Sources confirmed to CBS News on Wednesday that Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is being talked about as a potential running mate for former President Donald Trump, as he seeks to win back the White House.
Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee, and he won the Florida Republican primary on Tuesday night.
A source stressed that the list for Trump’s vice-presidential pick remained long and no decision has been made, and one will likely not happen for some time.
This is not the first time that Rubio has made the short list for a potential running mate. The senior senator from Florida was also on the short list to be on the ticket with Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP nominee. Romney ended up choosing then-Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin on their failed attempt to win the White House during that presidential election.
The news was first reported by NBC News.
Speaking to Glenn Beck, Rubio said Thursday that he had never spoken to Trump or his campaign about being considered for vice president.
“The reason I’m in public service and the reason why I even ran for reelection — it’s a six-year contract you sign when you come here — is I still want to save this country,” Rubio said. “I love this country with all my heart. It changed the life of my family and the trajectory of my family. I mean, I’m not saying that people whose families were born here don’t love the country this well, but when your parents came from somewhere else, you realize that but for the grace of God and the existence of America, how different my life would have been. I think this country is in a lot, a lot of trouble.”
Rubio, who ran for president in 2016 against Trump, is the son of two Cuban immigrants and is seen as someone who could help the campaign in appealing to Latino voters.
Rubio endorsed Trump the day before the Iowa caucuses in a post on X, and referenced working with Trump on the expanded Child Tax Credit and sanctions on Venezuela and Cuba during his presidency.
“I support Trump because that kind of leadership is the ONLY way we will get the extraordinary actions needed to fix the disaster Biden has created,” Rubio wrote.
But any potential Trump-Rubio ticket could run into potential problems, given that Article II of the Constitution states that “The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves.”
