http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/marco-rubio-republican-national-convention-223627Rubio: I'm willing to speak for Trump at the convention
By Nolan D. McCaskill
05/26/16 04:48 PM EDT
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Marco Rubio is willing to go above and beyond supporting Donald Trump, exceeding the requirements of the loyalty pledge he signed last fall to support the eventual nominee.
In an excerpt of an interview published Thursday with CNN’s Jake Tapper, the Florida senator said he will attend the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, where he’s willing to have a speaking role and expects his delegates to be released.
“Yeah, my sense is I’m gonna go to the convention,” Rubio said. “And I don’t know if I’ll have a role in the convention, but I have a lot of people going there that are supporters.”
“Yeah,” Rubio responded when asked if he would speak on Trump’s behalf at the convention. “I wanna be helpful. I don’t wanna be harmful because I don’t want Hillary Clinton to be president.”
Since suspending his campaign following a home-state loss in the March 15 Florida primary, Rubio has maintained that he still has policy disagreements with Trump but indicated earlier this month that he would vote for the real estate mogul over Hillary Clinton, later explaining that he was honoring his pledge.
“Look, my policy differences with Donald Trump — I spent 11 months talking about them so I think they’re well understood. That said, I don’t want Hillary Clinton to be president,” he continued. “If there’s something I can do to help that from happening and it’s helpful to the cause, I most certainly would be honored to be considered for that.”
The Florida senator also said he would release his delegates, though his campaign “basically, technically” has already done so, he explained, “because Donald is gonna have a majority number and at that point it’ll be irrelevant.”
“So if we haven’t done so already, we will,” he said.
Despite how far he’s willing to go to support the billionaire, it stops at joining his ticket. “In my view, that wouldn’t be the right choice for him,” Rubio said of being chosen as Trump’s running mate. “He’s earned the nomination and deserves to have a running mate that more fully embraces the things he stands for.”
Rubio’s 2016 campaign is over, but he agreed that it’s “a safe assumption” that his failed bid for president won’t be his final run for public office.
“But I don’t know where I’m gonna be in two years. I don’t know,” he said. “I can tell you I enjoy public service. If there’s an opportunity to serve again in a way that I feel passionate about, I most certainly think I’d explore it. But I don’t know where I’m gonna be in two years. I don’t know what my life will look like then.”
Though he has deemed it "unlikely," Rubio could return to the U.S. Senate. He faces a June 24 filing deadline to run for reelection, and Republican senators are warm to another term for Rubio, especially because there's fear that the five-person GOP primary in Florida could flip his seat to Democrats.
continued
