Six sources who are aware of the presumed Republican nominee’s quest for a running mate say that Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is rising up the list of former President Donald Trump’s possible vice presidential choices.
Rubio is by no means the only candidate for the position; in fact, there are enough applicants to last a whole season of “The Apprentice.” In a March 13 interview with Newsmax, Trump put the figure as 15. According to one of the sources, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson are among those involved.
According to a Trump advisor, “the list is long, and it’s extremely early in any kind of process.” “No one has been directly reached out to yet, and I do not expect that for some time.”
However, Trump’s seeming sincerity for 52-year-old Senator Rubio, a third-term member, suggests his objectives and offers an intriguing array of potential complexities.
Rubio would be the first non-white person to lead a Republican presidential ticket at a time when Trump is confident in his ability to win over Latino voters. He is also youthful and charming, having served longer in federal government than Vice President Kamala Harris.
Stated differently, Trump finds strength in Rubio’s mix of good looks and strong television persona as the son of working-class Cuban immigrants born in Miami.
“Rubio is in play, as is evident from Trump’s orbit,” a seasoned Florida GOP operative stated. “It makes sense because he checks almost every box if they can get past both being from Florida.”
It is against the Constitution for electors to select a president and vice president from within their own state.
“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,” according to Article II, Section I, Clause 3.
However, that did not deter longtime Texan Dick Cheney from moving to Wyoming in 2000 in order to campaign alongside fellow Texan George W. Bush.
Although he has previously brought up the Constitution as a potential barrier, Rubio has not explicitly ruled out the No. 2 position. It is unclear if Rubio would be interested in shifting to the position of vice president.
In response to a question about joining a Trump ticket on Fox News in January, Rubio stated, “We’re both from the same state, so that’s probably not going to work that way.”
