On Sunday, Sen. Marco Rubio said he was open to joining former President Donald Trump as his running mate.
However, he again insisted he had no conversations with Trump or his campaign team about being the vice presidential nominee.
Rubio appeared on "Meet the Press," where he had a contentious back-and-forth interview with host Kristin Welker over abortion, immigration, and whether he would accept the results of the 2024 Election.
Rubio has been viewed as one of the potential contenders for Trump's running mate and his name has repeatedly surfaced in news reports speculating about it. But he's just one of several people who have been mentioned in recent weeks. During a rally in Minnesota on Friday, Trump said that a "lot of people think" that it could be North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
When asked point blank if he would consider becoming the vice presidential nominee, Rubio said, "I'll do whatever the campaign asks me to do."
But Rubio added that it was "presumptuous" even to discuss the selection and that no one knows Trump is going to pick other than Trump himself. He said that political reporters were speculating and that most of the people he's spoken about as the vice presidential pick are members of the media.
"Why would I opine on something that I have never talked to the campaign about?" Rubio said at one point.
Rubio added that he would "virtually do anything" to ensure that Trump defeats President Joe Biden in November and that he did say that being vice president would be an "incredible place to serve."
If Trump picked Rubio to become vice president, it would potentially open up his Senate seat early if Trump ultimately wins. Rubio won a new term in 2022, and if he resigned to become Vice President, then Gov. Ron DeSantis would get to appoint someone to fill the office until the next round of elections in 2026.
In that same interview, Welker asked Rubio whether he agreed with Trump that Florida's recently enacted ban on abortions after six weeks was a "terrible mistake." Trump commented about it last year after state legislators approved the ban that did not go into effect until May 1.
Rubio did not directly address Trump's criticism but instead said, "I support laws that save unborn human life."
During the interview, Welker pointed out that Rubio had criticized Trump's proposals for mass deportation during the 2016 presidential campaign when both men were vying for the GOP nomination.
He suggested that he was open to looking at mass deportations now because of the surge of migrants that had come into the country over the last few years.
"This is an invasion of the country," Rubio said, "and it needs to be dealt with dramatically."
Rubio also bristled at questions about whether he would accept the results of this year's election no matter who winds up winning.
Instead of answering the question, Rubio — who did vote to certify the results of the 2020 Election — pushed back and said, "I think you are asking the wrong person." He blasted Democrats' criticisms of past election wins, even noting that some opposed certifying results in the 2004 Election between President George W. Bush and John Kerry.
"You need to ask them," Rubio told Welker. "Have you ever asked a Democrat this question on your show?"
Rubio then criticized the media for covering Hunter Biden's laptop in the run-up to the 2020 Election and how the election was handled in several states, like Wisconsin. When Welker said there was no evidence of "widespread fraud," Rubio said, "I haven't used the words widespread fraud."
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