Marco Rubio press briefing sparks memes as he stands in for Karoline Leavitt

Clips from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s press conference have gone viral, showing him struggling to control the room full of journalists.

The secretary of state stood in for White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who is on maternity leave, at Tuesday’s press briefing.

The rare appearance by the top diplomat drew significant online attention, with social media users posting humorous comments. 

During the briefing, Rubio switched to Spanish when a reporter asked him a question in Spanish. 

One X user commented on the video, “I think he accidentally signed himself up as Karoline Leavitt’s translator.”

Another user wrote, “Marco Rubio realizing how good of a press secretary Karoline Leavitt is,” while commenting on the secretary’s reaction as reporters fired off questions from all directions.