Florida Sen. Marco Rubio Tuesday praised Melania Trump's speech at the Republican National Convention, saying that "for the vast majority of Americans, it doesn't matter one way or the other" whether it was plagiarized from Michelle Obama's remarks in 2008.
"Instead of talking about the speech, you're talking about how similar it was to someone else's speech," Rubio, who is speaking in Cleveland on Wednesday, told Jake Tapper on CNN. "She is not a candidate, she is not public office-holder.
"She is the potential first lady of the United States," he added. "I think that is what matters, is that it reflected how she felt."
Rubio said that those Americans watching Trump's speech "got a chance to meet her last night and hear from her and her story — and that is what will matter to voters.
"Probably not to the political-pundit class.
"She is not a politician, not a political figure," he later added. "This is new to her. I thought she did a good job on a difficult circumstance.
"I think she did a great job."