


Senator Marco Rubio has been touted as a possible running mate for Donald Trump. This would set up a big problem (not just that Rubio said stuff during their 2016 primary such as that Trump was an “erratic individual” who couldn’t be trusted with the nuclear codes). No, the real problem would be the Constitution.
That is, under the Twelfth Amendment, electors cannot vote for a president and vice-president who are both from their state. Given that Trump and Rubio are both Florida residents, were Rubio to become Trump’s running mate, Florida’s electoral votes couldn’t go to both of them. Presumably, that would mean, Trump gets Florida’s electoral votes, but Rubio could not.
If Florida’s electoral votes end up providing the margin of victory for a theoretical Trump-Rubio ticket, it would mean Trump gets elected president. But there would be no VP candidate with a majority, and so that race would get thrown to the Senate.
If the Democrats retain their Senate majority, things could get interesting. Perhaps no Democrat would want to serve as VP with Trump, or a few of them would just vote for Rubio to avoid chaos. But what if they just decided to pair Trump with a Democrat?
Could you imagine Joe Biden becoming vice president again, only under Trump? Or Kamala Harris serving as Trump’s VP?
The comedic possibilities seem endless.