A handwritten note from Secretary of State Marco Rubio to President Donald Trump has offered a rare glimpse into the coordination behind the scenes of Trump’s White House — particularly how his social media announcements are managed.
During a meeting with conservative influencers and the press on Wednesday, Oct. 8, Trump, 79, was interrupted when Rubio discreetly passed him a message. According to the Associated Press, Rubio had a private update to share.
The note reminded Trump that he needed to “approve” a social media post — suggesting that Trump himself had not yet authorized the message.
A photographer captured the moment, and a zoomed-in image revealed what the note said:
“You need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first.”
The note referred to a peace deal that Trump has been helping to broker between Israel and Hamas. As CNN reported, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and leaders of Hamas — the group that governs Gaza and is designated by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization — had reached a tentative first-step agreement toward ending the years-long conflict.
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During the meeting, Trump interrupted to share the update.
“I was just given a note by the secretary of state saying that we’re very close to a deal on the Middle East, and they’re gonna need me pretty quickly,” Trump said, according to the AP. “So we’ll take a couple of more questions.”
The meeting reportedly continued for about ten more minutes before Trump added that he was heading off to “try and solve some problems in the Middle East.”
“Although I’m very well represented by our secretary of state. He could probably do an even better job than me, but who knows,” he joked. “We don’t want to take any chances. So we’re going to go and do that.”
At 6:51 p.m. local time, Trump’s team posted the announcement on Truth Social — roughly two hours after the meeting ended. The message read:
“I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan. This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace.
All Parties will be treated fairly! This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”
The agreement still requires approval from Israel’s security cabinet before it becomes official. According to CNN, the first phase centers on releasing hostages captured during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners.
Trump, who has been directly involved in brokering the discussions, has taken a firm stance against Hamas. In another Truth Social post, he condemned the group as a “ruthless and violent threat” responsible for the October 7th massacre in Israel.
“They have killed (and made lives unbearably miserable), culminating with the October 7th MASSACRE, in Israel, babies, woman, children, old people, and many young men and women, boys and girls, getting ready to celebrate their future lives together,” Trump wrote.
He went on to warn that the group had been “given one last chance.”
“Great, powerful, and very rich Nations of the Middle East, and the surrounding areas beyond, together with the United States of America, have agreed, with Israel signing on, to PEACE, after 3000 years, in the Middle East. THIS DEAL ALSO SPARES THE LIVES OF ALL REMAINING HAMAS FIGHTERS!” he said, adding a deadline for compliance.
Trump ended with a stark warning:
“If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas. THERE WILL BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
