While Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz continue to duke it out over the National Security Agency's bulk collection of metadata, Donald Trump has sided with the Florida senator.

Appearing on "The Hugh Hewitt Show" Tuesday, Trump was sympathetic to the controversial Patriot Act provisions and surveillance. The real estate mogul made the remarks after as the pair of U.S. senators continue to trade barbs over the issue, which Rubio first raised two weeks ago.

"Well I tend to err on the side of security, I must tell you," Trump told Hewitt when asked if the NSA should have retained it's role in the collection of metadata.

"When you have people that are beheading if you're a Christian — and frankly, for lots of other reasons. When you have the world looking at us and would like to destroy us as quickly as possible, I err on the side of security," Trump said. "So that's the way it is. That's the way I've been, and some people like that, frankly, and some people don't like that."

"I assume when I pick up my telephone, people are listening to my conversations anyway — if you want to know the truth," Trump continued. "It's pretty sad commentary, but I err on the side of security."

The 2016 GOP front-runner went on to tell Hewitt that he would be "fine" with a return to the practices that were in place before the passage fo the USA Freedom Act, which Cruz supported. Rubio has repeatedly argued that Cruz voted to "weaken" U.S. intelligence efforts by supporting that bill

"I think that would be fine," Trump said. "As far as I'm concerned, that would be fine."

With two months left until voting starts in Iowa, Trump tops the Washington Examiner's latest batch of power rankings, just ahead of Cruz and Rubio.