Senator Marco Rubio became the latest Republican to raise eyebrows over answers about accepting the results of the 2024 presidential election after an appearance on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday morning.
During an interview, host Kristen Welker asked Rubio, who represents Florida, if he would accept a loss by former President Donald Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican nominee, in his rematch with President Joe Biden.
"Will you accept the election results of 2024, no matter what happens, Senator?" Welker asked the GOP Senator and rumored Trump vice presidential pick.
"No matter what happens? No," Rubio answered. "If it's an unfair election, I think it's going to be contested by either side."
The heated exchange continued for nearly 3:30 minutes. The Meet the Press interview was met with immediate reaction on social media.
Jay Nordlinger, senior editor for the conservative magazine National Review, posted on X, formerly Twitter:
"I've listened to Tim Scott, Marco Rubio, et al.: Apparently, a refusal to say you'll accept the election results is a sine qua non in the Republican Party now. If you said you would accept them, you would be a heretic. This is a disturbing pass," he wrote.
Nordlinger added: "Since 2016, many, many politicians and media figures have transformed themselves. I know of no transformation more dramatic than Marco Rubio's. Lindsey Graham? He'll be whatever you want him to be, on any given day. But I thought there was more of a 'core' to Rubio (I admit)."
"Accepting elections results is a requirement for being a political candidate in a democracy. Anyone who states they won't accept the elections results are actually not eligible to run for anything," replied Germano Martins, a Democratic candidate for the New Hampshire House of Representatives, on a post on X about the interview by the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris Headquarters account.
"Rubio and Scott are pushing the single greatest threat to democracy: unfounded lies on election integrity. Why? To suck up to Trump. Rubio knows better than to copy dictators like [Venezuela's Nicolás] Maduro, but he's spreading DANGEROUS lies on TV. They know what they're risking. They DON'T. CARE," Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a Democrat running against Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, posted on X.
Newsweek called Rubio's office Sunday afternoon for comment. Newsweek also reached out to the Biden and Trump campaign via email Sunday afternoon.
"Hopefully it will be a fair election" -- Marco Rubio's closing words during a very combative Meet the Press interview that no doubt pleased Trump, which is the whole point pic.twitter.com/kGxemtlSan
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 19, 2024
Earlier this month in televised interviews, at least two other potential Trump running mates – Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum – refused to commit to accepting election results.
Welker also played a video and reminded the three-term Florida senator about his own comments in 2020 when he voted to certify Biden's electoral victory over Trump.
"Democracy is held together by people's confidence in the election and their willingness to abide by its results," Welker recalled Rubio saying on the Senate floor. "So by your own definition, are Donald Trump's claims undermining Americans' confidence in democracy, given that he has not conceded the last election?"
In response, Rubio shifted to Republican claims about alleged election interference.
"I think what undermines people's confidence in the election is when you have places like Wisconsin with over 500 illegal dropbox locations, when you have places like Georgia where liberal groups are [paying] people, $10 a per vote," he complained. "You couldn't even talk about it on social media. They would deplatform you."
Rubio also quipped to Welker Sunday that Democrats "opposed every Republican victory since 2000" although Welker was quick to point out Sunday that those candidates, including Hillary Clinton in 2016, conceded their losses.
"If it's unfair, we are going to do the same thing Democrats do," Rubio said. "We're going to use lawyers to go to court and point out the fact that states are not following their own election laws."
Update: 5/19/2024, 3:45 p.m.: This article has been updated with additional information.
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