Earlier, we wrote about a CNN hit piece that claimed without evidence that Sec. of State Marco Rubio was miffed because he was allegedly being "overshadowed" by Steve Witkoff, who is the United States Special Envoy to the Middle East and a longtime close friend of President Donald Trump.

"Over the first two months of the second Trump administration, Rubio has in some ways taken a back seat on the world stage to Witkoff," CNN reported, "whose portfolio has expanded beyond his official title of special envoy to the Middle East."

In response to the story, Rubio went off, tweeting "CNN is an anti-Trump gossip tabloid that uses thinly sourced stories to generate clicks and try to make trouble. Witkoff is one of the people I work with the CLOSEST on our team. These people are pathetic."

READ MORE: Marco Rubio Minces No Words After Media Tries to Manufacture Another Trump Admin 'Conflict'

As it turns out, Rubio isn't the only one irked by the quickly unraveling story. Witkoff is, too, and took to the Twitter/X machine to correct the record himself:

Shame on @CNN. Not one of the authors of this fabricated article even called me as a courtesy to get my thoughts on this. Why? Because it is completely untrue. Here is the truth. @marcorubio is an outstanding Secretary of State. We work in complete sync together. There has never been a moment of friction between us and we have become close personal friends. It’s scary what these writers will do to attempt to be relevant. 

He tagged several members of the Trump administration and family, including the president himself, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles:

Shame on @CNN. Not one of the authors of this fabricated article even called me as a courtesy to get my thoughts on this. Why? Because it is completely untrue. Here is the truth. @marcorubio is an outstanding Secretary of State. We work in complete sync together. There has never… https://t.co/6AwxN1nCpw

— Steve Witkoff (@SteveWitkoff) March 21, 2025

It should be noted that Witkoff is far from a prolific Twitter/X user, having last posted in mid-February, so obviously getting out in front of this bogus media talking point was a priority for him.

And just to emphasize his point, there were five - count 'em - five "reporters" whose names appeared in the byline. And yet not a single one of them could be bothered to reach out to either of the power players in their article. "Pathetic" indeed.

Witkoff's and Rubio's denials of the conflict and tension strongly implied in the CNN piece comes just two weeks after Rubio and DOGE advisor Elon Musk indirectly shot down a New York Times story that alleged an "explosive" cabinet meeting where Musk and Rubio were having a heated exchange as Trump supposedly looked on for a short time before intervening.

Trump, too, got in on the action regarding that report, saying there "was no clash," that Rubio and Musk got along just fine, and that the NBC News reporter who asked him about it was a "troublemaker."

I've gotta say that I'm impressed by how quickly members of Trump's team are putting themselves out there to push back against these stories about alleged infighting and tensions, casting doubt on them right away before the narratives have had a chance to get "baked in" and taken seriously. 

It shows that lessons were learned from Trump's first term in office, and a stronger commitment to unity and displaying a united front than we saw the last time around. It doesn't mean there won't be hiccups, but it does mean that if the MSM thinks they're going to get away cleanly with the stunts they pulled in the Trump 45 era, they are sadly mistaken.

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