Details of a note handed to President Donald Trump by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the middle of a roundtable meeting at the White House have been revealed.
Trump received the hastily-scrawled note during a meeting on Wednesday with conservative influencers.
Attorney General Pam Bondi was talking when Rubio handed Trump the note behind Bondi’s back. He gestured Rubio over, who then whispered in the president’s ear as Bondi finished her answer.
The note, spotted by AP’s Chief Photographer in Washington, Evan Vucci, reads, “We need you to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first.”
Vucci is known for his iconic photograph of Trump raising his fist in the air while surrounded by Secret Service agents moments after an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania in July 2024.
After receiving his instructions from Rubio, Trump told the assembled media, “OK, I was just given a note by the secretary of state saying, ‘we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East’ and they’re gonna need me pretty quickly.”
He answered some more questions before telling the right-wing influencers, “I have to go now to solve some problems in the Middle East,” leaving Rubio to answer field questions on his behalf.
Trump also had son-in-law Jared Kushner and U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff review the Truth Social post before he made it public, according to a White House official, as reported by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. Kushner and Witkoff arrived in Egypt on Wednesday to negotiate the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas and to end the war in Gaza. While he holds no official title in the Trump administration, Kushner, married to Ivanka Trump, has been a key player in peace talks.
Two hours later, Trump posted on his Truth Social account, “I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan. This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace. All Parties will be treated fairly!”
“This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment. The White House’s Rapid Response X account posted a Reuters photo of Rubio whispering into Trump’s ear with the caption, “Iconic.”
Trump approving the contents of a Truth Social post on his personal account comes just weeks after he reportedly accidentally posted a sensitive private message to his 10.8 million followers.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the president believed he was sending Bondi a private message insisting she prosecute former FBI Director James Comey.
The publication reports that Trump was unaware it was posted on Truth Social instead of going directly to Bondi.
He posted on September 20, “Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, ‘same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.’”
The private note made public ended, “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!! President DJT.”
After the errant post, Trump followed-up with another that stated that Bondi was doing a “GREAT job.”
Trump’s Truth Social approval flies in the face of the president’s regular insults about Joe Biden’s use of autopen.
In June, Trump mandated two investigations into Biden’s capabilities as president and “the validity” of executive orders and policy decisions he signed. The investigations were designed to uncover “whether certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden’s mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President.”
Trump even trolled the ex-president by including a photo of an autopen, instead a portrait of Biden, in his new Presidential Walk of Fame at the White House.
Calling it the “biggest scandal maybe in the last 100 years”, Trump said of Biden and the automated pen, “He didn’t have much of an idea what was going on. He shouldn’t be ... I mean, essentially, whoever used the autopen was the president. And that is wrong. It’s illegal, it’s so bad and then it’s so disrespectful to our country.”
