President Donald Trump commented this Friday on the controversial image of his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, wearing a gray Nike Tech Fleece tracksuit aboard Air Force One —the same model associated with Nicolás Maduro at the time of his capture— and his reaction couldn't have been more praise-worthy.
"I think he looked very good in that outfit. I don't know if I would do it, but I think he looked very good," Trump stated to the press. He added about his Secretary of State: "I think he is extraordinary."
The episode began on Tuesday, when Rubio traveled to China with Trump for trade and national security negotiations. Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, posted a photo of the Secretary of State on the presidential plane with the caption: "Secretary Rubio sporting the Nike Tech 'Venezuela' on Air Force One!"
The image sparked a flood of memes on social media due to the resemblance of the outfit worn by Maduro when he was captured by U.S. forces in January 2026. The viral phenomenon was coined "Maduromaxxing," and the New York Post made it a headline.
When questioned from Beijing by NBC journalist Tom Llamas, Rubio denied any intention.
"No, no, no... There’s no context. It's a nice suit." When pressed that it was exactly the same model Maduro was wearing when he was detained, the Secretary of State responded humorously: "Yes, but you know what? He copied me because I had it before he did."
He also clarified: "There was no message. I didn't even know they were taking my picture."
Despite Rubio's denial, the White House officially embraced the meme: its official account on X posted a video comparing both figures with the song "Juicy" by Biggie Smalls and the text "if you didn't know, now you know."
In Cuba, the image of Rubio in the Nike suit sparked viral reactions with the phrase "Get ready, your suit is already bought," directed at the ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel, in direct reference to Maduro's fate.
The incident reinforces the Trump administration's narrative regarding its achievements in Latin America, resonating particularly within the Cuban community, which sees the fall of the Venezuelan dictator as a potential omen for the regime in Havana.
Trump's reaction to Rubio, captured on video and shared by journalist Eric Daugherty on X, summarizes the tone of the entire week in just a few words: "I think it's extraordinary."
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