Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said on Wednesday that he would say no to being vice president, even if GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney begged him to take the position.
A few minutes later, he made verbal slip: "Three, four, five, six, seven years from now, if I do a good job as vice president -- I'm sorry, as a senator," Rubio said at an event hosted by National Journal. "If I do a good job as a senator, instead of a vice president, I'll have a chance to do all sorts of things."
Rubio quickly laughed and said he meant nothing by the remark, adding that he would rather be a U.S. senator and joking he would have more power as commissioner of the NFL.
The mix-up came a few minutes after Rubio made some of his clearest remarks yet -- despite his slip of the tongue -- on the vice president issue. The first-term senator has said repeatedly that he will not be vice president and does not expect to be asked. He's considered a good option for Romney based on Rubio's support from the Tea Party and his potential appeal to Latinos, who will likely be an important part of the upcoming election.
He reiterated on Thursday that he does not expect to be tapped for the position, but answered affirmatively when asked if he would say no.
"Yeah, I don't want to be the vice president right now, or maybe ever," Rubio said. "But you know, he's not going to ask. That doesn't work -- he's watching this interview, so he'll know."