TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio has officially endorsed Donald Trump in the Republican primary, making him the second of Florida's senators to endorse the former president.
Rubio formally announced his decision on Sunday, Jan. 14, the day before the Iowa caucuses. He officially endorsed Trump over Ron DeSantis, the governor of his own state, or Nikki Haley, who once formally endorsed Rubio's presidential campaign in 2016, even appearing on the trail with him.
In a post on social media, Rubio explained his decision to endorse Trump. He credited Trump's presidency and his leadership with policy victories like expanding the Child Tax Credit and putting sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela.
"We had a President who didn’t cave to special interests or let bureaucrats block us,” Rubio said in the post. “I support Trump because that kind of leadership is the ONLY way we will get the extraordinary actions needed to fix the disaster Biden has created."
Critics on social media responded by posting clips of Rubio calling Trump a "con artist" with "no ideas of any substance," among other things, during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Other moments in 2016 included Rubio comparing Trump's rhetoric to that of "third-world strongmen" during an interview on CNN, accepting Haley's endorsement while condemning Trump for refusing to disavow the Ku Klux Klan, and telling supporters that Trump had a meltdown at one of the primary debates, implying that he could have wet his pants.
Rubio ultimately endorsed Trump for president in 2016 after he became the nominee, supporting and defending Trump numerous times both during and after his term in office.
