How ‘little’ Marco Rubio’s billionaire friend could sweeten the deal for Trump as he weighs the Florida Republican for VP

Donald Trump could get a major boost to his campaign if he decides to put aside old grievances and name “little Marco” Rubio as his running mate for vice president.

Billionaire Ken Griffin has supported Rubio for years and has indicated he may step aside if Trump, whom he has criticized in the past, chooses the Florida senator as his running mate.

“If Senator Rubio is the choice, I’m sure there are plenty of donors who will come forward, including Ken Griffin, reportedly,” Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski told DailyMail.com.

“I don’t know if that’s true. But that’s what they say. If Marco is on the ticket, maybe Ken will come off the sidelines,” he said.

Griffin is one of the most successful hedge funders of all time, and his Citadel Capital is loaded with shares of the “Magnificent Seven” such as Nvidia and Amazon, putting his net worth at over $37 billion.

Griffin called on the party in 2022 to “go further” than Trump, who was a “three-time loser.”

In May, he tied his possible support for Trump to the choice of his running mate. “I’m going to wait and see who he picks as his vice presidential nominee,” he told Bloomberg.

But he has not ruled out supporting him, as the Trump camp reaches out to former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and tries to unite the party after President Joe Biden’s debate failure. Griffin also appeared at a fundraiser with Sen. Tim Scott, another candidate for vice president.

A source told DailyMail.com that ‘nothing has changed since Ken last commented publicly in mid-May’ – an indication he will not relinquish his influence.

Rubio and his wife Jeanette Christina Dousdebes Rubio were scheduled to attend Trump’s rally in Doral, Florida, on Tuesday, in the latest sign of their bond.

The billionaire’s blessing is just one reason Trump might consider nominating Rubio, a telegenic lawmaker who knows the Sunday talk show circuit and is steeped in foreign policy issues that could be the talk of the town during a vice presidential debate with Kamala Harris.

Rubio raised $52 million for his failed 2016 campaign, but outside groups invested another $220 billion, the Center for Responsive Politics.

Rubio, 53, is decades younger than Trump, 78, and could reassure parts of the establishment with his support for Ukraine and his more traditional views on US alliances.

Trump ridiculed Rubio relentlessly during the 2016 campaign, and Rubio eventually fired back

Citidel CEO billionaire Ken Griffin remains on the sidelines, but could start writing big checks if Trump chooses Rubio

Rubio memorably attacked Trump in 2016, calling him a “con man” and trying to rile him up by ridiculing the size of his hands, as a sort of backlash against Trump’s nickname “little Marco.”

He mockingly said that Trump had a “spray tan” and was “going to make America orange,” then asked, “Have you seen how big his hands are?”

But Rubio has become a loyal supporter in the Senate, even as fellow establishment Republicans such as Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) have condemned him.

He has more experience than Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota and other contenders when it comes to waging political battles on radio.

His biggest competitors include Burgum, whose estimated $100 million net worth allows him to write a check to the campaign and give him access to the donor class, and Sen. J.D. Vance, who has shown his fundraising talents on the trail.

Vance is backed by megadonor Peter Thiel.

With the candidates still being shortlisted with just days to go before the start of the GOP convention, Rubio’s main liability remains legal. Like Trump, he lives in the state of Florida, and a provision of the 12th Amendment prevents the president and vice president from living in the same state. That could put Florida voters at risk. The strange language states that one of the candidates “shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves.”

“I don’t have a definitive answer. I think if Senator Rubio gets elected and decides to remain a Florida resident, there’s already a legal scholar who’s checked this,” Lewandowski said. But he does know which Florida resident won’t move if the problem persists.

“I don’t think Trump moves for anybody. So if anybody moves, it’s not the president,” he said.

Party leaders solved a similar problem in 2000, when George W. Bush put Dick Cheney on the ballot by appointing Cheney as a Wyoming resident.

But Rubio, 53, may be able to stay in office for a while.

“If I were advising Rubio, I would tell him not to change his residence until after the election,” said Bob Jarvis, a constitutional law professor at Nova Southeastern University. NBC Miami.