Who’s The ‘Conman’ Now, Mr. Rubio? Marco Rubio Flip-Flops On Supporting Donald Trump, Says He Would Be ‘Honored’ To Help Him Win
While flip-flops and changing loyalties are not uncommon occurrences during an election season, Marco Rubio’s U-turn on supporting Donald Trump could be categorized as perhaps the starkest example of how politicians often take their voters for granted and remain unaccountable for their ever-changing attitudes (read: political decisions).
The junior senator from Florida, Marco Rubio, suspended his campaign in the face of defeat in his home state at the hands of Donald Trump in March, but it was not before voters, and Republican ones in general, bore witness to an incessant, and sometimes vile, exchange between the two candidates during their campaign trail.
In February of this year, during a rally in Arkansas, Trump had said that Rubio “couldn’t get elected dog catcher in Florida.” The real estate mogul had particularly enjoyed getting after the Florida senator, nicknaming him “Little Rubio” during the campaign, which, like most of the nicknames Trump comes up with for his rivals, unfortunately stuck to Marco Rubio.
In return, Rubio had called Donald Trump a “con artist,” promising that he “will never get control of the GOP.” He had said that America’s nuclear codes must not go to a “lunatic,” because it could be dangerous for the future of the country.
Donald Trump will never be the nominee of the party of Lincoln and Reagan. #NeverTrump
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 27, 2016
Donald Trump is a con artist — and he cannot be our nominee. #NeverTrump https://t.co/3ZYQZraCfNhttps://t.co/8wm9ToY7El
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 27, 2016
And yet, now, in what could only be described as a pathetic — but not wholly unpredictable — move, Marco Rubio has promised to push his weight behind Donald Trump, and in no unambiguous terms, either. During an interview on CNN that will air later today, Rubio said that he would be “honored” to rally behind Trump for the sake of defeating Hillary Clinton, reports the Washington Post.
“I want to be helpful. I don’t want to be harmful, because I don’t want Hillary Clinton to be president.
“If there’s something I can do to help that from happening, and it’s helpful to the cause, I’d most certainly be honored to be considered for that.”
It is a decision, Rubio later suggested, that was taken in the interest of the GOP, and had nothing to do with narrow political goals driven by self-interest, an allegation hurled at him in the wake of his endorsement. However, while the Florida senator might have consoled himself with the endorsement for Donald Trump and the benefits it would entail, supporters who rallied behind him during his campaign trail were not quite so pleased.
Some of them confronted Marco Rubio on Twitter, deriding him for his complete capitulation to the cult of Trump.
@philipaklein I & respect your position.The choice before us is far from ideal.Everyone will have to make own choice
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 27, 2016
Read this @edatpost story, though you might get whiplash: Rubio's "honored" to help Trump become president https://t.co/ywXaSalMok
— Juliet Eilperin (@eilperin) May 27, 2016
More typical inaccurate context.I said I would be "honored" to help party beat Hillary.Stop your snarkathon https://t.co/iCW3p5QFRK
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 27, 2016
Respectfully, that does seem like a distinction without a difference, Senator. https://t.co/tHkdd02C7f
— Ben White (@EconomyBen) May 27, 2016
While Marco Rubio stuck to his guns and argued that the real reason for his “capitulation” is because he does not want Hillary Clinton to become the next president of the United States, the fact of the matter is that Rubio’s endorsement is just one in a long line of endorsements by Republican representatives who have yielded to Trump after seeing him run away with the party’s nomination.
It does speak of the desperation within the GOP, and the silencing of the many voices who might have liked to resist Donald Trump’s candidacy, but more than that, Marco Rubio’s complete flip-flop on supporting Trump speaks of the decadent state of America’s current political system, where voters cannot be sure of whom they are electing into the senate, or onto the most powerful political position in the world.
Marco Rubio had called Donald Trump a “conman” for repeatedly and pathologically lying to his voters. But who’s the “conman” now, Mr. Rubio?
[Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]