Trump teases Rubio over VP speculation at Florida rally

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) joined former President Trump at a campaign rally in Florida on Thursday as the senator has emerged as one of the finalists to be Trump’s running mate.

Rubio addressed the crowd well before Trump took the stage, attacking President Biden and Vice President Harris and questioning whether Biden was fit to remain in office.

Trump made multiple references to Rubio during his remarks, directly acknowledging the speculation about whether he would choose the senator as his vice president.

At one point, Trump took note of all the media in attendance at the Doral rally, saying, “I think they probably think I'm going to be announcing that Marco's going to be vice president."

Later in the rally, Trump was highlighting his idea to eliminate taxes on tips for service workers when he addressed Rubio.

"Marco you’re going to vote for it, I hope. Well, you may or may not be there to vote for it. But you’ll be involved,” Trump said.

Sources have told The Hill that the former president is focused on Rubio, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) as his top potential running mates, though Rubio and Vance have reportedly been at the center of discussions.

Trump is expected to make his choice public ahead of the Republican National Convention, which kicks off next Monday, though the former president said he may wait until the convention itself to announce. 

Vance and Rubio said Sunday they had not heard one way or the other about whether they were the pick to join Trump on the ticket. 

Rubio’s allies have argued the senator could help expand Trump’s appeal to minority voters, which could chip away at President Biden’s coalition and potentially flip swing states in Trump’s favor. 

However, Rubio and Trump were bitter rivals in the 2016 presidential race, and the senator would need to move outside of Florida to join the ticket.