Sen. Marco Rubio said Friday that it would be perfectly legal for delegates at the GOP convention to settle on a candidate other than Donald Trump, even though he also understood arguments from Trump supporters who say the candidate with the most delegates should win.
“I do think it’s valid to argue to delegates, ‘Look, let’s not divide the party. You have someone here who has all these votes, very close to get 1,237. Let’s not ignore the will of the people or they’re going to be angry,'” Rubio told Al Punto Florida, according to The Tampa Bay Times.
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“And delegates may decide that, on that reason, they decide to vote for Donald Trump,” he added. “But if they don’t, it is not illegitimate in any way. It is, you know, that’s why we elect delegates. That’s the meaning of being a delegate, is choosing a nominee that can win.”
Rubio sparred with Trump while he was running, and Trump called him “Little Marco.” But Rubio indicated that Trump’s performance in the campaign has “improved significantly,” and while he stopped well short of endorsing Trump, he did reiterate that he would support the GOP nominee, whomever that is.
“I’ve always said I’m going to support the Republican nominee, and that’s especially true now that it’s apparent that Hillary Clinton will be the Democrat nominee,” Rubio remarked.
This story was corrected to put Rubio’s comments in context. An earlier version incorrectly portrayed Rubio as supporting the view of Trump’s supporters, when he was simply describing that view.
