On the campaign trail, Rubio has spent weeks slamming the real-estate mogul. He has called Trump a "con man," said he's "unelectable," and, yes, has hinted that the Donald has a tiny penis.
So how in hell could Marquito promise during last night's debate to support Trump if he's the eventual GOP nominee?
Debate host Bret Baier asked Rubio, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich if they'd follow through on a Republican Party pledge to back the eventual nominee even if it's Trump. Rubio looked like he'd just chugged a spoiled
"I'll support Donald if he's the Republican nominee," Rubio said.
Say what? Let's review some of Marco's own statements to the American public about the man he just promised to back as a presidential candidate:
#TwoWordTrump: Con Artist.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) March 2, 2016
.@ScottRigell says if Trump is the nominee, "the harm done to our party would be nothing short of catastrophic." https://t.co/oy7PqVUaT3
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) March 1, 2016
This goes way beyond the usual campaign trail sniping. Candidates, of course, spend the whole primary attacking inner-party opponents and then usually line up behind them in the general. But Rubio has staked out territory this month alongside liberals and mainstream GOP figures that Trump is a legit threat to American democracy. He's promised to take his fight all the way to a brokered convention to stopI've been making jokes on the trail, but here's the scary reality. Donald Trump is dangerous — and here's why: https://t.co/UDkPxXNMZu
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) March 1, 2016
"Donald Trump is a serious threat to the future of our party, and our country," Rubio writes in an open letter posted Monday.
And Rubio has profited from that stance. He's been widely praised for standing up to Trump. And, yeah, he's selling tons of anti-Trump swag:
Yet when the rubber hits the road, Rubio will tell people to vote for a guy he says is a "serious threat to the future... of our country"?Unlike @realdonaldtrump, all our products are made in the USA. https://t.co/jsR3tRalRQ #GOPDebate pic.twitter.com/ockYA37ddc
— Team Marco (@TeamMarco) March 4, 2016
Even his high-level supporters were mystified that Rubio took that stance onstage:
Really disappointed in @MarcoRubio right here. #NeverTrump
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) March 4, 2016
Mainstream Republicans have a hell of a choice to make when Trump wraps up the nomination, which he almost certainly will. Either, like Rubio, they fall in line after scorching the earth against Trump for weeks or they splinter their party irrevocably by opposing the voters' choice.This is after championing #NeverTrump, labeling him a con artist and a defender of white supremacists. https://t.co/uV2l4sdlJF
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) March 4, 2016
Most will choose the former option. And none will look like a bigger hypocrite than Marco Rubio.
