Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Friday reiterated that he would vote for Donald Trump in a general presidential election but said he hopes that scenario never comes to pass.
“For me, I’m never voting for Donald Trump in the Republican primary,” he said on “Kentucky Sports Radio.” “I’m going to vote for the nominee, but it’s not going to be Donald Trump.
{mosads}“I can’t even imagine that, and I don’t even want to imagine that right now, to be honest with you. I don’t believe it’s ever going to happen. It’s one of those bridges you hope you never have to cross.”
Rubio argued that debate over whether Trump is fit to be Republican standard-bearer shows how unsuited the billionaire is for the position.
“If it was anybody else in first place right now, we would not be asked that question,” he said when asked if he would support his GOP presidential primary rival in any fashion.
“You don’t see Bernie Sanders being asked, ‘Would you vote for Hillary Clinton?’ ” Rubio said, referring to the Democratic presidential candidates.
“If the front-runner was me or anybody else in this race, you wouldn’t have people asking that question. They’re asking it about Donald Trump for a reason. This is a guy that people have real reservations about.”
Rubio said he rejects the notion that Americans will have to pick the lesser of two evils between Clinton and Trump in November.
He said his decision to vote for Trump if he’s the nominee is “a reflection of how bad I think Hillary Clinton is.”
“[But] I don’t want us to reach this choice where it’s between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. I don’t want people to reach this choice where it’s between two people they don’t like or a choice if they’re staying home.”
Rubio and Trump’s other GOP presidential primary rivals vowed on Thursday night they would support the real estate tycoon should he become their party’s election standard bearer.
The Florida lawmaker, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) uttered the pledge despite bashing Trump for two hours during the 11th Republican presidential debate, in Detroit.