Washington DC - President Donald Trump recently said that he nearly fired his Secretary of State Marco Rubio for outshining him.

On Thursday, Trump gathered his recently created Board of Peace for its first meeting at the Trump Institute of Peace.

At one point, while addressing the group, the president said Rubio "really did [himself] proud" by delivering what many deemed an impressive speech.

"In fact, so proud that I almost terminated his employ, because they were saying, 'Why can't Trump do this?' I do, but I say it differently," Trump said sarcastically, garnering awkward laughs from Rubio and the group.

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Then, turning to speak to Rubio directly, Trump said, "But Marco, don't do any better than you did, please. Because if you do, you're out of here!"

The Secretary of State delivered a more than 20-minute speech on Saturday during the Munich Security Conference, in which he invited European nations to work with the US on a number of issues. His remarks were met with a standing ovation.

Marco Rubio has been seen by many as a possible Republican successor to Trump, alongside Vice President JD Vance.

In contrast, Vance gave a speech at the same Munich conference last year, lambasting European nations for their free speech and immigration policies, which was not met with a standing ovation.