Marco Rubio: The Latest #NeverTrump’er To Jump On The Trump Bandwagon
Six weeks after losing every county but one in his home state to a man he called “a serious threat to the future of our party, and our country,” Marco Rubio has signaled he will support presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump’s bid for the presidency.
In an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” that will air this Sunday, “Little Marco,” as Trump so lovingly baptized him when they were rivals, told Jake Tapper that he will not only attend the Republican convention where Trump will be crowned as the nominee, but that he is also willing to speak on Trump’s behalf if asked.
The endorsement is, of course, a little awkward, given Rubio’s many public fights with Trump, including one over who had bigger hands. When he dropped out, Rubio warned voters that America was in the middle of a “real political storm, a real tsunami.”
Rubio’s excuse for completely selling out his #NeverTrump credentials was the same as everyone else in the GOP who turned their backs on conservatism and their own stated morals: He doesn’t want Hillary to win.
“I don’t want Hillary Clinton to be president. If there’s something I can do to help that from happening, and its helpful to the cause, I’d most certainly be honored to be considered for that,” Marco told Tapper, before mentioning that his political aspirations were far from dead, and that it was safe to assume he would run for office again in the future.
Trump, for his part, wasted no time in welcoming the support of his former enemy and took to his favorite online platform to encourage him to run for re-election in the Senate.
“Important to keep the MAJORITY. Run Marco!” Trump tweeted. That’s another awkward change of heart, since Marco’s terrible attendance record in the Senate was one of Trump’s most useful attacks against him during the primaries.
After yesterday’s shame- and backbone-less love fest, it’s difficult to remember the bright future Rubio once seemed to have. We used to think Marco was the future of the Republican Party, after all — who better than a handsome Cuban American from Miami with a rags to riches story he won’t let you forget?
But Marco chose to stick by his party — and his own political future — even as it turns increasingly discriminatory towards minorities like him. He stood against immigration laws his parents once benefited from, he stood against protecting his home city of Miami against the existential threat of climate change, and he is now standing by the most dangerous American political figure in decades.
Photo: Republican U.S. presidential candidate Marco Rubio announces the suspension of his presidential campaign during a rally in Miami, Florida March 15, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
