Rick Scott Tepidly "Endorses" Trump, but Does the Guv Even Really Like the Donald?

It wasn't an endorsement as much as a call for unity, but Florida Gov. Rick Scott has finally thrown his chips into the Donald Trump pile — sort of. In a message on Facebook today, Scott urged Republicans to basically give up on any hope of anyone else winning the nomination besides Trump and to roll with the reality the voters have created. 

This isn't the first time Scott has spoken of Trump, but perhaps it's telling that when he does, he never has much nice to say about the Donald. Instead, he always talks about the will of the voters. 

Here's Scott's statement in full: 
Notice there's no stirring endorsement of Trump. No praise for Trump's personality or policies. The only thing he offers about Trump perhaps being a good president is that he's a Republican who is an outsider. 

"But the voters are speaking clearly — they want a businessman outsider who will dramatically shake up the status quo in Washington," he wrote. 

There's no mention that he thinks this particular businessman outsider is the greatest, but hey, Scott reasons, the voters have spoken. 

Tellingly, the announcement came in the form of a Facebook post a day after Florida voters chose Trump in the primary. This wasn't Scott joining Trump onstage at a big rally. This wasn't Scott going on Fox News and CNN to trumpet his support. This was Scott simply calling out the fact that Trump clearly has the best shot at winning the nomination, and if the Republican establishment wants to win in November, it better accept that fact. 

In January, Scott wrote an op-ed in USA Today that said a bit more of the same. 

"I know Donald Trump personally, and while I currently have no plans to endorse a candidate before Florida’s March presidential primary, there is no doubt that Donald is a man who speaks and tweets his mind freely," is all Scott had to say of Trump personally. 

That's mild praise. Scott knows him personally, and the first thing he notes is that the man doesn't hold back on Twitter? Hmmm. I usually have nicer, more specific things to mention about people I know personally, but maybe that's me. 

Instead, Scott mostly wrote about Trump's tapping into frustrated voters. 

Previously, he had called Trump "fun to watch." Scott has also said that voters think Trump is a good businessman because they've seen him on television, which stops far short of actually calling Trump a good businessman. Is that a bit of shade we detect, governor? 

Of course, the two have a history. Trump has donated $125,000 to Scott's Lets Get to Work PAC. 

Trump, however, has also taken to Twitter in the past to blast Scott. 

Governor Rick Scott of Florida did really poorly on television this morning. I hope he is O.K.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2015

Thought @FLGovScott was a better negotiator—the Seminole Indian gaming deal is a disaster for Florida. #sayfie

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2014

.@FLGovScott Gaming states are laughing at stupidity of not approving gaming in FL—they’re afraid of Miami—can’t believe their luck!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2014

No wonder he said Trump doesn't hold back on Twitter. 

But there might be other reasons Scott's non-endorsement endorsement of Trump took this shape. Some observers believe Scott may run for U.S. Senate in 2018 and may want the support of the GOP establishment then. 

Still, we're not convinced that Scott likes Trump much. Which is saying a lot.