Marco Rubio can’t hide his pride after daughter Daniella's speech at DC event: ‘Was that cool or what?’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio shared a proud father moment on Friday after his daughter, Daniella, introduced him ahead of his speech at the Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention. Marco Rubio praised his youngest child, a University of Virginia law student, for her ease speaking in public.

He also joked about family roles during a discussion of passing values to the next generation, then delivered an optimistic message to conservatives after Republican losses.Daniella , a third-year law student at the University of Virginia, took the stage at the Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention to introduce her father.

She proudly presented him as “the 72nd Secretary of State of the United States, my father, Marco Rubio.” Wrapping up her introduction, Daniella spoke about the values he had passed on to her, saying, “His greatest legacy will always be the values he has instilled, the importance of always putting the Lord first.” She concluded on an emotional note, saying, “I am most proud and most grateful and most fortunate to call him Dad.” Clearly impressed by her confidence on stage, Rubio praised her remarks, telling the audience, “Was that cool or what?” He admitted that his daughter appeared far more comfortable speaking in public than he did.

“I don’t know where she got this,” he said, adding, “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, Rubio’s youngest child, is a third-year law student at the University of Virginia.

The secretary of state and his wife, Jeanette, have four children, including two sons and two daughters. During the question-and-answer session, a fellow law student asked Rubio how Americans could pass on values and a love of freedom to the next generation, pointing to his relationship with Daniella as an example.

Rubio responded with a humorous remark about his household, saying, “Well, my home was not a democracy.” He quickly clarified that he did not consider himself the family dictator, joking that his role was instead that of “the minister of defense.” Moving beyond the family moment, Rubio used his address to deliver an optimistic message to conservatives following the Democrats' strong performance in the recent midterm elections.

In his first speech since the Republican setbacks, he urged party members not to lose sight of their long-term goals, drawing comparisons with the political challenges faced by former President Ronald Reagan after the 1982 midterm elections.

Rubio recalled how Republicans experienced significant losses less than two years into Reagan's first presidential term. “Less than two years into Ronald Reagan’s first term in office, everything sort of seemed headed in the wrong direction,” he said.

“It’s hard for us to remember that right now, but that’s what it was like.” Rubio encouraged Republicans to look beyond individual election results and focus on building a lasting political legacy. “We have much more to do over the next two, the next six, the next 20 years,” he told the audience.

“Great things that last are built in decades, not election cycles.” Acknowledging that political movements inevitably experience both victories and setbacks, Rubio said Republicans should remain committed to their broader mission.