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Trump Awkwardly Gives Marco Rubio Backhanded Compliment In White House Cabinet Meeting

President Donald Trump threw cold water on any possible plans Secretary of State Marco Rubio may have for running for office again.

During a White House Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump teasingly told Rubio, whom he earlier this year floated as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, that he should never run for elected office again.

“Really, I think you’re born for this job. I don’t think you should ever run for another office. I don’t think you should really,” Trump said as he reached over to tap Rubio.

The former Florida senator is currently serving multiple roles in Trump’s administration, including secretary of state, national security adviser, U.S. archivist and head of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

“You’re so good at this. He is so good, and everybody likes him, but everybody, much more important than like, I think you would say is respect,” Trump added of Rubio. “They respect Marco.”

Trump’s comments came after his contentious relationship with Rubio appeared to do a 180 when he named Rubio the first member of his new Cabinet on Inauguration Day earlier this year. The pair were previously embroiled in an feud that made headlines when Rubio ran against Trump for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election.

Rubio famously teed up against Trump on multiple occasions, including when he called him a ”con man,” poked fun at his ”small hands” and alluded that Trump “wet” his pants backstage during a GOP debate in 2016.

Meanwhile, Trump repeatedly referred to Rubio as “Little Marco.”

In March 2016, Rubio admitted that he was “not entirely proud” of his insults against Trump.

“In terms of things that have to do with personal stuff, yeah, at the end of the day, it’s not something I’m entirely proud of. My kids were embarrassed by it, and if I had to do it again, I wouldn’t,” he said.

Watch Trump’s interaction with Rubio from Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting below.