In a remarkable moral collapse, Marco Rubio says he “wants to be helpful” in the Republicans battle against Hillary Clinton, and so will release his delegates, attend the convention, and even speak on Donald Trump’s behalf.
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According to an interview that will air Sunday on CNN, Rubio says that while he’s spent months talking about how destructive Donald Trump’s policies would be for the party and for the nation (even, at one point, declaring himself #NeverTrump), he feels the party’s obligation is to stop a Clinton presidency and he’ll do what he can to contribute.
“Look, my policy differences with Donald Trump—I spent 11 months talking about them. So I think they’re well understood,” Rubio reportedly told CNN correspondent Jake Tapper. “That said … I don’t want Hillary Clinton to be president. If there’s something I can do to help that from happening, and it’s helpful to the cause, I’d most certainly be honored to be considered for that.”
Helpful actions, apparently, include speaking on Trump’s behalf, even as Trump has been berating him as “little Marco” from the beginning, and haplessly lying about Rubio’s love for the campaign to any reporter who would listen.
Rubio made an effort to defend himself on Twitter, claiming that he felt compelled not to abstain from such an important election:
In Florida only 2 legitimate candidates on ballot in Nov. I wont vote for Clinton & I after years of asking people to vote I wont abstain.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 27, 2016
If you can live with a Clinton presidency for 4 years thats your right. I cant and will do what I can to prevent it.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 27, 2016
This is a far cry from Rubio’s position just a few months ago, when in a message to his supporters ahead of Super Tuesday, he decried Trump as “dangerous,” and claimed that Trump was preying on anger, fear and insecurity. According to Rubio, stopping Trump was paramount, “not just for our party, but for our country.”
Less than a month later, Rubio made an emotional appeal to Americans during a press conference, slamming Trump for inciting and condoning violence at his rallies, and blaming Trump for the unrest at a planned event in Chicago: “This boiling point that we have reached has been fed, largely, by the fact that we have a frontrunner, in my party, who has fed into language that basically justifies physically assaulting people who disagree with you.”
Rubio called the Trump phenomenon “a frightening, grotesque and disturbing development in American politics.” Friday morning, his tune was remarkably different, even on Trump’s sometimes violent rallies.
Hope media will start to report truth, many of the violent protestors @realDonaldTrump events are "professional protestors".Not grassroots.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 26, 2016
Whole industry of professional disrupters who go 2 events 2 disrupt them knowing cameras will gravitate to them.These protests not organic.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 26, 2016
Rubio’s complete reversal almost defies explanation. It could stem, of course, from a need to be seen as supportive of Republican objectives so that his transition into private life (and, perhaps, lobbying) is easier. It could stem from simple political exhaustion. Or it could be the last gasp of an exasperated politician.
But whatever the explanation, it’s clear that he’s now living up to Trump’s “little Marco” name.
