Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and former President Donald Trump have not always been allies. The two shared more than their fair share of barbs on the campaign trail when they were opponents in 2016.
Despite a history of vitriolic criticism, the two men appear to have made amends. Rubio faces a major hurdle to becoming Trump’s vice president, given that both of them hail from Florida. However, if one of the two is willing to change his residence, the senator could offer Trump increased access to Hispanic and Latino voters the former president has shown he has been successful in wooing away from President Joe Biden and Democrats.
Here are a few things to know about Rubio and why Trump is considering him to be his running mate.
Rubio was born on May 28, 1971. He is 53 years old.
Rubio was born in Miami.
Rubio graduated from South Miami Senior High School in 1989. He attended Tarkio College in Missouri and Sante Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida, before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Florida in 1993. He graduated from the University of Miami School of Law in 1996.
Rubio has represented Florida in the Senate since 2011.
Rubio was raised Roman Catholic before converting to Mormonism when he was 8. He later returned to Catholicism, receiving his first communion when he was 13.
Different sources have estimated Rubio’s net worth to be between $400,000 and $2.5 million.
Rubio is the son of Cuban immigrants who came to the United States in 1956.
He has been married to Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio since 1998. They have four children: Amanda, Daniella, Anthony, and Dominick.
Rubio was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2008, serving as speaker for his last two years in office. Before that, he was a city commissioner in West Miami.
Rubio is the author of four books:
— Decades of Decadence: How Our Spoiled Elites Blew America’s Inheritance of Liberty, Security, and Prosperity (2023)
— American Dreams: Restoring Economic Opportunity for Everyone (2015)
— An American Son: A Memoir (2012)
— 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida’s Future (2006)
Rubio was critical of former President Donald Trump while campaigning against him in the 2016 election, calling him a “con artist,” “reckless and dangerous,” and saying that he would do “damage to America.”
However, he endorsed Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
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“I support Trump because that kind of leadership is the ONLY way we will get the extraordinary actions needed to fix the disaster Biden has created,” Rubio wrote in a post on X in January.
Rubio ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 but dropped out of the race after losing Florida’s primary to Trump.