Rubio Drops Some Shade On DeSantis After Endorsing Trump: ‘Haven’t Talked… In A While Now’
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) took a subtle jab at his home state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, on Wednesday following his endorsement of his chief political rival, former President Donald Trump.
During the final hours before the Iowa caucus, Rubio endorsed Trump over Nikki Haley and DeSantis. Months prior, fellow Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott also endorsed Trump. Trump went on to win the state by a comfortable margin as DeSantis placed second earlier this week.
The Republican frontrunner even mocked DeSantis for failing to receive Rubio’s and Scott’s endorsement saying, “Nice when both highly respected Republican Florida Senators ENDORSE TRUMP over the missing from Florida Republican Governor, Ron DeSanctimonious! They know something that others don’t.”
Rubio then appeared to give a subtle dig towards DeSantis on Capitol Hill Wednesday. According to CNN’s Manu Raju, Rubio did not give DeSantis a “headsup” before throwing his support behind Trump, noting that his relationship with the Florida governor is not great.
“I haven’t talked to Gov. DeSantis in a while now… I endorsed the candidate in the race who asked for my endorsement,” Rubio told Raju, adding that DeSantis “never asked” for his endorsement.
Sen. Marco Rubio told me that he did not give his home-state governor, Ron DeSantis, a headsup before he announced his endorsement of Donald Trump.
In fact, Rubio said: “I haven’t talked to Gov. DeSantis in a while now… I endorsed the candidate in the race who asked for my…
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 17, 2024
Rubio ran against Trump in 2016 during their contentious Republican primary. He dropped out after Trump defeated him in the Florida primary election.
The former president also received the endorsement of one of his other 2016 rivals, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), following his dominating victory in Iowa.
