Trump hails Vance and Rubio as ‘extraordinary’ duo: hammer and velvet glove

President Donald Trump lauded Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as "extraordinary" statesmen who complement each other's strengths as they take the MAGA platform to the world stage. 

Trump’s newly formed Board of Peace — an international forum aimed at funding Gaza’s reconstruction and coordinating a postwar stabilization force — convened its inaugural meeting in Washington, D.C., Thursday with delegations from more than 40 countries participating. Trump lauded the pair as he addressed the massive body of foreign leaders and representatives. 

The meeting comes just less than a week after Rubio flew to Germany and delivered a speech before the Munich Security Conference, which earned applause from conservatives at home as he railed against unchecked mass migration and how it is destabilizing Western civilization. 

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Vance led the U.S.' delegation to the Security Conference in 2025, and delivered a speech that was viewed as a defining moment for the newly inaugurated Trump White House and for Vance himself on the world stage. Vance warned in his 2025 speech that European governments and institutions are drifting toward censorship, citing policies he said police speech, curb religious expression and pressure online platforms.

Trump lauded both of the administration leaders in his remarks, explaining that while the pair approach diplomacy "very differently," the "result is the same." 

The president first celebrated Vance, remarking that he is "brilliant" and an excellent student. 

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"JD graduated in a four-and-a-half-year college in two years, and then he went to Yale, and he graduated at the top of his class, went to the military. Great. But when he went to Yale, there was one person that was marginally ahead of him. So he married her. Can you believe it? He married the person that was ahead," Trump said, referring to second lady Usha Vance. 

Trump continued that Vance is "a brilliant guy and a great guy, and he's been my friend," before noting that he can be a "little bit tough on occasion."

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"We gotta slow him down just a little bit on occasion," Trump said. "He says his mind." 

As for Rubio, Trump called him "the opposite extreme" of Vance. 

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"Now then we have the opposite extreme," he said. "We have your friend sitting in the back. Your best friend. Sitting in the back is Marco. Marco does it with a velvet glove, but it's a kill, right? The result is the same. They do it very differently," he said. 

Vance has previously called Rubio his "closest friend in the administration" or "best friend in the administration" in public remarks, including in October while on a podcast and again while speaking with Fox News earlier in February. 

Trump went on to joke that Rubio did such an excellent job delivering his speech before the Munich conference he considered firing him. 

"Marco, you really did yourself proud two days ago in Munich. In fact, so proud that I almost terminated his employ because they were saying, 'Why can't Trump do this?' I do, but I say it differently. But Marco, don't do any better than you did. please. Because if you do, you're out of here."

"I want my guys to do great. And the acclaim he's gotten and they claim JD gets is, is great," he continued. 

The praise follows Rubio and Vance joining a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni earlier in February in Italy, and Vance leading a delegation that included Rubio during the Olympics' opening ceremony in Milan. 

Vance’s foreign policy profile became a point of media scrutiny earlier in 2026, when U.S. forces captured Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro. Vance did not join Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida to monitor the operation, while Rubio was with the president.

Vance's office previously brushed off report over his absence, citing that Trump and Vance limit the "frequency and duration" of time they spend together outside the White House due to "increased security concerns." 

"I think it’s so interesting the media wants to create this conflict where there just isn’t any conflict," Vance told Fox News earlier in February of the media scrutiny. 

"Marco’s doing a great job. I’m trying to do as good of a job as I can. The president’s doing a great job. We’re going to keep on working together," he added.