Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a light-hearted moment during the inauguration of the Americas Shield Summit, held in Miami, when a brief linguistic joke among U.S. officials resulted in laughter among the attendees.
While introducing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump made a humorous remark about the language in which he should speak. “Is it better in Spanish or in English?” Trump asked the audience. He then added, “I think it’s better in Spanish. It’s great.”
When he took the floor, Hegseth responded in a humorous tone: “Mr. President, I only speak American.”
The phrase provoked an immediate reaction from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who interjected with another joke that elicited laughter from those present: “I speak Cuban.”
The exchange, brief yet spontaneous, took place in front of officials, military representatives, and regional delegations gathered at the summit, a meeting focused on cooperation in security and defense matters on the continent.
Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and one of the American politicians most associated with the Cuban community in the United States, often alternates between English and Spanish at public events, especially when addressing Latin American audiences.
The moment was captured on video and quickly began circulating on social media, where many users highlighted the relaxed tone of the exchange during a formal ceremony dedicated to hemispheric security matters.
Filed under: