Post New Article

Is Trump Grooming Marco Rubio As His Successor?

Original Article

Posted By: Mercedes44, 7/20/2026 6:18:40 AM

Hello and welcome to Sunday, July 19, 2026. Among other things, today is Ice Cream Day, Daiquiri Day, Raspberry Cake Day, New Friends Day, Stick Out Your Tongue Day, Sundae Sunday, Football Day, Flight Attendant Safety Professionals' Day, International Retainer Day, Lake Superior Day, and Flitch Day. I don't know what to make of that. Anything that floats in your root beer, I suppose.So let's look at what's actually going on between Trump and Rubio. A few things stand out: Rubio's portfolio keeps growing. As secretary of State, he's literally everywhere on foreign policy, and Trump keeps handing him the delicate diplomatic assignments nobody else gets.

Post Reply

Reminder: “WE ARE A SALON AND NOT A SALOON”

Your thoughts, comments, and ideas are always welcome here. But we ask you to please be mindful and respectful. Threatening or crude language doesn't persuade anybody and makes the conversation less enjoyable for fellow L.Dotters.


Reply 1 - Posted by: FJB 2022 23 24 7/20/2026 6:22:09 AM (No. 2130106)
I hope so.
23 people like this.

Reply 2 - Posted by: polkaboy 7/20/2026 6:57:21 AM (No. 2130114)
Marco speaks fluent spanish. AOC not so much.
15 people like this.

Reply 3 - Posted by: jar 7/20/2026 7:06:04 AM (No. 2130116)
Why no mention of JD Vance? The Vance factor should have been included in this "analysis."
11 people like this.

Reply 4 - Posted by: Sorosisbehindit 7/20/2026 7:09:59 AM (No. 2130117)
I have been very impressed with Rubio's speaking passionately and unscripted on various topics. I am surprised how well he got past the demeaning behavior from Trump in the original primary. To be honest, after Obama and Clinton I am a little uncomfortable with politicians who make it on the big stage who changed their name (like actors do). But the similarity of Vance and Obama both changing their name and writing a book before running for office, kind of creeps me out.
9 people like this.

Reply 5 - Posted by: Venturer 7/20/2026 7:14:47 AM (No. 2130119)
Rubio is doing a great job , so is Vance. I would have no trouble voting for either of them or DeSantis.
30 people like this.

Reply 6 - Posted by: MissGrits 7/20/2026 7:18:32 AM (No. 2130123)
Number 3 ... hopefully Trump is keeping his eye on JD Vance. Not as a successor, but as someone who may not be what you thought they were. Increasingly, I think he may be a problem as more and more things come to light.
18 people like this.

Reply 7 - Posted by: Strike3 7/20/2026 8:18:06 AM (No. 2130143)
If not, he should be. Marco has proven himself. JD needs a bit more experience but the potential is there. AOC doesn't speak any language very well unless you count the Communist Donkey Talk than she learned from her mentor Bernie. Her career depends upon New York voters staying stupid, which is a distinct probability.
15 people like this.

Reply 8 - Posted by: PESSIMIST 7/20/2026 8:19:37 AM (No. 2130144)
Even at this point, I'd vote for Vance reluctantly ( I held my nose and voted for McCain!) but he is fishing for Groyper votes. Shame on him. In that context, remember he once called Trump a new Hitler. Trustworthy?
8 people like this.

Reply 9 - Posted by: TCloud 7/20/2026 9:04:27 AM (No. 2130167)
The Country deserves a candidate who does not have *like Mike* tendencies and being a RINO softy!
8 people like this.

Reply 10 - Posted by: Tusker 7/20/2026 9:15:07 AM (No. 2130172)
Rubio is a genius. Vance? Not so much, but he is opportunistic with TDS bad mouth baggage. So? Rubio, hands down.
11 people like this.

Reply 11 - Posted by: Tusker 7/20/2026 9:25:02 AM (No. 2130178)
And further, rags to riches stories and mother rummy laments are of absolutely no interest. What counts is the proven ability to get rid of evil in America and manage decisively a world of lemmings, commies, and traditional religious fanatics focusing on virgins, all to America’s benefit and advantage. Rubio. End of story!
9 people like this.

Reply 12 - Posted by: LC Chihuahua 7/20/2026 10:00:54 AM (No. 2130188)
Someone is pushing Rubio. If you like him, great, but be aware he has influencers behind him. Those influencers probably aren't looking out for Americans or the USA. Someone thinks they can control Rubio. Whoever is Trump's successor needs to have a number of factors. They have to be tenacious. Washington will be working against them 24x7x365. They better be very knowledgeable so they cannot be manipulated. They have to be honest so they cannot be bought. It's a tall order. Washington wants someone that does not know everything, can be bought, and is a pushover. They just need someone with one of those factors, and they can have their way. The people running Washington still have the upper hand, btw. They are masters at what they do.
6 people like this.

Reply 13 - Posted by: Zbogwan2 7/20/2026 10:07:46 AM (No. 2130193)
I like Vance, but Rubio seems to be the brightest bulb in the Trump Presidency, except for POTUS Trump!
10 people like this.

Reply 14 - Posted by: Bixter 7/20/2026 10:21:48 AM (No. 2130200)
Personally, I think I would prefer Marco over JD Vance to be President.
11 people like this.

Reply 15 - Posted by: J. Arthur Brown 7/20/2026 10:39:54 AM (No. 2130206)
Rubio is a great Secretary of State because he is implementing solid Trump policies. His record of actually making policy decisions on his own as a U.S. Senator, however, was mixed. See especially immigration issues and his dismal service on the Senate intelligence where he was at best silent on and sometimes complicit in that Committee's Trump-Russia antics.
3 people like this.

Reply 16 - Posted by: Philipsonh 7/20/2026 10:42:09 AM (No. 2130208)
Definitely Marco Rubio.
6 people like this.

Reply 17 - Posted by: bpl40 7/20/2026 11:13:36 AM (No. 2130213)
Both Rubio and DeSantis have great qualifications but may be leaning on people with questionable (in the MAGA sense) globalist and Wall Street ties. Vance on the other hand seems to have flubbed the Iran assignment in Trump's eyes. It was Vance's to lose until the Iran thing. Now who knows?
3 people like this.

Reply 18 - Posted by: DVC 7/20/2026 11:34:32 AM (No. 2130224)
It seems like Vance is going off in the direction of the Tucker Carlson nutcase wing. I really hope this isn't true, but it seems like it right now.
7 people like this.

Reply 19 - Posted by: RussZilla 7/20/2026 11:44:37 AM (No. 2130228)
The Apprentice, President’s Edition.
5 people like this.

Reply 20 - Posted by: Braincramp 7/20/2026 3:25:25 PM (No. 2130300)
For those questioning Vance, please do a search for Julie Green Ministries and look for videos entitled "The Great White Wolf" and listen to what she says about JD. Also, please search for articles about Vance's connection to Peter Thiel. This information is so disappointing since I had high hopes for him, but also disturbing to learn about his connections and how close he is to President Trump. He needs our prayers as much as President Trump does...
2 people like this.

Reply 21 - Posted by: YorkieMom 7/20/2026 9:23:49 PM (No. 2130375)
I mainly want someone who is tough like Trump, lets the media and lefties have it, and pushes the Republicans to do what we voted for like voter ID, etc. I believe Rubio and Vance are doing a great job, and DeSantis has certainly made Florida a great state.
0 people like this.

Below, you will find ...
Most Recent Articles posted by "Mercedes44"
and
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)
Most Recent Articles posted by Mercedes44"
America’s Top Companies? 4 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 7/20/2026 7:18:16 AM Post Reply
Do you know what the nation’s “top companies” are? Do you think, perhaps, that businesses like Tesla, which made Elon Musk a billionaire, or SpaceX, which made Musk a trillionaire, are among the finest? Does it make sense to you that Walmart, the largest retailer in the world, or ExxonMobil, the largest shareholder-owned energy company in the world, should, at the very least, crack the top 100 American companies? Conversely, has Disney—a company that has seen its stock price almost cut in half over the last five years, that has suffered from repeated leadership controversies,
McCain-Feingold, USAID and the NGO Network 1 reply
Posted by Mercedes44 7/20/2026 7:14:47 AM Post Reply
Money is the mother’s milk of politics. —Jesse Unruh, the 26th California treasurer The debate over money in politics is defined by a core tension between the ideals of transparency, privacy, and mandated disclosure. Proponents of robust transparency and disclosure requirements (especially America Firsters) argue that voters have a fundamental right to know who is funding candidates, parties, and issue advocacy since undisclosed “dark money” from wealthy individuals, corporations, unions, or foreign-linked entities can distort democratic outcomes, enable corruption or undue influence and facilitate implementation of left-wing policies funded by U.S. taxpayers without authorization or scrutiny. They push for lower reporting thresholds, real-time disclosures,
Gun Owners Have a Lot to Be Worried About
With Cameras, AI, and Gun Rights
1 reply
Posted by Mercedes44 7/20/2026 7:10:28 AM Post Reply
George Orwell's 1984 was a warning, not an instruction manual. It was based on the very real concern of a government becoming a totalitarian surveillance state where all the people did was observed, recorded, and scrutinized for any sign of WrongThink. It was a terrifying glimpse into Orwell's fears should his own preferred ideology of socialism take hold and go too far, but it wasn't just about socialism, either. It was what the state could do when no one stopped it. And while we've often invoked the imagery of Big Brother to make a point about surveillance overreach, things are scarier now than ever before...and gun owners are especially concerned.
Is Trump Grooming Marco Rubio As His Successor? 21 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 7/20/2026 6:18:40 AM Post Reply
Hello and welcome to Sunday, July 19, 2026. Among other things, today is Ice Cream Day, Daiquiri Day, Raspberry Cake Day, New Friends Day, Stick Out Your Tongue Day, Sundae Sunday, Football Day, Flight Attendant Safety Professionals' Day, International Retainer Day, Lake Superior Day, and Flitch Day. I don't know what to make of that. Anything that floats in your root beer, I suppose.So let's look at what's actually going on between Trump and Rubio. A few things stand out: Rubio's portfolio keeps growing. As secretary of State, he's literally everywhere on foreign policy, and Trump keeps handing him the delicate diplomatic assignments nobody else gets.
This Ohio Senator Is on a Mission to End
Birthright Citizenship, With Some Help
From Late Democrat Icon
4 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 7/20/2026 5:47:24 AM Post Reply
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a blow to President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, is still looking to take action, and he’s using a late Democrat Senate icon to do it. This past week Moreno introduced a bill to eliminate birthright citizenship, citing longtime Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, who introduced a similar bill in 1993. On Wednesday, Moreno introduced the Harry Reid Immigration Stabilization Act, which he previewed immediately following last month’s decision in Trump v. Barbara.
At least one more US servicemember dies
after massive Iranian missile attack
1 reply
Posted by Mercedes44 7/20/2026 5:46:05 AM Post Reply
Another US service member has been killed in the Iran war, Central Command said Sunday — while adding that remains have been found in the area where an American soldier went missing in an earlier attack. The most recent tragic casualty occurred as US forces attempted a controlled detonation of unexploded devices from a downed Iranian attack drone in Iraq on Saturday, CENTCOM said. One service member was killed and another wounded, suffering minor injuries, during the detonation-turned-deadly, it said. The grim announcement came the day after two US service members were killed in Jordan in an Iranian airstrike and a third soldier reported to be missing in action.
Andrew and Tristan Tate Arrested by US
Marshals in Miami on Rape Charges
4 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 7/19/2026 5:53:12 AM Post Reply
The Tate brothers were arrested again on Saturday. Influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate were arrested by US Marshals in Miami according to the Associated Press and TMZ. The Tate brothers are wanted in the United Kingdom on rape and human trafficking charges. Andrew and Tristan Tate are dual British and US citizens. British prosecutors on Saturday night said they are seeking the extradition of the Tate Brothers. Video posted by TMZ shows the moment the Tate brothers were taken into custody by federal agents. The Tate brothers were arrested shortly before Andrew was set to cohost a boxing event.
Trump Is Righting Latin America 1 reply
Posted by Mercedes44 7/19/2026 5:51:28 AM Post Reply
am proud to be an American, not just because our nation has lasted 250 years with great success under the same charter, but because of our positive influence around the world. In World War I, we turned the tide in favor of the Allied forces. In World War II, Nazi totalitarianism would have won, but the United States bolstered Allied forces overseas and in the European theater. Japanese aggression throughout Southeast Asia, from 1931 to 1945, ended because of America. We dropped two atomic bombs on their homeland, and we forced their surrender. The Cold War was the longest battle. Yes, there were fewer battles, but many sanctions, lots of threats,
Half a Nation of Traitors 14 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 7/19/2026 5:49:36 AM Post Reply
Democrats hate this country. They hate you if you don’t also hate this country. And they will do anything to avoid you continuing to live free in this country, up to and including murdering you, because that’s who they are. If Russia or China offered to help them seize power, they’d take the deal no matter what they asked for in return. After 250 years, one of our political parties has become infested with traitors the way an old dead tree becomes infested with termites. There is only one Democrat in the country speaking with any sense of sanity; one person who does not openly appeal to racism, anti-Semitism, anti-Americanism,
UN Ambassador Bursts Mamdani's Bubble
Over His Wish to Arrest Israeli PM Netanyahu
in NYC
14 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 7/19/2026 5:47:51 AM Post Reply
When will the members of the far-Left cabal learn? New York City, as the home of the United Nations headquarters, is hosting the U.N. General Assembly in the fall. And Democratic Socialist NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani expressed during a recent interview with a New York Times interviewer that he's holding onto a deeply-held wish and campaign promise: to have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested when the world leader arrives in his city to attend it. Mamdani wasn't finished, though, admitting that he's not 100 percent sure "whether he has the legal authority" to do it, and to that end, he's still consulting with his administration's Law Department. Netanyahu, meanwhile,
Democratic strategist James Carville blasts
major news networks for not carrying Trump speech
8 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 7/18/2026 6:30:02 AM Post Reply
Democratic strategist James Carville criticized several major news outlets Friday for not airing President Donald Trump's primetime speech on Thursday, stating they missed an opportunity to show the president acting "loonier than a tune." The strategist was referring to the president's speech, in which he presented new evidence detailing multiple security breaches in elections he said were concealed by a self-proclaimed "shadow government" and the Biden administration. Mainstream media networks, ABC, CNN and NBC, all declined to show the speech on its news programs and opted to stream it online and show clips of it with commentary during their regular live programming.
Venezuela had plans to manipulate voting
machines, raising alarm in U.S. intel
circles back in 2020
2 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 7/18/2026 6:28:57 AM Post Reply
From 2004 to 2020, the U.S. intelligence community monitored plans by the Venezuelan leadership to electronically manipulate their country’s own voting machines, including the use of substituting false votes, in order to secure victory for the ruling socialists. President Donald Trump, who declassified intelligence information on those plans and released them to the public on Thursday, says the Venezuelan capabilities are evidence that American voting systems need to be better secured. The Venezuelan plots specifically raised alarm bells in the United States because Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez collaborated with Smartmatic, a voting machine company that in 2005 acquired the U.S.-based Sequoia Voting Systems, to develop them.
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)
Trinity College course will teach students
to ‘unsettle’ the ‘white gaze’
23 replies
Posted by Beardo 7/20/2026 2:44:01 PM Post Reply
Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, will offer students the opportunity to study the “white gaze” next spring in order to undermine “white supremacy and racial capitalism.” (snip) Nadja Eisenberg-Guyot, an assistant professor of anthropology, is teaching “Unsettling the White Gaze.” Eisenberg-Guyot’s profile describes the scholar as a “white, disabled, trans anthropologist whose work focuses on how criminalized people who use drugs envision and experiment with abolitionist horizons of transformation, healing, self-determination, and solidarity beyond incarceration and forced-cure.”
Is Trump Grooming Marco Rubio As His Successor? 21 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 7/20/2026 6:18:40 AM Post Reply
Hello and welcome to Sunday, July 19, 2026. Among other things, today is Ice Cream Day, Daiquiri Day, Raspberry Cake Day, New Friends Day, Stick Out Your Tongue Day, Sundae Sunday, Football Day, Flight Attendant Safety Professionals' Day, International Retainer Day, Lake Superior Day, and Flitch Day. I don't know what to make of that. Anything that floats in your root beer, I suppose.So let's look at what's actually going on between Trump and Rubio. A few things stand out: Rubio's portfolio keeps growing. As secretary of State, he's literally everywhere on foreign policy, and Trump keeps handing him the delicate diplomatic assignments nobody else gets.
Paul Pelosi Charged with Hit-and-Run,
Faces Possible 6 Months in Jail
16 replies
Posted by Beardo 7/19/2026 10:42:37 PM Post Reply
Paul Pelosi’s shockingly bad driving record appears to have finally caught up with him and could result in a substantial jail sentence if he is convicted. The 86-year-old husband of former House speaker Nancy Pelosi was charged in a hit-and-run crash over the Fourth of July weekend in northern California wine country. Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley filed charges against Pelosi Friday, violations that included one count of misdemeanor hit-and-run driving and one infraction for turning unlawfully, multiple news outlets reported.
Strange Things Are Happening 16 replies
Posted by cThree 7/19/2026 5:14:52 AM Post Reply
On one hand, we are winning the war with Iran. This week, bombings greatly accelerated and are not likely to end without real capitulation and surrender. On the other hand, the Vice President seems to be at odds with the administration, unhappy that we are in a (winning) war and casting blame for the failure of his peace effort, which is really only Iran’s fault. On one hand, the President has declassified documents credibly showing foreign influence and interference with our elections. On the other hand, major news outlets seem determined to keep their viewers from knowing this
Black teen terrorizes innocent pedestrians
with dangerous new trend…
15 replies
Posted by earlybird 7/20/2026 12:14:23 PM Post Reply
Well, right on cue, there’s a disturbing new trend exploding online, and once again, innocent people are being turned into props for someone else’s internet stardom and clicks.In this clip, you’ll see a black teen on a bicycle charging directly at innocent pedestrians while popping wheelies. He came straight at the person, and at the very last second, he swerved away. The goal for this kid is to scare the living daylights out of unsuspecting people in order to get a dramatic reaction on camera.
Iran Furious After Missiles Hit Darkhovin
Nuke Plant
15 replies
Posted by FlyRight 7/20/2026 7:27:17 AM Post Reply
On Sunday, a new report came out that, among Saturday night's targets in Iran hit by American attacks, there was a strike against a nuclear facility under construction, that being what is called the Darkhovin facility. The Iranian government is said to be "furious." Good. This is a military target, no matter what Iran has to say about it. This is precisely the kind of target American forces should be razing to the ground. Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, in its outrage, is again dissembling; nothing this regime does is peaceful or has an entirely peaceful purpose. If this facility had been allowed to move to completion,
ABC News Just Caught Democrat Senator
Mark Warner Telling a Massive Lie About
Voter ID
15 replies
Posted by mc squared 7/19/2026 12:09:30 PM Post Reply
It's not often that we're able to write words of praise for ABC News' Jon Karl on the pages of RedState, but fair play to the co-host of the Sunday show This Week for actually holding a Democrat accountable for their lies. Karl's guest on this week's show was Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and one of the topics discussed was voter ID and the SAVE America Act. Warner was there, of course, to rebut President Trump's assertions during his Thursday night speech from the White House that American elections have been compromised – and will continue to be compromised
DSA Activist Linda Sarsour Wants to Replace
the Declaration of Independence With Something
That Reflects the Values of the Radical
Left (VIDEO)
15 replies
Posted by FlyRight 7/19/2026 6:04:44 AM Post Reply
Do you remember Linda Sarsour? She was very active in left wing politics during Trump’s first term. She became a leader of the ‘Women’s March’ movement but was ejected after they realized that she is a raging Jew-hater. It’s part of what led to the group’s downfall. With the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), she has returned. Her views make her a perfect fit for this radical mob. In a recent video address to her supporters, she fantasized about replacing the Declaration of Independence with something that would better reflect the values of the left.
Half a Nation of Traitors 14 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 7/19/2026 5:49:36 AM Post Reply
Democrats hate this country. They hate you if you don’t also hate this country. And they will do anything to avoid you continuing to live free in this country, up to and including murdering you, because that’s who they are. If Russia or China offered to help them seize power, they’d take the deal no matter what they asked for in return. After 250 years, one of our political parties has become infested with traitors the way an old dead tree becomes infested with termites. There is only one Democrat in the country speaking with any sense of sanity; one person who does not openly appeal to racism, anti-Semitism, anti-Americanism,
UN Ambassador Bursts Mamdani's Bubble
Over His Wish to Arrest Israeli PM Netanyahu
in NYC
14 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 7/19/2026 5:47:51 AM Post Reply
When will the members of the far-Left cabal learn? New York City, as the home of the United Nations headquarters, is hosting the U.N. General Assembly in the fall. And Democratic Socialist NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani expressed during a recent interview with a New York Times interviewer that he's holding onto a deeply-held wish and campaign promise: to have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested when the world leader arrives in his city to attend it. Mamdani wasn't finished, though, admitting that he's not 100 percent sure "whether he has the legal authority" to do it, and to that end, he's still consulting with his administration's Law Department. Netanyahu, meanwhile,
Anti-ICE Extremist Sets Fire to NYC Federal Building 12 replies
Posted by Dreadnought 7/20/2026 5:56:52 PM Post Reply
A man whom authorities describe as an anti-government extremist set fire Monday morning to the front of New York’s 26 Federal Plaza, which houses several federal agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI. The suspect, 43-year-old Army veteran Andrew Arrabaca, poured gasoline on the stairs leading to the building’s employee entrance before setting fire to it.//snip//In his post-arrest interview, Arrabaca admitted to targeting the building and said he was willing to hurt — even kill — federal employees and citizens who were by the building at the time of his attack.
Mamdani administration makes cash-for-syringes
pilot program permanent
12 replies
Posted by mc squared 7/19/2026 12:18:11 PM Post Reply
The Mamdani administration has quietly made permanent a controversial pilot program that pays junkies cash for turning in used needles — a move critics contend will only encourage illegal drug use. The city’s massive $126 billion budget for the new fiscal year that began July 1 includes $3 million to retain the Health Department’s Community Syringe Redemption Program, which pays the public 20 cents per syringe. [snip] Addiction Response Resources, a nonprofit that launched a similar program in Boston in 2020, will continue to operate the Big Apple’s program through an $11.1 million contract that runs through the end of next year.
Post New Article