Rubio becomes the star of a viral meme — Donald Trump joins the joke

An unusual birthday gift received by Marco Rubio in May has been revealed online: the White House prepared a framed picture for the US Secretary of State featuring 68 amusing versions of a meme created from a famous photo of him. Senior administration officials signed the gift, and President Donald Trump added the words above his signature: "You are great."

To understand the joke, one must go back to a single photo taken at the White House. In February 2025, Marco Rubio participated in a meeting in the Oval Office together with President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. In one of the photos from the meeting, Marco Rubio is seen sitting, sunken into a sofa, with his hands folded and a serious expression on his face. Internet users took the image and began editing it again and again.

The idea was simple: every time a new role in the world supposedly needs to be filled, Marco Rubio is presented as if he is the one forced to take it on as well. His body posture and facial expression remain the same, but the clothes and the environment change according to the joke.

Thus, images were created in which Marco Rubio appears as the Pope, an astronaut, the leader of Iran, the president of Cuba, the leader of Greenland, Robocop, and even a plumber. Over time, so many versions were created that the meme became one of the online jokes most identified with him.

The joke is also related to political reality. Marco Rubio is the US Secretary of State, but in the Trump administration, he has taken on additional roles. Therefore, the comic idea was created online that every time another position becomes vacant, Marco Rubio discovers that it has also become his responsibility.

The White House decided to embrace the joke. In honor of his 55th birthday, they prepared a collage in a gold frame, containing 68 different versions of the meme around the original photo. Administration officials signed the gift, including Donald Trump, who wrote to Marco Rubio in gold ink:

"You are great."

Marco Rubio himself has said in the past that he did not always enjoy the joke. In an interview with Lara Trump, he said that at first, he "hated" the meme, but later began to think it was funny. He also provided a simple explanation for the posture that sparked the whole phenomenon: according to him, there was no cushion behind his back while he was sitting on the sofa, so he sank into it. What looked to users like an expression of despair or resignation to his fate was, according to him, just an uncomfortable sitting position.

The meme was dubbed "Rubio Realizing." In every version, he supposedly "realizes" that another role has fallen on him. Since the original photo was published, countless versions of it have been created, some of which referred to news events and others were completely imaginary. A website was even set up that centralizes the various versions of the meme.