Tony Dokoupil Ends CBS Evening News Broadcast by Saying, ‘Marco Rubio, We Salute You’

Tony Dokoupil ended Tuesday’s broadcast of the CBS Evening News with a light-hearted segment about Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which he concluded by saluting “the ultimate Florida man.”

The secretary is in the spotlight after the U.S. invaded Venezuela on Saturday and abducted President Nicolas Maduro, who was arraigned in federal court in New York on Monday on drug trafficking charges. Maduro pleaded not guilty. At least 80 people were reportedly killed in the raid. President Donald Trump has said it is paramount that U.S. oil companies rebuild Venezuela’s energy sector, adding that the U.S. government may “reimburse” them for doing so.

Rubio has long sought Maduro’s ouster, and now that it’s happened, Trump said Rubio is in charge of the country. It is not clear how the secretary can do so from afar. The president has said that if interim President Delcy Rodriguez does not meet the administration’s demands, he will send a “second wave” to Venezuela.

Dokoupil closed out his show from Miami on Tuesday by making light of Rubio’s new role after the invasion. It’s the latest of several posts he holds in the administration.

“Finally, tonight, and only in America, the many lives and many jobs of Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and a former Florida senator,” the anchor said. “He’s now the face of U.S. foreign policy and President Trump’s point man on Venezuela, all in addition to his roles as secretary of state, interim national security advisor, and acting national archivist, and USAID chief. Whatever you think of his politics, you’ve got to admit, it’s an impressive resume.”

The broadcast then aired AI-generated images of Rubio posted by social media users, showing the secretary in various outfits.

“And now, AI memes have added to that portfolio, casting Secretary Rubio as the new governor of Minnesota, the new shah of Iran, the prime minister of Greenland, the new manager of Manchester United, the head of Hilton Hotels, and, highest of high honors of all, the new Michelin Man,” Dokoupil continued.

He concluded:

Now back in real life, of course, these memes may not add up to much, but for Rubio’s hometown fans, which are many around here in Miami, it is a sign of how Florida, once an American punchline, has become a leader on the world stage.

Marco Rubio, we salute you. You’re the ultimate Florida man. And that’s another day in America and in Miami. For CBS news, I’m Tony Dokoupil. We’ll see you tomorrow, live from Dallas.

Oliver Darcy of Status News called the segment “jarring.”

“Even under normal circumstances, an ostensibly objective newsman’s lighthearted praise of a cabinet member’s political portfolio would have been jarring,” Darcy wrote in his newsletter shortly after the broadcast. “But it was particularly striking in context of the last several days. Rubio is currently helping Trump pursue the fantastical goal of capturing Greenland, and only days earlier participated in the shock overthrow of Venezuela’s government.”

Dokoupil was tapped for the anchor chair last month by CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, who founded the “anti-woke” Free Press website.

Darcy also pointed to a segment earlier in the broadcast that featured a ride-along with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. At one point, Noem told a detained man that he would be “held accountable for your crimes.”

“Taken together, the MAGA-friendly editorial choices made by the freshly relaunched ‘Evening News’ are almost certain to intensify scrutiny of the program—not just from critics outside the building, but from journalists inside it as well,” Darcy added.

Watch above via CBS News.