Rant: Yes, Miami native Marco Rubio is American enough to be President

By Philip Cardella 25 February 2026

Miami, Florida (where Marco Rubio grew up)

One of the most racist things I've seen–and it was directed at a Miamian.

Conservative commentator Ann Coulter has suggested that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is too foreign to ever be president. “That beautiful ending to Trump’s SOTU address reminds me why we can’t have a second-, third-, or fourth- generation immigrant as president. Love for our country has to be in your genes,” Coulter wrote in a post on X following President Trump’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday. – Daily Beast

It won't come as a surprise to long time readers of TWIFL that I'm not much of a Marco Rubio fan. I think his convictions are as solid as a thin morning fog, what few convictions he does seem to have are at odds with my beliefs and while I don't think he's the worst Senator, Presidential candidate or Cabinet member the United States has ever produced, he's much closer to the worst of the lot than he is to the best of them.

Five Thoughts About Marco Rubio’s Munich Security Conference Speech

In the hotel where it happened.

Drezner’s WorldDaniel W. Drezner

That said, to suggest that the native Miamian isn't qualified to be President because his ancestors haven't been here long enough, as Ann Coulter was in the post above, is farcical, ridiculous and extraordinarily racist. I think he'd make a poor President, but as a West Miami council member turned US House Member, turned Speaker of the House, turned US Senator turned Secretary of State his resume is impressive, if the details are often awful.

He's qualified to be President. Full stop. I can see no scenario where he could earn my vote–but he's qualified for the job.

To suggest the major problem with him winning the Office is that he's not American enough is some of the ugliest, most racist horse excrement piled on top of cow excrement mixed with whale vomit I've ever heard–and Coulter is supposedly a sensible conservative.

I love community and I love my neighbors no matter their political views. I abhor most of Marco Rubio's political views but I'll be damned before I let anyone say he's not American enough for any job, any role or any thing.

By the way, Donald Trump is both a second generation immigrant on his mother's side and third generation on his father's side–this has nothing to do with his qualifications to be president (though it does say something about his zeal to attack immigrants), yet by Coulter's standards, President Trump who she zealously endorsed for President (until she got mad at him over the Border Wall not being built fast enough) would likewise be unqualified for not being American enough.

I say this as someone whose European ancestors have been on this Continent since long before George Washington's parents were born and I'd wager have been here far longer than Coulter's ancestors.

What's more, I'll suggest that a child of immigrants might be better suited to be President than someone whose family, like mine, has been here generations. Part of this is observational–some of the most impressive people I've ever met are immigrants and children of immigrants and every single one of them has loved this country, and as often as not, they're in this country because the country of their birth is simply not safe for them.

It goes beyond that, however. A child of immigrant parents, especially a child of parents who come from two different countries, has more experience navigating life with different cultures–and negotiating with different cultures is one of the most important jobs of our chief representative to the nations–than any child that grew up in a relatively homogenous community.

Should this make them more qualified than a descendant of generations of American citizens? Not necessarily–like most things, it depends on the situation–but it may be a significant benefit to a President and in and of itself it is not a disqualifying factor.

I hope Secretary Rubio is never President or Vice President of the United States because based on his actions I think he lacks the character, the integrity and the moral fiber to hold those offices, despite having what would be one of the most impressive resumes in the history of the candidacy for the office.

Marco Rubio Is Most Definitely a Liar.

He also doesn’t really care about the First Amendment

Drezner’s WorldDaniel W. Drezner

But I did think of a scenario where I'd vote for Rubio–if he was running against Ann Coulter he'd have my vote because this post by Ann Coulter is an abomination and would lead to her being "canceled" if such a thing existed. Also, his resume is full of terrible actions and statements–but it is full of jobs, including all of his jobs from the last 25 years, that make him qualified for the office, unlike Coulter, whose resume pales in comparison for the job–particularly after she wrote her first of THIRTEEN (her website has thirteen in all caps because...I don't know why).