(CNN) Sen. Marco Rubio said this week that President Donald Trump's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy is in line with what Trump campaigned for in 2016.

"Well, first of all, I think he campaigned on it and was elected on it," the Florida Republican said of his onetime presidential campaign rival. "Whether you agree with him or not, to the extent that what he is doing now is consistent with what he promised he do if elected, I think people have to acknowledge that."

"I think you have to separate the politics from the public policy making, and that's become increasingly hard," Rubio told David Axelrod on a televised edition of "The Axe Files," airing Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

The episode was taped before Trump signed his executive order ending family separations Wednesday.

Rubio said immigration "may very well be a winning issue for lot of people because there's real frustration," adding there's "always been an audience" for anti-immigrant sentiment.

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