Marco Rubio's son Anthony is a walk-on running back for the University of Florida Gators. This fall, the Secretary of State flew to Gainesville Regional Airport on at least five occasions to watch him play. He arrived in a blue polo instead of his usual suit, sat in the stands, and watched football.
The Washington Post thought this was a scandal.
The paper published a piece on November 11 reporting that Rubio's "personal travel appears to significantly outpace that of his predecessors." The centerpiece of their investigation: Rubio used a C-37 government jet for the trips, which the Post calculated at over $1.2 million using Defense Department rates. Five unmarked SUVs accompanied his security detail at the airport.
What the Post buried — and what everyone who's held a Cabinet-level position already knows — is that the Secretary of State is prohibited from flying commercial. Security protocols require government aircraft. Rubio didn't choose the C-37 over a Southwest ticket. He is not allowed to buy a Southwest ticket. The $1.2 million figure sounds enormous until you realize it's the mandatory cost of transporting a Cabinet secretary anywhere, for any reason, and that the alternative is the nation's top diplomat not leaving Washington.
The backlash was immediate and predictable, because the Post managed to find the one attack in American politics that unites the entire country against the attacker. They went after a dad for showing up to his son's games.
Clay Travis didn't mince — put it plainly: "I can't imagine any dad — or mom — agreeing with this attack."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt offered a shorter review: "Washington Post confirms Secretary Rubio is a great dad."
Florida coach Jon Sumrall has Anthony on the roster as a walk-on — not a scholarship player, not a recruit leveraging a famous name, a kid who earned a spot and whose father drives to Gainesville to watch him carry the ball. Every parent in America who has rearranged a work schedule to make a 6 p.m. kickoff understood this story instantly. The Post did not.
The paper could have investigated actual diplomatic travel — summit logistics, delegation costs, the kind of spending that moves policy. Instead they inventoried a father's trips to a college football stadium and presented the security costs that would exist regardless of destination as though Rubio personally ordered a motorcade for entertainment.
Rubio is required to use government aircraft. The flights cost what government flights cost. He used them to watch his son play football.
The Post published it anyway.