Marco Rubio hasn’t spoken with former President Donald Trump about being his vice president, the senator said in a brief Thursday interview, following reports that the Florida Republican was on Trump’s shortlist.
And Rubio sounds open to the idea.
“If anybody has been offered the chance to be vice president, they should consider that an honor and an incredible opportunity to serve our country. But that hasn’t happened, I haven’t spoken to anybody on his campaign about it,” Rubio said. “Never once have I talked to [Trump] about vice presidency.”
The two had a tense relationship back in the 2016 presidential race, trading barbs when they were vying for the GOP nomination. Rubio made comments about Trump’s “small hands,” and the former president talked about Rubio’s boots having “big heels” and called him “little Marco.” But Rubio said they’re on good terms now.
“We’ve had a great working relationship — we ran against each other, so at one point we were competitors — but since 2016, especially when he was president, we worked really well together,” Rubio said.
If Trump did pick Rubio as his running mate, one of them would have to change his Florida residency. The Constitution states that a president and vice president cannot be from the same state.
There are other rumors circulating about Rubio’s future, too. Senate Republicans have said Rubio’s name continues to surface in conversations about conference leadership, though he’s taken no concrete steps to mount a bid and has denied interest.
“No, I have never talked to anyone about running for leader, either,” Rubio said. “That’s something I’ve never been interested in doing.”
Burgess Everett contributed to this report.
