Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida said on Sunday that he would not commit to accepting the results of the 2024 presidential election, stressing that “if it is unfair” his party “will go to court and point out that states not following own election laws.”
Rubio’s statements on Meet the Press come as he is considered one of the former presidents Donald Trump‘s top candidates for vice president. Trump has consistently falsely said the 2020 election was stolen.
These claims sparked the January 6, 2021 insurrection, in which participants stormed the Capitol building as lawmakers were certifying the election results. Trump faces several charges related to alleged election interference.
When asked by host Kristen Welker: “Will you accept the 2024 election results no matter what, Senator?” Rubio replied: “Whatever happens? No.
“If it is an unfair election, I think it will be contested by both sides.”
Welker continued to press Rubio to answer whether he would contest the results “regardless of who wins.”
“Well, I think you’re asking the wrong person,” Rubio said. “The Democrats are the ones who have opposed every Republican victory since 2000, every single victory.”
Welker has repeatedly pointed out that Democrats who had problems with the election results still conceded. Rubio, in turn, repeatedly asked whether Welker had asked Democrats the same question.
Rubio – who did certify the 2020 election results and said on the day that “democracy is held together by people’s faith in elections and their willingness to abide by its results” – would not respond directly to the question whether Trump’s unwillingness to accept the election results served to undermine confidence in democracy.
He also declined to criticize Trump for his comments on Florida’s six-week abortion ban, in which Trump called the law a “terrible thing, a terrible mistake” — despite also repeatedly taking credit for rolling back federal protections against abortion.
“I support any bill that protects unborn human life, but I do not consider other people in the pro-life movement who hold a different view to be apostates,” said Rubio, who has long pushed for strict limits on abortion. “They just have a different view on the best way to tackle this problem. We’re not like the Democrats, unless you’re in favor of their bills that basically say, ‘Let’s just throw all this fancy language in there, but it has no meaning in terms of any restrictions.’”
He played coy on whether he would agree to be Trump’s running mate in the 2024 presidential election. He said he had not discussed the possibility with Trump, but added: “I think anyone who is offered that job will will serve this country in its second highest office.” Assuming everything else in your life makes sense at that moment, it’s an incredible place to serve if you’re interested in serving the country.
