‘I almost terminated him’: Why did Donald Trump say he wanted to fire US Secretary of State Marco Rubio?

US President Donald Trump joked about sharing the limelight with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and first lady Melania Trump at the inaugural meeting of his Board of Peace on February 19, 2026, in Washington, DC, as the body oversaw the Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the rebuilding of the region.

Trump told dozens of world leaders attending the meeting that Rubio made him so proud he “almost terminated his" employment, but observers asked why Trump could not make a similar speech.




"You did yourself proud in Munich. In fact, so well, I almost terminated his employment. Because they said, why can't Trump do this?!" Trump said.

“I do, but I say it differently,” Trump said. “But Marco, don’t do any better than you did, please. Because if you do, you’re out of here,” Trump added, to laughter.



Rubio recently won some international kudos for a message of unity, saying "Europe will never be irrelevant" during a speech on Feb. 14 at the Munich Security Conference. Melania Trump was riding a wave of popularity after the Feb. 1 release of her eponymous documentary.

Referring to his wife, Trump said his rule of thumb was that each family could only have one star.

“I always say there’s not room in one family for two stars,” Trump said. “I told her that.”

Trump said he was proud of her and that the “people of the United States love the first lady.” But he fretted about having two prominent people under one roof.

“You can’t have two stars in one family. I don’t know what that means but it’s not good,” Trump said. “But it is good because we’re proud of her.”

Trump created the Board of Peace to oversee the Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the rebuilding of the region. Countries including Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan pledged $7 billion toward Gaza relief. Trump said the United States would provide $10 billion.

His speech came as political observers portrayed Rubio and Vice President JD Vance as jockeying for potential 2028 campaigns for president. Rubio and Vance said they were not rivals.

Rubio’s speech contrasted sharply from Vance’s a year ago at the same security conference in Germany. Vance criticised European leaders for policies on migration, defence and free speech. Rubio brought his message of unity with Europe while saying its leaders also made mistakes.

“Marco does it with a velvet glove, but it’s a kill,” Trump said. “Trust me. The result is the same. They do it very differently.”

Trump said Vance “gets a little bit tough on occasion.” But the President made a point of saying that Rubio and Vance had both done “great.”

The Board of Peace was assembled to raise money for the rebuilding and stabilisation of Gaza and was formally established on the sidelines of World Economic Forum in January of 2026.