Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday came as close to the campaign trail as he\u2019s been all year. And even then, he tried to stay just offshore.<\/p>\n
Rubio appeared with President Donald Trump in Corpus Christi, Texas, as he rallied alongside an oil tanker carrying Venezuelan crude. The visit helped spotlight a proud White House accomplishment \u2014 toppling the Venezuelan dictator Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and opening the country\u2019s energy supply \u2014 in a political battleground state.<\/p>\n
The unexpected nature of Rubio\u2019s presence, after the president coaxed him up on stage during the rally, is likely enough to shield the nation\u2019s top diplomat from allegations that he is interfering in the midterm campaign. The former Florida senator has kept a careful distance from partisan politics, even as colleagues like Attorney General Todd Blanche<\/a> have defied longstanding norms against some administration officials engaging in electioneering.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s an honor to work for the greatest country in the world, for the greatest president in the history of the United States of America,\u201d Rubio said in brief remarks from the stage. \u201cWe love you, Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n A White House official, who like others in this article was granted anonymity to share details of the trip, said that Rubio was backstage during the rally when the president brought him up and that he was only there in his capacity as national security adviser, not to stump ahead of the midterms.<\/p>\n While Rubio, who was not expected to speak at the event, has maintained the tradition of secretaries of State not campaigning, Republicans have been clamoring for the potential 2028 presidential hopeful to do so, seeing him as one of the party\u2019s strongest messengers in a bruising midterm cycle in which they have been desperate for any additional help. One GOP official in a state with a key Senate race, granted anonymity to share private conversations, said that they asked for Rubio to attend a recent political event but were told the secretary of State wasn’t doing political events given his role as chief diplomatic officer.<\/p>\n \u201cRubio is Trump\u2019s best asset, and they know they are in a dog fight to win in Texas,\u201d said Bill Cortese, a GOP operative who has advised Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.). Even if Rubio had not come up on stage, \u201cnews of Rubio simply being in the state could potentially boost the GOP\u2019s chances in places that they need it.\u201d<\/p>\n Plus, the secretary of State had another good reason for being there: Rubio was one of the central architects of the administration\u2019s Venezuela strategy and has been a leading figure in managing the country\u2019s political transition and economic arrangements with the U.S. in the wake of Maduro\u2019s ouster.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s his win and his deal,\u201d a Trump administration official added about Rubio and the Venezuela link.<\/p>\n Asked why Rubio accompanied Trump on the Texas trip, the White House referred to one of Trump\u2019s Truth Social posts<\/a> from August in which he credited Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for negotiating the oil deal with Venezuela.<\/p>\n A State Department spokesperson noted Rubio\u2019s role as national security adviser and said that he \u201cneeds time with the president on all kinds of issues. The president will be on the go, so being on the plane with him gives him a chance to talk to him about these items.\u201d<\/p>\n The secretary of State notably skipped the Republican National Committee\u2019s midterm convention in Dallas last month, opting instead to go on a diplomatic trip to Colombia.<\/p>\n \u201cMarco loves campaigns and politics and he cares desperately about making sure that the House and Senate remain in Republican hands, but I think he also realizes that part of being secretary of State is you don\u2019t engage in overt political activity,\u201d said a person close to Rubio.<\/p>\n