While courting candidates to become his 2024 running mate, President Donald Trump found one contender to be oddly elusive.

The New Yorker’s profile of Marco Rubio, published on Jan. 12, revealed Trump’s frustrations while eyeing the then-Florida Senator as his potential running mate.

“The President kept saying, ‘Why doesn’t he call me?’” a Washington lawyer who speaks to Trump often told The New Yorker’s Dexter Filkins.

Though Rubio was interested in joining Trump’s Republican ticket, his restraint in campaigning for the role reportedly “perplexed” Trump at the time.

Trump eventually crossed Rubio off his list and announced then-Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his vice presidential candidate on Jan. 15, 2024.

However, Trump occasionally wondered whether he would have been better off with Rubio as Vance stumbled through some awkward moments on the campaign trail, according to The New Yorker.

“The thing about Marco is, he’s very comfortable with the guys,” the lawyer told The New Yorker. “He’s a guy’s guy—which I think is why Trump likes him.”

Though Rubio was passed over for vice president, he has taken on a leading role in the Trump administration as Secretary of State.

Since taking office, Rubio has also taken on a series of additional high-profile positions, serving as acting national security adviser, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and archivist of the United States. Rubio’s expanding presence led the New York Times to dub him the “Secretary of Everything.”

Rubio’s prominence has fueled speculation about a potential 2028 presidential run. National polling data shows Vance as the clear frontrunner to succeed Trump on the Republican ticket, but Rubio polled slightly higher than Vance in a Quinnipiac job approval poll released on Jan. 14.

When asked about 2028, Trump praised Vance and Rubio as worthy successors.

“We have JD obviously. The vice president is great. Marco’s great. I’m not sure if anybody would run against those two,” Trump said in October. “I think if they formed a group it would be unstoppable.”