On the eve of the 2024 Iowa Caucus, Florida Senator Marco Rubio finally endorsed former President Donald Trump over Governor Ron DeSantis and Ambassador Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential primary sweepstakes, a sign that he could be positioning himself to run for President in 2028.
Sen. Rubio’s endorsement, which followed fellow Florida Senator Rick Scott’s support for President Trump, came later than most anticipated, as The Floridian first reported a few months ago that his support for President Trump was imminent.
When Trump was in WH I achieved major policies I had worked on for years (like expanded Child Tax Credit & tough sanctions on regime in Cuba & Venezuela) because we had a President who didn’t cave to special interests or let bureaucrats block us. 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. It’s time to get on with the work of beating Biden & saving America,” stated Rubio on “X.”
During an exclusive interview with The Floridian in November 2023, Rubio said that he “may endorse at some point” but thought that regardless of his support for President Trump, he didn’t believe his endorsement was going to decide the primary election.
“I may endorse at some point, but I don’t think my endorsement is going to decide it I have said it from the beginning,” said Rubio.
Rubio may have come off dismissive of his endorsement, but the nod of support is significant and shows voters that Florida’s Republican congressional delegation, minus Rep. Laurel Lee, does not support Gov. DeSantis’s presidential bid.
Rubio said in the interview that his office “worked very closely with him on this (Western Hemisphere),” echoing his involvement in helping craft Trump’s foreign policy, particularly in Latin America
“Even people that don’t like what Trump says have to admit that the country was safer, more respected, we didn’t have a mass migration crisis, our economy was better, all these things when Trump was in office,” said Rubio. “I think there are a lot of people that are like, no matter what we may feel about what he said about this or that, our lives were better and the country was safer.”
Rubio, added that under the Biden administration's foreign policy, the “unity in the region” has splintered and that many countries have now “flipped” from being Democratic to now being controlled by Socialist or Leftist presidents and governments.
“We went from having a unity in the region that aligned with our views, including the Caribbean, to now a bunch of countries that have flipped, and a bunch of countries that want to be friendly to the United States that feel like this administration treats their friend bad, and their enemies good,” he said.
During Trump’s first term in office, Rubio was unquestionably one of the most loyal and helpful sitting U.S. Senators to the former President.
Considering how much stock Trump puts into loyalty, if he is elected to a second term as president, Rubio will have four years to pick up where he left off when Trump left the White House, and would certainly continue working closely with the Trump administration, a move that will all-but make him the frontrunner to potentially received the coveted Trump/MAGA endorsement for president in 2028.
