Republican Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has broken his silence amid reports that the Florida senator is being considered as President Donald Trump’s potential election running mate.
Responding to the reports, Rubio said it would be an “incredible honor” to serve with Trump.
However, Rubio said he has not heard from the Trump campaign.
Rubio said Thursday that being offered the chance to be a presidential running mate would be “an incredible opportunity to serve our country.”
“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,” Rubio said Thursday, according to Politico.
“But that hasn’t happened, I haven’t spoken to anybody on his campaign about it.
“Never once have I talked to [Trump] about the vice presidency.”
Rubio had nothing but good things to say about Trump.
His support for Trump comes despite a past marked by competition and frequent barbs traded back and forth on the 2016 campaign trail.
“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,” the senator continued, according to Politico.
Recent rumors that Rubio was being considered seemed to come out of left field, however.
The senator was left out of previous discussions about the Trump campaign’s shortlist.
During an interview on Fox News’s “The Ingraham Angle” last month, Trump was asked about half a dozen potential running mate choices.
Those names included:
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
- Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC)
- Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy
- South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem
- Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL)
- Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii – a Democrat turned independent
“Are they all on your shortlist?” host Laura Ingraham asked Trump after listing the names during the interview.
“They are,” Trump answered.
“Honestly, all of those people are good.
“They’re all good, they’re all solid.”
On Thursday, Rubio also quashed rumors circulating among Republicans that he has any ambitions of becoming the conference leader.
He emphatically denies that he is interested in the role.
“No, I have never talked to anyone about running for leader, either,” Rubio said.
“That’s something I’ve never been interested in doing.”
READ MORE – Trump Eliminates Big Names from His VP Shortlist
