Florida Senator Marco Rubio doesn’t want you to know if he ever smoked marijuana. In an interview on Monday, he refused to answer the question posed by a TV reporter, saying that the information could do more harm than good.
“I’ll tell you why I never answer that question,” the Republican Senator said during an interview with Fusion’s Mariana Atencio in Miami. “If I tell you that I haven’t, you won’t believe me. And if I tell you that I did, then kids will look up to me and say, ‘Well, I can smoke marijuana because look how he made it.’”
Rubio, a possible contender for President in 2016, said that in his teen years he made enough “dumb decisions as is” and didn’t need marijuana or alcohol leading to more.
“I know I’m sounding like a 42-year-old dad, but here’s the problem, you can make mistakes at 17 that will be with you the rest of your life,” Rubio said before saying his answer to the question was irrelevant.
[Fusion]
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Donald Trump Is TIME's 2024 Person of the Year
- Why We Chose Trump as Person of the Year
- Is Intermittent Fasting Good or Bad for You?
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
- The 20 Best Christmas TV Episodes
- Column: If Optimism Feels Ridiculous Now, Try Hope
- The Future of Climate Action Is Trade Policy
- Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision
Contact us at letters@time.com