Donald Trump just handed his Secretary of State the ultimate compliment.
And Marco Rubio’s diplomatic breakthrough left Biden’s failed Middle East policy in ruins.
Now Trump praised Rubio as the ‘greatest secretary of state’ amid the Gaza peace deal.
Trump declares Rubio could be greatest in history
President Trump stood before the Israeli Knesset on Monday and made a stunning prediction about his Secretary of State.¹
"Marco will go down—I mean this—as the greatest secretary of state in the history of the United States. I believe that—I believe it," Trump declared during his historic Middle East visit.²
The praise came as Trump celebrated a major diplomatic victory that his predecessor spent two years trying to achieve – and failed.
All 20 living Israeli hostages walked free from Gaza after more than two years in captivity.³
Hamas released them as part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal that also freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.⁴
Rubio, who represented Florida in the Senate for 14 years before becoming Secretary of State, has been at the center of the diplomatic push.⁵
"Today is a new day in the Middle East. Thank you @POTUS for your unwavering commitment to peace," Rubio posted on X.⁶
The moment marked the culmination of months of intense negotiations that the Biden administration couldn’t pull off despite countless trips to the region.
Biden spent two years accomplishing nothing
Look, here’s what makes this breakthrough so remarkable – Biden’s team tried for nearly two years to broker a Gaza ceasefire and came up empty.⁷
Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken made 12 separate trips to the Middle East after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.⁸
He achieved exactly nothing.
Multiple independent assessments graded Biden’s Middle East diplomacy a D or F by late 2024.⁹
Biden couldn’t get Netanyahu to budge and Hamas wouldn’t negotiate seriously because they knew Biden was a lame duck with zero leverage.¹⁰
Trump took a completely different approach.
He put direct pressure on Netanyahu to accept the ceasefire proposal while simultaneously leaning on Arab countries like Egypt and Qatar to get Hamas to the table.¹¹
Netanyahu called Trump "the greatest friend that the State of Israel has ever had in the White House" before Trump addressed the Knesset.¹²
That kind of relationship – built on mutual respect and shared interests, not empty threats – is what actually moves negotiations forward.
Biden responded to Trump’s success by trying to take credit for the groundwork his administration supposedly laid.¹³
"My Administration worked relentlessly to bring hostages home, get relief to Palestinian civilians, and end the war," Biden wrote on X.¹⁴
"I commend President Trump and his team for their work to get a renewed ceasefire deal over the finish line," he added.¹⁵
Translation: Trump accomplished what I couldn’t, but I want you to think I deserve some credit anyway.
Even Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had to admit Trump succeeded where Biden failed.¹⁶
"Finally, finally, finally, the last living hostages brutally held by Hamas are home," Schumer said while commending the Trump administration.¹⁷
Rubio executed Trump’s peace through strength strategy
Rubio didn’t just show up and take credit – he executed a diplomatic strategy that required coordination across multiple countries and careful timing.
The Secretary of State worked closely with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff to push the negotiations forward.¹⁸
World leaders from more than 20 nations gathered in Egypt to formally sign the agreement.¹⁹
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called it "the birth of a glimmer of hope" for the region.²⁰
Florida Congressman Carlos Gimenez praised Rubio as "a true statesman who is respected by all."²¹
"Best cabinet decision President Trump made was making Marco Rubio his Secretary of State!" Gimenez wrote on X.²²
The diplomatic breakthrough came just weeks after the assassination of Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025.²³
Trump Administration officials have been working with renewed urgency to deliver results and honor Kirk’s legacy of supporting America First policies.²⁴
Rubio’s success proves that Trump’s "Peace through Strength" approach actually works when you have leaders willing to use American leverage effectively.
Biden spent two years treating Netanyahu with kid gloves while publicly undermining him.
Trump put real pressure on the Israeli Prime Minister to make hard choices while maintaining the relationship.
The difference between failure and success comes down to strategic thinking and having the courage to actually use America’s power to achieve results.
Trump achieved what Biden couldn’t because he understands something the Washington, D.C. establishment refuses to accept – America doesn’t need to apologize for its interests or its allies.
Rubio executed that vision with skill and determination.
Now the world is seeing what competent American diplomacy looks like after four years of Biden’s failures.
¹ NPR, "Israeli hostages freed, hundreds of Palestinians released, as Trump hails ‘historic dawn’," October 13, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Anita Padilla, "Trump praises Rubio as ‘greatest secretary of state’ amid Gaza peace deal," Florida News, October 13, 2025.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Middle East Institute, "The Limits of Biden’s Middle East Diplomacy: An Assessment of US Policy, April-July 2024."
⁸ NPR, "Rubio is in Saudi Arabia to discuss the Gaza ceasefire and Ukraine war," February 17, 2025.
⁹ Middle East Institute, "America’s Strategic Drift in the Middle East: An Assessment of the Biden Administration’s Policy One Year Into the Israel-Hamas War."
¹⁰ Scientific American, "Biden’s Withdrawal Made Containing War in the Middle East Harder," October 17, 2024.
¹¹ NPR, "Israeli hostages freed, hundreds of Palestinians released, as Trump hails ‘historic dawn’," October 13, 2025.
¹² Ibid.
¹³ CNN, "Live updates: Israel-Gaza ceasefire deal and hostage release news," October 14, 2025.
¹⁴ Ibid.
¹⁵ Ibid.
¹⁶ Fox News, "Living Israeli hostages freed from Gaza, Trump addresses Knesset after historic peace deal," October 13, 2025.
¹⁷ Ibid.
¹⁸ PBS News, "Rubio passes Trump urgent note on Middle East peace deal during antifa roundtable," October 8, 2025.
¹⁹ NPR, "Israeli hostages freed, hundreds of Palestinians released, as Trump hails ‘historic dawn’," October 13, 2025.
²⁰ Ibid.
²¹ Anita Padilla, "Trump praises Rubio as ‘greatest secretary of state’ amid Gaza peace deal," Florida News, October 13, 2025.
²² Ibid.
²³ Charlie Kirk Assassination Knowledge Files, "VP Vance, Administration Leaders Honor Charlie Kirk’s Enduring Legacy," The White House, September 15, 2025.
²⁴ Ibid.
