It was the kind of moment we’ve all experienced: You’re caught scrolling on your phone when you’re supposed to be paying attention to something else.
On Tuesday, a New York Times photographer captured Secretary of State Marco Rubio doing just that shortly after President Trump singled him out for praise during the State of the Union address.
Zooming in on the photos, it was clear that Mr. Rubio was reading WhatsApp messages from Richard Grenell, the president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Mr. Trump’s special envoy to Venezuela.
Throughout 2025, Mr. Rubio and Mr. Grenell were frequently at odds over Venezuela policy, debating the U.S. approach to prisoner swaps and peace talks.
During the speech, Mr. Rubio, purposefully or not, scrolled back in his correspondence with Mr. Grenell. In a September message caught by the Times photographer, Tierney L. Cross, Mr. Grenell told Mr. Rubio about a letter that President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela had written to Mr. Trump.
“Just wanted you to know I got a copy of the letter Maduro sent to DJT,” Mr. Grenell wrote, referring to Mr. Trump by his initials. “You all should have the original — I was told it was delivered to someone on your team.”
While Mr. Grenell was actively pursuing a peace deal with Venezuela at the time, Mr. Rubio and his aides were skeptical that Mr. Maduro was serious.
But Mr. Grenell’s texts during the State of the Union did not seem contentious. In one photo, Mr. Rubio is seen reading a message from Mr. Grenell that said: “Class act!!!”
That appeared to be a reference to an interaction between Mr. Trump and Mr. Rubio during the president’s speech, in which he singled out Mr. Rubio for praise.
“You have done a great job,” Mr. Trump said. “Great secretary of state. I think he’ll go down as the best ever.”
Mr. Rubio struck a humble pose and then pointed back to the president, as if to throw credit to Mr. Trump.
The gesture prompted Mr. Grenell to text, the phone to buzz, and Mr. Rubio to look.
Mr. Grenell said in a statement that the photo showed that he and Mr. Rubio were friendly despite policy differences.
“We are friends,” Mr. Grenell wrote. “And I simply reached out to a friend to compliment his humility in such a public moment.”
Julian E. Barnes covers the U.S. intelligence agencies and international security matters for The Times. He has written about security issues for more than two decades.
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