Rubio says being Trump running mate would be 'incredible honor'
Sen Marco Rubio expressed openness to the idea of being former President Trump's running mate but made clear he has not been in contact with the campaign about it
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After reports that he is being considered to be former President Trump's running mate, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said it would be an "honor" to serve, but said he has not heard from the Trump campaign.
Rubio, a Republican from Florida, 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 vice presidency."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rubio had nothing but good things to say about Trump, despite a past marked by competition and frequent barbs traded back and forth on the 2016 campaign trail.
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Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks with members of the media as he walks through the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
"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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}TRUMP REVEALS VP SHORTLIST INCLUDES DESANTIS, RAMASWAMY, NOEM, DONALDS, GABBARD
Recent rumors that Rubio was being considered seemed to come out of left field, as the senator was left out of previous discussions about the Trump campaign's shortlist.
Former President Trump and former first lady Melania Trump stand together as they speak with the media after voting at a polling station setup in the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center in Palm Beach, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
During an interview on Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle" last month, Trump was asked about half a dozen potential running mate choices: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, a Democrat turned independent.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Are they all on your shortlist?" host Laura Ingraham asked the former president during the interview.
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Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., raises a question during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"They are," Trump answered. "Honestly, all of those people are good. They’re all good, they’re all solid."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rubio on Thursday also quashed rumors circulating among Republicans that he has any ambitions of becoming the conference leader, emphatically denying that he is interested.
"No, I have never talked to anyone about running for leader, either," Rubio said. "That’s something I’ve never been interested in doing."
Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.