Marco Rubio wears Maduro's infamous Nike tracksuit en route to China

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has jumped into the 2028 conversation to be president, and he also jumped into a gray Nike Tech outfit earlier this week.

Rubio wore the same Nike Tech fleece two-piece tracksuit donned by former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro after his arrest. The photo was posted on X by White House communications director Steven Cheung. Rubio, Trump and senior White House officials were headed to China for a summit with China's President Xi Jinping.

When Trump weighed in on the outfit choice, he said "I thought he looked very good in the outfit," adding with a smile that "I don't know if I'd do it, but I thought he looked very good." 

In a recent "Nightly News" interview with Tom Llamas on NBC, Rubio denied copying Maduro.

When asked by Llamas if there was context for the suit or if he was "trying to send a sign," Rubio replied that "there's no context." Maduro was outfitted in the tracksuit during a U.S. nighttime raid to capture him that took place Jan. 3. The raid led to the arrest and extradition of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, to New York, where he awaits trial.

"It's a nice suit. I mean, I like it. It's comfortable," Rubio said. When Llamas noted it was the same tracksuit Maduro wore, Rubio said "it is, but you know what, he copied me because I had it before, I mean I don't know when he bought his."

"I don't know. There was no message. I didn't even know (Cheung) was taking the picture," Rubio also told Llamas.

Why the Nike Tech trend blew up

Earlier this year, Nike Tech fleeces, jackets, pants and sweatsuits sparked cultural commentary with a viral social media trend that inspired young men to trade the casual style for preppy quarter-zip sweaters. A viral TikTok video ignited a flurry of internet opinions after creator Jason Gymafi said young men no longer drink coffee in Nike Techs, instead choosing matcha with quarter-zips.

Then the Nike Tech received more attention after the viral photo of Maduro, posted by President Donald Trump, caused the term "Nike Tech" to see a spike in Google searches Jan. 3, following Trump's Truth Social post, according to Google Trends. Rubio has risen to the top of the list of Republican presidential contenders, alongside Vice President JD Vance, in recent weeks.

Nike Tech tracksuit worn as Rubio '28 buzz grows

On May 11, at a Rose Garden Club Dinner at the White House, President Trrump discussed possible 2028 candidates for Democrats – including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his 2028 opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris – before commenting on potential Republican hopefuls.

"We got a lot of beauties out there," Trump said. "I don't know, who's it going to be? Is it going to be JD? It is going to be somebody else." He then asked the audience if they liked Rubio or Vance more.

Contributing: Kinsey Crowley, Kate Perez