A year or eight years, the change is really too big. In the year, Florida Senator Marco Rubio became the last hope of the anti-Trump forces in the Republican primaries. By the year, he had made it onto the list of candidates for Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate. Now, if the reports from Trump's world are true, Rubio is about to be nominated as the Secretary of State in the new administration.

The first step in Trump's cabinet formation was to announce that Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo would not be considered, both being members of the first term administration. However, they both competed against Trump in the primaries—or at least Pompeo explored the possibility. When this news was announced, some media interpreted it as a rejection of Republicans who supported the U.S. backing Ukraine in its war against Russia. But with Rubio and Representative Michael Waltz reportedly nominated as National Security Advisors, it now appears to be more of a choice between those loyal to Trump personally and those not.

Rubio's nomination should satisfy the average Republican in multiple ways. First, he is a known figure. Many officials appointed during Trump's first term were not well-known to the broader political sphere, which increased uncertainty about how they would govern. Rubio has served in the Senate for years and has even run for president. His views are well-known, and his track record in the legislative body provides support for him. These views should also reassure the average conservative, regardless of whether they consider themselves part of the "Make America Great Again" movement.

Rubio has consistently been at the forefront of the movement, recognizing China as the greatest threat to the American and global order. In an article for The American Prospect magazine, Rubio outlined measures the United States could take to weaken China's influence on the global economy. He proposed preventing federal pension funds from investing in companies controlled by China or the Chinese military (of which there are many), and further suggested banning such companies from entering the U.S. capital markets. He introduced legislation on both points during his tenure as a senator.

In the face of Iran's growing threats, Rubio is also a hawk. He recently criticized the Biden administration for taking a weak stance in dealing with Iran, pointing out the connection between the funds obtained through weakening sanctions on Iran and those used for terrorist activities against Israel and other US allies. He called on Joe Biden to re-list the Houthis—Iran's proxies—as foreign terrorist organizations, a designation they clearly deserve.

These are the positions of mainstream conservatives, not the isolationism that some feared Trump would regress to. But it is also unfair to say that Rubio and Trump "yearn for war," as some left-wing experts have implied. The architects of the Iraq War would find no support in the Trump administration. In fact, Dick Cheney supported Trump's Democratic opponent, while figures like George Bush and John Bolton remained silent before the election. The neocons have taken over the Democratic Party. But Rubio is not a neoconservative; he is a new Reaganite. Like Trump, he is uninterested in the liberal hegemonic wars that the U.S. military has been waging for twenty years. They do not want to spread democracy with the sword, nor do they want American soldiers to sacrifice their lives to instill feminism in the Taliban. What they truly want is a United States powerful enough to protect itself, its allies, and global interests. This power would not be used to wage the "selective wars" that Barack Obama spoke of, but to prevent conflicts and to show America's enemies that waging war against the West is not worth the risk. Compared to everything Biden has done in the past four years, this stance is closer to the ideals of the average American.