Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said Thursday that he’s missing out on an exclusive Romney campaign retreat this weekend because he chose instead to spend the time with his children.
“It’s unfair to the Romney campaign to say I was excluded, because that’s not accurate,” Rubio told reporters on Thursday. “I was invited to go.”
The Daily Caller on Wednesday obtained an invitation for the “Romney Victory Founding Members Retreat” in Park City, Utah, and pointed out that while many top Republicans thought to be under consideration for vice president are attending, Rubio isn’t.
The Florida senator explained during a Christian Science Monitor breakfast with reporters in Washington, D.C., on Thursday that he chose not to go because he’s been busy on his book tour. He said that going to Utah would keep him from seeing his children.
“I’ve been on the road since Sunday on the book thing,” Rubio explained. “I have to go to Orlando tomorrow for a speech. I have to be back in D.C. on Sunday for Meet the Press. Then I have a whole another week here. If I had gone to Utah, I wouldn’t see my kids for 15 days. So I had a choice to make. And I chose my kids.”
Rubio just released his book, “Marco Rubio: An American Son,” this week.
Those going to the Romney retreat, according to the invitation, include former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan and South Dakota Sen. John Thune. All have been mentioned as possible running mates.
The retreat is for Romney’s top campaign donors — those who gave $50,000 as individuals or $150,000 as couples to the Romney campaign.