Trump eyes the man he once mocked as 'Little Marco' to be his VP: report

Donald Trump is narrowing down his potential vice presidential picks and is looking closely at selecting Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL).

NBC News is reporting that the Florida senator has risen up on the short list to become the 45th president's running mate in the 2024 contest.

"The list is long, and it's extremely early in any kind of process," one Trump adviser said, not addressing the Rubio rise. "No one has been directly reached out to yet, and I do not expect that for some time."

Earlier this month, Trump counted about 15 contenders that he's eyeing to serve on the GOP ticket, including the 52-year-old, third-term Senator Rubio, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), former Trump advisor and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).

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"It's pretty clear from Trump's orbit that Rubio is in play," one veteran Florida GOP operative told NBC News. "It makes sense because he checks almost every box if they can get past both being from Florida."

The one issue with Rubio is the fact that, like Trump, he resides in Florida.

As the outlet notes, the Constitution prevents electors from voting for a president and vice president representing their own state.

According to Article II, Section I, Clause 3, "The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves."

Trump and Rubio frequently clashed when the two men ran for the presidency in 2016.

In one GOP debate that the real estate tycoon and "The Apprentice" star notably nicknamed the Florida senator "Little Marco."

Both men have since made amends.