President Donald Trump on Monday hailed Secretary of State Marco Rubio, his onetime political nemesis, as the greatest person ever to serve in the position.

Rubio was one of several figures Trump credited for negotiating an end to the war in Gaza during his speech to the Israeli parliament, known as the Knesset. The first phase of the ceasefire held over the weekend, culminating on Monday with nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners being released to Gaza, and Hamas releasing all remaining living hostages to Israel.

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During his speech, Trump named Rubio as one of the “unbelievably good people” who worked to secure peace. The president also noted the turn his relationship has taken with Rubio since the two men were bitter rivals battling to win the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.

“He and I, you know, we really fought it out,” Trump told Israeli lawmakers. “You remember, he was tough, he was nasty.”

Now, the president said the secretary of state’s skill in dealing with a host of parties, including Hamas, Qatar, and Israel, to end the war has changed the game. 

“I have a prediction that Marco will go down — I mean this — as the greatest secretary of state in the history of the United States,” Trump said. “I believe that. Who the hell thought this was going to happen? Marco, right? And now, I’m saying he’s going to go down as the greatest. He will. He was always smart and sharp, and people respect him.”

Since coming to power, Trump has given more and more responsibility to Rubio. The former Florida senator has worn four hats at a time, also serving as national security adviser, national archivist, and head of what used to be the U.S. Agency for International Development.

“Marco Rubio, unbelievable,” Trump said earlier this year. “Unbelievable. Marco, when I have a problem, I call up Marco. He gets it solved.”

Rubio was one of five figures Trump named as particularly influential in steering the Middle East toward peace. The president also recognized special envoy Steve Witkoff, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan “Raizin” Caine, and businessman Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law. 

Trump named Kushner as someone to bring in “when we want to get that deal closed,” and Hegseth was described as an “unbelievable leader” who “turned out to be even better than we thought.”

But the president spent the most time reminiscing about his relationship with Witkoff and Caine. 

He relished telling a story about one “five-hour” meeting Witkoff held with Putin, saying it signaled the negotiator held rare “talent.”

“Everybody loves him,” Trump said. “They love him on this side, they love him on the other side. And — he really is — he’s a great negotiator because he’s a great guy. He had that quality that I was looking for, and I didn’t see it around in too many ways.”

Trump also held his audience captive with a lengthy story about meeting with Caine in Iraq to discuss whether the general believed it would be possible to swiftly decapitate the core of neighboring Iran’s nuclear capability. He compared the meeting to a movie in which Caine, another general, and the sergeant present were in “like central casting.”

Trump labeled Caine a “real general” in contrast to the “television generals” who cast doubt on such operations in Washington.

The president suggested he would call his quintet of peacemakers back together to negotiate a deal with Iran.

“They want to make a deal, and we’re going to see if we can do something,” Trump promised.

But first, he said he wanted the team to focus on ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.

“Steve, you, and I think Jared, come on, I’ll call you back for another one,” the president said. “We bring Jared and Steve, you and Jared, and the general and Pete and Marco — you’ll get that [Iran] deal done. Easy. I think that’ll be easy, but first we have to get Russia done. We’ve got to get that one done. If you don’t mind, Steve, let’s focus on Russia. We’ll get it done.”

TRUMP CELEBRATES ‘GOLDEN AGE’ OF ISRAEL AND MIDDLE EAST

Trump expressed hope that the world is turning in a new direction, pointing to the still-sustained ceasefire in Gaza as proof that change is possible.

“So many people said, ‘You’re just wasting your time,’ but we weren’t, because we had talented people working with us,” he said.