Marco Rubio has expressed regret over his decision to make personal attacks against rival Donald Trump, saying if given a chance he wouldn’t do it again.

The Florida senator drew criticism in recent weeks for a series of lowbrow taunts, including over the size of Trump’s hands, his tan and even the Republican frontrunner’s face. During a town hall hosted by MSNBC, Rubio acknowledged he had gone too far.

“That’s not something I’m entirely proud of. My kids were embarrassed by it,” he said. “If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t.”

Rubio offered a similar response when asked about the episode in a separate forum with Megyn Kelly of Fox News.

“I’m not telling you he didn’t deserve it, but that’s now who I am,” Rubio said.

The mockery was indeed uncharacteristic of the senator, who for much of his presidential campaign sought to stay above the fray. But following his shift in tone toward Trump, Rubio told reporters he felt it was necessary to punch back at someone who spent most of his time bullying others.

Rubio reiterated that point on Wednesday, telling MSNBC that Trump “basically offended everyone for a year ... a disabled journalist, a female journalist, every minority group imaginable, on a daily basis”.

“I don’t want to be that,” Rubio said. “If that’s what it takes to become president of the United States, then I don’t want to be president.”

He drew a distinction, however, in his criticism of Trump’s business record –including the mogul’s now-defunct eponymous university.

“I think that is legitimate, and the people need to know that what they are electing is not who he says he is,” Rubio said.

He shot down an emerging dream among conservatives looking to deprive Trump of the nomination: a union between him and rival Ted Cruz.



In the wake of a series of dismal performances by Rubio in recent primary contests, a growing number of influential conservative commentators have called on the senator to drop out of the race and endorse Cruz. In exchange, the thinking goes, Rubio could be the Texas senator’s vice-presidential pick and this unity ticket would be the only way to stop Trump.



But during the town hall, Rubio dismissed the proposal as “House of Cards stuff” – a reference to the popular political show on the inner workings of Washington.



“It looks good on TV. It doesn’t ever work that way,” Rubio said. “[The] bottom line is, this process is going to play itself out.”

Rubio also said at another point in the forum that he would “absolutely” turn down an offer to be Trump’s vice-president.



The town hall, held in Miami, comes less than a week before Florida’s 15 March primary – a critical contest for Rubio that will likely determine the fate of his presidential ambitions. Rubio’s personal attacks against Trump have been regarded as a key turning point that may have contributed to, if not led to, his collapse.

Rubio said his struggles in Florida have to do with the state’s reliance on national media, which has been dominated by Trump.

“The national media has given Donald Trump 10 times as much coverage as every other Republican candidate combined,” he said.