Donald Trump will soon be making one of the biggest decisions of his life: picking a vice president who will likely be his heir apparent after his second term in office.
Over the past few weeks, Trump’s campaign has moved to the next stage of the running mate search, requesting documents from several potential candidates. One candidate who stood out among the rest was Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who, since competing against Trump in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, has become a strong supporter of the former president, writes Fox News.
Democrats, according to reports, say he’s their biggest worry.
“Rubio is a familiar face who has become one of the strongest voices in the Senate for the America First agenda, is excellent on TV, and can blast Biden effectively for his failed policies,” one top GOP strategist told Fox News Digital.
“Trump is doing very well with Latino voters and the addition of Rubio would only strengthen that, which could spell the end for Biden,” they said, adding that “Rubio would be a solid, safe pick, with a lot of upside.”
He noted that Rubio was the only person under consideration who speaks another language, and that his ability to speak Spanish would help the Trump campaign reach Hispanic voters in many states where it could boost their competitiveness, including Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Virginia, New York, and Florida.
“While demonstrating his ability to win a slightly higher percentage of White voters in 2022 than Trump did in Florida in 2020, he also appeals to the suburban and independent voters that will be key to Trump’s success, and is the only contender from a true battleground state,” Wolking said.
The New York Times recently noted that ” Rubio has taken a low-key approach in aiming to become the next Republican vice-presidential nominee, a strategy with a clear logic: Mr. Trump is known to bristle when anyone gets too close to his limelight.
But for Mr. Rubio, it’s also a strategy with a history. When the two men competed for the Republican nomination in 2016, Mr. Trump relentlessly mocked his rival’s height, his ears and his mannerisms. Mr. Rubio hurled his own schoolyard taunts, which landed awkwardly and then backfired painfully until his defeat. Since then, the senator has been careful and discreet about how close he gets to Mr. Trump.
His behind-the-scenes maneuvering has transformed him from bitter rival to occasional policy adviser and, now, a leading contender to join Mr. Trump’s ticket, advisers to the former president said.“
One issue that could arise from the pick, however, comes in the form of the Constitution’s prohibition against a president and vice president being from the same state.
If Rubio joined Trump’s ticket, one of them, likely Trump, would have to find a workaround to the 12th Amendment by establishing residency in a state besides Florida.
