By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, August 13, 2026
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations confirmation hearing at Dirksen Senate Office Building on Jan. 15, 2025, in Washington, D.C. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Liberty was never meant to be “liberation from man’s duty to family, nation and God,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, pointing to the Church as one of the institutions that’s held the nation together for 250 years.
In a video posted on X Friday, Rubio marked the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing with a message about what he sees as the true meaning of freedom. The video is packed with imagery: Mount Rushmore, a cross, footage from the end of World War II, the moon landing, former President Ronald Reagan and evangelist Billy Graham. “Great nations are born of great people,” Rubio says in the video. “They cannot survive long without them.”
Rubio pointed to “duty, sacrifice, service to a cause beyond oneself, [and] belief in something larger and more important than the individual” as “the causes that impelled a group of extraordinary men to declare their independence to the world 250 years ago.”
“The men who signed our Declaration of Independence understood that liberty meant something much more than being able to do whatever one wants,” the secretary of state added.
“It was not the mere absence of limits. It was not liberation from man’s duty to family, to nation, to God,” he added. “They understood that order and virtue are the indispensable foundation of a free people and that human virtue has to be cultivated by human institutions like the family, the church, just and moral laws, [and] the habits and practices of self-government.”
Rubio named the aforementioned institutions and principles as reflective of “the true American tradition of freedom passed down to us across the generations, stewarded and defended by men and women for 250 years” and “the foundation of American greatness.”
He concluded the video by calling on Americans to “pray that it will continue for the next 250 years as well” as footage of America 250 celebrations and members of the Trump administration, including Rubio himself, appeared on screen.
The publication of the video, which Rubio prefaced with a caption stating, “This is the American way,” comes as America 250 celebrations remain ongoing. The National Jubilee of Prayer, Penance and Thanksgiving and the Great American State Fair have already taken place on the National Mall, while the Freedom 250 Grand Prix is slated to take place on the streets of the nation’s capital later this month.
The video also comes as Rubio has been floated as a potential contender for the Republican nomination in the 2028 presidential election. The RealClearPolitics average of polls asking Republican voters which potential candidate they would back, based on surveys taken between June 26 and July 29, shows Rubio capturing 21.6% support.
Only Vice President JD Vance receives a higher level of support (39.2%) from Republican primary voters. Rubio finishes well ahead of other potential contenders, including Donald Trump Jr. (11.8%), Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (7.1%), U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (3.8%), former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley (3.5%), Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas (3.1%), Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (2.3%) and former TV host Tucker Carlson (2.0%).
Rubio’s candidacy in the 2028 presidential election isn’t guaranteed, as is the case with all other potential candidates included in the polling average. Prominent Democrats and Republicans are expected to join the presidential race after this year’s midterm elections.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com