flagging approval rating and an ongoing war in Iran that has sent gas prices soaring , Rubio has emerged as a rising star and appears to be separating himself from another projected 2028 hopeful, Vice President JD Vance. "Rubio is happy as a pig in sh-- at this White House briefing. Careful [Vice President] @JDVance, Marco wants the top job and is coming for your (extremely unpopular) a--." Tommy Vietor , a co-host of Pod Save America and former spokesman for President Barack Obama , wrote on X as Rubio held court from the White House briefing room podium. …