The Republican mercilessly mocked by Trump emerges as a donor's favorite in the race to be running mate... but the Donald's MAGA base prefers another Florida man

Former President Donald Trump ridiculed him and gave him a 'Little' nickname when they were rivals in 2016 but he's turning out to be a big hit with donors this cycle who want to see him picked as VP.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was 'mobbed' by donors at an event last week at Mar-a-Lago the Financial Times reported Friday, with one GOP strategist saying the lawmaker 'was the one who had the most attention.' 

The theory among the donor class is that Trump needs to pick a running mate to broaden his appeal - and Rubio could do that by being a more traditional Republican and Latino.

That runs counter to the wishes of Trump's most rabid supporters, those who battled the crowds to appear at Saturday's Wildwood, New Jersey rally. 

There, supporters told DailyMail.com that they'd rather see a different Florida man as Trump's running mate, his former 2024 rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. 

Former President Donald Trump speaks Saturday at a rally in Wildwood, New Jersey. Trump is searching for a VP candidate to replace former Vice President Mike Pence - and his donors and most rabid supporters have different ideas about who it should be 

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, seen onstage with Trump during a 2016 primary debate, has attracted the attention of Trump donors who believes he needs to diversify his ticket outside the MAGA base. Rubio is a more traditional Republican and Latino 

'I like DeSantis,' said 80-year-old Linda Donnelly, who traveled down to the rally from Long Island. 'Because he's very much like Trump but with a little - I don't want to use the word class - what would be another word? He's Trump but with a little bit better vocabulary.'

Donnelly shrugged at the thought of Rubio. 

'I like Marco Rubio but I still don't think he's got, you know,' she said, expressing that he lacked the 'it' factor.

Jacki Ortiz, a 53-year-old from South Jersey who was standing nearby volunteered 'not Rubio' even before the question was asked. 

She preferred Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance or entrepreneur and former 2024 presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy. 

When asked about North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum - who tagged along with Trump to Saturday's rally heightening VP speculation - Ortiz told DailyMail.com, 'Not as bad as Rubio but I like the other two better.'  

She also joked that she thought South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem's pursuit to be Trump's running mate was shot.

Supporters of former President Donald Trump who braved the crowds to attend Saturday's Wildwood, New Jersey rally liked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as a potential VP pick 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was the top vice presidential pick for several of former President Donald Trump's supporters at Saturday's large rally on the Jersey Shore. DeSantis was considered more 'America First' than VP hopeful, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio 

'No, I like my dog just fine,' Ortiz said. 

Nancy Martin, a 62-year-old cosmetologist who traveled to the rally from Baltimore, Maryland, also backed DeSantis as veep over Rubio. 

'My first pick is DeSantis,' she said. 'Because I love him,' she laughed. 

'Because he's a great governor, I think he's fantastic and he's America First.' 

She said her second choice is Dr. Ben Carson due to his strong Baltimore ties.

As for Rubio, he's a 'no.' 

'I didn't like him in the first election and he wasn't really - America First always, you don't back down, you stay on the Trump train, you don't back down, that's it, that's how I feel,' Martin said. 

Martin also expressed that she thought it was a 'weird thing' that DeSantis ran against Trump this time around. 

'It wasn't his turn yet,' she said. 'It wasn't his time.' 

DeSantis' well-funded 2024 campaign ran out of steam in late January, ahead of the New Hampshire primary after he came in a distant second place in Iowa after spending months there on the ground. 

The Florida governor said on a call in February that he would not want to be Trump's VP. 

DeSantis struggled, in part, because he didn't want to hit Trump too hard and thus it was difficult to differentiate the Florida governor from the ex-president during the race. 

He also came across as awkward on the stump and was plagued by reports that he was secretly wearing high heels. 

During his own 2016 race, Rubio had that in common with DeSantis - as he was accused of wearing lifts. 

Supporters of former President Donald Trump listen to the national anthem ahead of Saturday's Wildwood, New Jersey rally. Trump is in the middle of picking a ticket-mate with supporters saying they liked Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. J.D. Vance, Vivek Ramaswamy and others

But Rubio briefly took some pretty big swings at Trump on the trail.

After coming in behind Trump in Iowa and New Hampshire the Florida senator went on a week-long tear in February 2016. 

'And you know what they say about men with small hands?' Rubio said at one campaign stop. 

He paused leaving supporters wondering if he was calling attention to the size of Trump's you-know-what. 

'You can't trust them, you can't trust them,' Rubio then said.

Additionally, Rubio mocked Trump's 'orange' appearance, said he had a 'sweat mustache' during one of the GOP primary debates, while also mocking the real estate tycoon for having 'wet' pants.  

He later said in a May 2016 interview with CNN's Jake Tapper that he called Trump to apologize for the things he said when they were rivals.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio appeared on Fox News Sunday last week and was asked if he would move away from Florida to satisfy the 12th Amendment requirement to be Trump's VP. He didn't answer the question directly 

'I didn't say it in front of the cameras,' the Florida senator said. 'I didn't want any political benefit.'  

During Trump's four years in office Rubio was an ally on many fronts - and he seems to be interested in the vice presidential job.

Though for both Rubio and DeSantis there's a constitutional hitch - the 12th Amendment prevents electors from picking a president and vice president from the same state - so one of the Florida men would have to move. 

When asked on Fox News Sunday last week if he would move to be VP, Rubio didn't directly answer the question. 

'First of all, the vice presidential choice with Donald Trump is going to be made by one person, and that's Donald Trump, and all this other stuff is just speculation. I get it, you know political reporters have to cover political topics. The primary is over, the general is six months away, so then we're going to speculate on the VP thing,' he said. 

'He's going to have an extremely talented group of people that can serve this country in multiple roles, and that's a decision he's going to have to make,' the Florida senator added. 

Vice presidential picks are usually announced directly ahead of the party's political convention, with this year's Republican National Convention slated for mid-July.