Bogota Tiempo - Marco Rubio Praises Daughter Daniella’s Speech at Federalist Society Convention

Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed pride in his daughter Daniella’s public speaking skills during his first major address since the midterm elections, using the moment to underscore a broader message of resilience for Republicans.

Rubio beamed with approval after Daniella introduced him at the Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention on Friday. Following her remarks, he turned to the audience and asked, “Was that cool or what?”

“I don’t know where she got this,” Rubio said, marveling at his daughter’s confidence. “There’s no stage fright. She’s not afraid to speak. I don’t really like public speaking that much, but she, on the other hand – that’s fantastic.”

Daniella is a third-year law student at the University of Virginia and Rubio’s youngest child. The secretary has four children with his wife, Jeanette.

During the event, a law student in the audience asked Rubio how Americans can instill values of freedom in the next generation, citing his own family as an example. Rubio quipped that his home “was not a democracy,” though he quickly clarified that he was “not the dictator” but rather “the minister of defense.”

Rubio’s speech marked his first major public appearance since Republicans suffered significant losses in last week’s midterm elections, which were described by some observers as a Democratic blue wave. Despite the political setbacks, Rubio struck an optimistic tone, urging the conservative audience to adopt a long-term perspective.

He reminded attendees of the “devastating losses” Republicans endured during the 1982 midterms under former President Ronald Reagan. “Less than two years into Ronald Reagan’s first term in office, everything sort of seemed headed in the wrong direction,” Rubio said. “It’s hard for us to remember that right now, but that’s what it was like.”

Rubio encouraged Republicans to look beyond immediate election cycles. “We have much more to do over the next two, the next six, the next 20 years,” he said. “Great things that last are built in decades, not election cycles.”

Acknowledging the reality of political struggle, Rubio noted, “There will be more victories, and there will be more defeats. There will be more triumphs, and there will be more disappointments. This is the nature of all undertakings of this weight and of this magnitude.”

He concluded with a defiant note on the party’s future, stating, “There are no great men or great causes in the pages of history that did not suffer the same,” but added, “we are persuaded of the justice of our cause, and we too will triumph in the end.”

L.Carvajal--BT