Marco Rubio’s viral ‘realizing’ meme gets White House nod as the secretary of state is gifted 68 ‘new jobs’ for his birthday
Marco Rubio got a birthday gift that appeared to poke fun at both his internet meme and his growing list of jobs in the Trump administration.
The White House gave the Secretary of State a gold-framed collage of 68 versions of his viral meme for his 55th birthday. The gift, signed by President Donald Trump himself, resurfaced online months later with renewed attention.
“Rubio realizing” gets a White House makeover
Trump added a handwritten note in gold ink above his signature: “You are great.”
The artwork was presented to Rubio on May 28, but photos of the unusual gift did not become public until August 12, when Axios reporter Marc Caputo shared them on X.
The gift centered on the original, unaltered photograph that started it all: Rubio slumped on a couch in the Oval Office, hands clasped, during a tense February 2025 meeting between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Surrounding that image were 67 altered by AI variations, each placing Rubio’s now-famous weary expression into a different costume, profession, or fictional scenario.
Among them were Rubio as an Iranian ayatollah, a Star Wars rebel stranded on Hoth, RoboCop, an astronaut and even the White House Easter Bunny.
Rubio’s own response to the meme
Rubio has previously addressed the viral image, explaining during a Fox News appearance that his posture had more to do with the couch than anything happening in the room.
“What happened is in that couch, if you don’t have a pillow behind your back, you kind of sink. So I looked at the pictures, I was like, this is terrible,” he explained.
He eventually embraced the joke, noting, “And then it turned into this other thing and it was fine and it’s funny. I don’t really follow it very closely. But people have shown me pictures out there.”
Nevertheless, the birthday collage also plays into another running joke surrounding Rubio: his unusually long résumé inside the Trump administration.
Rubio’s growing resume under the Trump administration
In addition to serving as Secretary of State, Rubio has served as acting national security adviser. He also temporarily served as acting national archivist and acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, though those appointments have since ended.
The politician himself has addressed this before, explaining that the administration wanted more efficiency in the government, which was one of the major initiatives when he joined.
“They want to be able to do more while spending less… for example, they said one of the things we want you to look at is consolidation. Can you take, for example, what today are four jobs and just give them all to one person?” he added.
“And I said that sounds like a great idea – we should do that across the government. Little did I know, they just meant me,” he continued.
Rubio is in talks to run for president
The meme’s resurgence comes at a time when Rubio’s political future continues to attract attention.
Rubio has previously stated he has no plans to run for president in 2028 and has said he would endorse Vance if the vice president decides to run.
Trump has frequently addressed this, with reports saying he is all set to endorse Vance, although he has publicly denied it.
In June, he told Miranda Devine on her podcast “Pod Force One” that he supports both the men, saying, “They’re both very talented. They’re both great. Well, I like them both and I like them together. You know, it would be great. I don’t know how you beat them if they’re together. That would be a great team. J.D. and Marco would be a great team.”