'Marco, you’re fired': Trump roasts Rubio at Kansas rally

Every road show needs a straight man, and on Sunday Marco Rubio played the part well.

At a midterm rally in Hangar 509 at Salina Regional Airport in Kansas, Trump spotted his secretary of state in the building and called him out.

Rubio kept things on message, saying the most important job any president does is keeping families safe.

He added that "no president in his lifetime has done that better than Trump".

Then Trump took the mic and the roast began.

He said Rubio was doing a great job but was "getting too popular", and then announced: “I’m sorry, you’re fired.”

The line landed like a punchline, and the room cheered.

The president promptly softened it.

He called Rubio a "great guy" who would go down as perhaps the "best secretary of state" the country has had.

The bit has a history.

In February, Trump joked he almost “terminated” Rubio after a well-received Munich speech, telling him that if he did any better, he was out of there.

Last Tuesday in Corpus Christi, Trump called Rubio to the stage as the crowd chanted his name.

Rubio’s remarks ran about 11 seconds.

Trump also joked about parachuting him into Cuba to “fix it.”

That gag has been a recurring one since the UN in September.

It’s a long way from 2016. Back then Trump called him “little Marco,” and Rubio mocked Trump’s “small hands” before later saying he regretted it.

Now they’re trading compliments and jabs on stage.

Rubio’s appearances are rare.

He serves as both secretary of state and national security adviser, a combination no one has held since Henry Kissinger.

A State Department official said he travels with Trump in his national security role.

Trump's remarks that Rubio is “getting too popular” is the natural interpretation of the joke, and some commentators made similar remarks about the February Munich quip.

Trump confirmed this during the November 1 Kansas rally, when Trump joked that Rubio was getting "too popular" and "fired" him on the spot, then praised him as possibly the best secretary of state ever.

The crowd cheered.

Trump’s Rubio jokes, from Munich to Cuba parachutes to firing, show a president using humour to praise a popular aide while keeping himself at center stage, days before midterms test his standing.

Midterms are Tuesday, Nov. 3, deciding control of Congress, with Trump’s approval around 38% by one polling average.

Rubio returns to Cuba and Iran work, and Trump will likely keep the running gag going.