Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio, widely seen as a potential vice presidential pick for former President Donald Trump, on Sunday refused to say whether he would accept the results of the 2024 presidential election, instead blaming Democrats for sowing doubts about the election.
The senator, appearing on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” said, “I think you’re asking the wrong person. The Democrats are the ones that have opposed every Republican victory since 2000. Every single one.”
He added, “And you have Democrats now saying they won’t certify 2024 because Trump is an insurrectionist and ineligible to hold office. So you need to ask them.”
Rubio’s refusal to say if he would accept the results of the 2024 election is notable because he did vote to certify the presidential election for then-President-elect Joe Biden. At the time, he said, “Democracy is held together by people’s confidence in the election and their willingness to abide by its results.”
Moderator Kristen Welker pushed back on Rubio, reminding him that no Democratic presidential candidate — including Hillary Clinton in 2016, when she lost to Trump — refused to concede the election.
In early May, Trump himself told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he would accept the results of the presidential election in Wisconsin only “if everything’s honest.”
High-profile Trump allies have also refused to say whether they would commit to accepting the results of the upcoming presidential election, regardless of who wins.
Earlier this month, GOP Sen. Tim Scott, another potential vice presidential pick, also dodged questions about accepting the results of the upcoming election during an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
“At the end of the day, the 47th president of the United States will be President Donald Trump,” Scott told Welker.
Rubio also addressed widespread reporting that he is on a shortlist of people whom Trump could tap to be his running mate this fall.
Rubio recently attended a closed-door donor retreat with Trump at Mar-a-Lago alongside other VP hopefuls, where the former president said Rubio was “absolutely” being considered.
“I haven’t spoken to the president. I haven’t spoken to anybody in the campaign,” Rubio told Welker.
Still, he didn’t back away from the idea that he would accept the position if offered it.
“That would be presumptuous for me,” Rubio said.
He added, “I think anyone who’s offered that job to serve this country in the second highest office — assuming everything else in your life makes sense at that moment — if you’re interested in serving the country, it’s an incredible place to serve.”
