Donald Trump will fire Marco Rubio, the president’s biographer predicts, because the secretary of state too often appears to be in charge—a big no-no in Trumpworld.
Michael Wolff said on the Daily Beast’s Inside Trump’s Head podcast that the president can’t stand it when subordinates get too much of the credit. Rubio, whose presence has been rising in the administration, fits the mold for that “fatal” flaw, Wolff said.
“I have watched Trump operate now for way, way too long—10 years in which... Donald Trump has dominated my life, and... because he does the same thing over and over and over again, [I have become] pretty good at being able to chart the Donald Trump course,” Wolff, the author of four books about Trump, told co-host Hugh Dougherty.
“I think he’s going to fire Marco Rubio. I mean, Rubio has now become the standout figure in this administration,” Wolff continued.
When compared with the subpar competition, Wolff explained, Rubio is by default “the only guy who seems to show up for work every day and to sit down at a desk and to be capable of addressing what’s on his desk at any given time.”
While Trump may be playing around publicly with the idea of Rubio and Vice President JD Vance vying for the nomination—and eventually joining forces on a “dream ticket”—that doesn’t mean the president can’t still take Rubio out of the picture until then, Wolff said.
“In Trumpworld, this is absolutely fatal. When you become the contrast gainer against Donald Trump, you’re finished. When it begins to look like you are the person who is really in charge, you’re done,” Wolff said, recalling how Steve Bannon appeared on the cover of Time Magazine in February 2017 with the headline “The Great Manipulator.” Bannon would only last in the Trump White House until that August.
“You cannot do this around Donald Trump,” Wolff said. “He just won’t let you. He’ll kill you—just chop off your head.”
Trump will make moves before the November midterms as part of an effort to “change the subject,” Wolff said.
“I think we will see a lot of action just before the midterms because they’re going to be panicked,” he said. “If they do well in the midterms, he doesn’t want anyone else to claim credit for that. And prior to the midterms, in trying to improve their position... he’s going to make changes. He’s going to do things. He’s going to look to change the subject, and Marco Rubio is going to get his head chopped off.”
When reached for comment, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung sent two statements.
“Michael Wolff is a lying sack of s--t and has been proven to be a fraud. He routinely fabricates stories originating from his sick and warped imagination, only possible because he has a severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain,” he wrote, adding separately: “Michael Wolff is the biggest moron in media. What an absolute dumbass. He needs to skip the Quaaludes for breakfast.”
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In March and April, Trump fired Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi, but not because they were getting too much positive attention. In fact, they were causing him headaches.
It was Noem’s claim during congressional testimony that Trump had approved her $143 million DHS ad campaign that contributed to her ouster, as well as her alleged affair with top aide Corey Lewandowski.
As for Bondi, she had come under fire for her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Trump also demanded more aggressiveness by the Justice Department in going after his perceived enemies.
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