Scrutiny of Rubio’s Personal Spending Renewed Amid Rising Poll Numbers
Although it is unsurprising to suggest that GOP candidate Donald Trump would take a shot at any of his colleagues vying for the nomination, Trump on Tuesday swiped at a particular issue that seems to again dog Marco Rubio. During a Tuesday press conference that coincided with the release of his new book Crippled America, Trump said, “For years, I’ve been hearing that [Rubio’s] credit cards are a disaster.”
The same issue that reared its head when Rubio first ran for the Senator in Florida in 2010 is again under intense scrutiny as he seeks to earn his party’s nomination for President. The Miami Herald reports regarding Rubio’s financial records, “A top strategist, Todd Harris, said Tuesday they would be released soon, possibly within the month, but declined to answer questions about what they might contain”.
Rubio has been open in the past about the fact that he used official Florida Republican credit cards for personal expenses before reimbursing the accounts. In his 2012 book An American Son: A Memoir, Rubio admits, “From January of 2005 until October of 2008, I charged about $160,000 in party-authorized expenses.”
In what is arguably his most Clintonian moment to date, Rubio admitted to ABC News host George Stephanopoulos that his spending habits in the past have not been based in the best personal judgment. Rubio said, “Now, I recognize in hindsight, I would do it differently to avoid all this confusion. But the Republican Party never paid a single expense of mine.”
In an effort to paint the narrative surrounding Rubio’s irresponsibility in the realm of personal spending, Trump piled on Tuesday, adding, “[He] certainly lives above his means, there’s no question about that.”
The Herald continued:
“As speaker of the Florida House, Rubio was one of about a half-dozen lawmakers given Republican Party of Florida credit cards. During the Senate race, the Times/Herald obtained Rubio’s statements from 2006 and 2007 showing that he routinely charged personal expenses, from a $10.50 movie ticket to a four-day, $10,000 family reunion.”
However as Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough pointed out Wednesday, there is a logical explanation for why the pressure has been turned up on the issue of Rubio’s spending. Plain and simple, “Marco Rubio has become a threat”. A NBC/WSJ poll released Tuesday reveals that Rubio has jumped to 11% behind Trump and Ben Carson after a strong debate performance last week.
[image via Wikipedia Commons]
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