Rubio was looking at his phone after Trump praised him in State of the Union speech

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 Donald Trump singled him out for praise during the State of the Union address.

Zooming in on the photos, it was clear that Rubio was reading WhatsApp messages from Richard Grenell, the president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Trump’s special envoy to Venezuela.

Throughout 2025, Rubio and Grenell were frequently at odds over Venezuela policy, debating the U.S. approach to prisoner swaps and peace talks.

During the speech, Rubio, purposefully or not, scrolled back in his correspondence with Grenell. In a September message caught by the Times photographer, Tierney L. Cross, Grenell told Rubio about a letter that President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela had written to Trump.

“Just wanted you to know I got a copy of the letter Maduro sent to DJT,” Grenell wrote, referring to Trump by his initials. “You all should have the original — I was told it was delivered to someone on your team.”

While Grenell was actively pursuing a peace deal with Venezuela at the time, Rubio and his aides were skeptical that Maduro was serious.

But Grenell’s texts during the State of the Union did not seem contentious. In one photo, Rubio is seen reading a message from Grenell that said: “Class act!!!”

That appeared to be a reference to an interaction between Trump and Rubio during the president’s speech, in which he singled out Rubio for praise.

“You have done a great job,” Trump said. “Great secretary of state. I think he’ll go down as the best ever.”

Rubio struck a humble pose and then pointed back to the president, as if to throw credit to Trump.

The gesture prompted Grenell to text, the phone to buzz, and Rubio to look.

Grenell said in a statement that the photo showed that he and Rubio were friendly despite policy differences.

“We are friends,” Grenell wrote. “And I simply reached out to a friend to compliment his humility in such a public moment.”