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Rubio, who
clashed bitterly with Trump in the brutal race for the
Republican nomination, said his policy differences with the real
estate mogul were too great for Rubio to join the ticket.
"I wouldn't be the right choice for him," Rubio said in an
extensive interview with CNN's "State of the Union" program.
"Donald deserves to have a vice president - he's earned the
nomination - and he deserves to have a running mate that more
fully embraces some of the things he stands for."
Rubio, a U.S. senator from Florida, ended his White House bid in
March after an embarrassing loss in his home state.
Trump, who has practically ensured he will emerge as the nominee
from the Republican convention in July, derided Rubio as a
lightweight and dubbed him "Little Marco."
Rubio called the real estate mogul a con artist and quipped
about his small hands, a charge that Trump took to mean as
questioning the size of his manhood.
Rubio and Trump differed sharply on policy issues, with Trump
eschewing the interventionist approach favored by Rubio and
Rubio criticizing Trump's call for temporarily banning the entry
of Muslims into the United States.
Ahead of the July 18-21 Republican convention, Trump has sought
to unify the party behind him and gain the backing of other
prominent party figures.
Rubio said he expected to attend the convention and did not rule
out a speaking role. He said he wanted to be helpful to Trump's
presidential run because he wants to see likely Democratic
nominee Hillary Clinton defeated in the Nov. 8 U.S. election.
"I don't want Hillary Clinton to be president. If there's
something I can do to help that from happening and it's helpful
to the cause I'd most certainly be honored to be considered for
that," Rubio said.
In another olive branch to Trump, Rubio said he regretted making
the "small hands" remark about his former foe.
"I actually told Donald at one of the debates. I forget which
one - I apologized to him for that," Rubio said. "I said 'I'm
sorry that I said that.' It's not who I am. And I shouldn't have
done it."
(Editing by Caren Bohan and Mary Milliken)
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