Story highlights "Marco is a very, very talented leader. He's a friend of mine, he's charming, he's an incredible communicator," Cruz said

The two have been verbally sparring this week over past votes on immigration

Bloomingdale, Georgia (CNN) Despite exchanging frequent jabs this week, Ted Cruz praised Senate colleague Marco Rubio on Saturday, calling him a "talented leader" and saying he could "of course" see a role for Rubio in a Cruz administration.

"Marco is a very, very talented leader. He's a friend of mine, he's charming, he's an incredible communicator," Cruz said at a campaign event here, showering Rubio with compliments after the two have been verbally sparring this week over past votes on immigration, a subject that was hotly debated at Tuesday's GOP debate.

Cruz said that "any Republican president would be a fool" not to include a "substantial portion" of the current GOP field in a future administration. He said he hoped he would be the one to win the nomination and the White House so that he could continue "to work with these extraordinary leaders from across the country."

Cruz added that "of course" he could see Rubio working in his administration, though he did not elaborate on what kind of role Rubio would play.

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