Rubio and Cruz will both stay in. That means that they are not saying so, but in reality they are jockeying for Vice Presidential nomination by Trump.
My guess is that Cruz is ahead in that arena. He fights harder, dirtier, and more effectively than does Rubio. He is far better organized and has a deeper small donor base. I think Trump is looking for a warrior VP and not a nice guy.
I’d vote for a Trump/Cruz ticket in a heartbeat. I’d also vote for Trump/Rubio, Trump/Carson, or Trump/Kasich.
I will vote for Pluto/Goofy over Hillary/Sanders.
See, my guess is Rubio.
Trump has signaled that he prefers someone from a battleground state.
He also said he wanted a politician... "we don't need two of me"... which I take to mean that he's going to be the "big picture" guy who communicates broad initiatives, and his VP will be the guy that makes the trains run on time. That's probably consistent with his business model.
If you were looking for someone to get the various factions of government to cooperate to achieve great things, I don't think you'd pick the guy who is almost universally disliked in DC. That's really not intended as a slam towards Cruz...
Cruz and Rubio are NOT natural born Citizens and neither are eligible for the office of V.P. of the United States.
I agree with your post in all regards except one: I think that the Trump/Cruz well is a bit too poisoned to drink from right now (and perhaps forever). Unless and until they apologize to each other for a lot of the dirt that has been flung both ways, and until the issue of Cruz’ eligibility has been definitively resolved*, I don’t think that Trump can choose Cruz for Veep without destroying his own credibility. Yes, even Trump cannot overcome the “he’s a liar, a big liar” and the “he’s not eligible to be President” memes, no matter how popular he is - not until those issues are resolved.
That said, I would LOVE to see a Trump/Cruz ticket. I like them both (with neither being perfect, of course). They complement each other nicely. Trump has real-world executive experience, and a LOT of it. He’s an uber-nationalist, he has the common man’s sense of what is wrong with our society, combined with a successful executive’s knowledge of how to fix a lot of problems. Cruz, OTOH, knows the government (and the people in it) inside and out, and both thoroughly understands and believes in our Constitution. He will solidify the Conservative and southern base of the GOP, allowing Trump to pick off a lot of traditional Dem voters. Trump could easily allow Cruz to come up with recommended picks for openings in the Judiciary, and give him great influence in picking the Attorney General and forming the Administration’s legal policy (rooting out political corruption - IN BOTH PARTIES - should be at the top of the list). More importantly, it will set the stage for Cruz, now in his mid-40s, to have a great launching pad for a Presidential campaign in 2024. Alternatively, I wouldn’t mind seeing Cruz nominated to fill Scalia’s seat...Trump could score some BIG points on that issue if it is handled the right way.
* Note that even though I’m an attorney who can analyze words and laws pretty well, the issue of who is a “Natural Born Citizen” in terms of the eligibility of a person to be the POTUS is unsettled. I can make an argument both ways IN MY OWN MIND regarding Cruz’ eligibility, so I am definitely NOT taking sides here. I think that if he is nominated for POTUS (and, probably, for Veep), this issue will necessarily have to be resolved by the Supreme Court. No, I’m not happy about a Scalia-less Court looking at this issue (or any other, for that matter), but it will be necessary nonetheless.