Marco Rubio saves Nancy Reagan

A GOP senator expected to shut down speculation about his vice presidential candidacy in California on Tuesday night, but ended up preventing a dramatic fall by Nancy Reagan.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), 40, was escorting former President Ronald Reagan’s wife Nancy, 90, into the room prior to his speech at the Reagan Presidential Library near Los Angeles. Reagan’s cane appeared to slip as she had turned her head to speak to Rubio.

Rubio, displaying quick reflexes rarely seen in the halls of Congress, held tightly to Reagan’s left arm as she fell face-forward toward the ground.

Rubio swung the frail Reagan back to her feet and held her up as she appeared to regain her equilibrium.

Reagan, apparently already a fan of the freshman senator after inviting him to speak at the event, can now credit Rubio for coming to her rescue. Reagan suffered two serious falls in 2008 that both put her in the hospital, so Rubio likely prevented a serious incident on Tuesday night. 

Rubio and Reagan both appeared none the worse for their scare later in the evening as Rubio went on to give his first major political speech outside of Florida politics.