Story highlights Florida Sen. Marco Rubio on Saturday made several thinly-veiled jabs at Donald Trump while speaking at a major gathering of conservatives

"Being a conservative can never be about simply an attitude," Rubio also said

Washington (CNN) Florida Sen. Marco Rubio on Saturday made several thinly-veiled jabs at Donald Trump while speaking at a major gathering of conservatives, warning the audience that nominating "someone who is not a conservative" will have far-reaching implications for the Republican Party and the U.S.

"These young Americans have the chance to fulfill an incredible potential and destiny, but we have to give them a chance, and they won't have a chance if a Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders is elected," he said at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. "And they won't have a chance if the conservative movement is hijacked by someone who is not a conservative."

The audience roared with approval and responded with a prolonged standing ovation.

"Being a conservative can never be about simply an attitude," Rubio also said in the speech. "Being a conservative cannot simply be about how long you're willing to scream, how angry you're willing to be, or how many names you're willing to call people. That is not conservatism."

Rubio, however, did not mention Trump by name.

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