On the day New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie dropped out of the presidential race, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said there are no hard feelings towards him for his damaging attack during the last Republican debate.

“I like Chris,” Florida Sen. Rubio said, speaking to reporters aboard a plane to South Carolina Wednesday morning. “Despite all this stuff, I’ve always liked Chris and I still like Chris. I think he has a future in public service beyond what he’s doing now in New Jersey. The only thing I don’t like about him is he’s a Dallas Cowboys fan, but we can’t all be perfect.”

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Christie, a former federal prosecutor, is widely credited with hobbling a surging Rubio right before the New Hampshire primary with questions about his experience and a pointed remark that his answers were scripted and repetitive. Rubio ended up coming in fifth place.

“He was trying to win,” Rubio said of the debate. “And in order to win he made a decision that he had to come after me. I respect that.”

Write to Tessa Berenson at tessa.berenson@time.com.