Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again,” isn’t optimistic enough to win him the Republican Party’s nomination, says fellow GOP presidential hopeful Marco Rubio.
The Florida senator has trod carefully around Trump for months, but on Wednesday he confidently asserted to a gaggle of supporters in the rural town of Orford, N.H., that the outspoken billionaire doesn’t stand a chance.
“Ultimately the Republican Party will reach out to all voters based on who our nominee is. And I don’t believe Donald Trump will be our nominee,” Rubio reportedly said. “I think our nominee is going to be someone that embraces the future, that understands the opportunities before us, that’s optimistic but realistic about the challenges before us.”
According to Bloomberg Politics, Rubio told Granite State voters earlier in the day that he understands why “people are angry,” but that Americans have “every reason to be optimistic about the future.”
“There’s another gentleman running for president whose slogan is ‘Make America Great Again,’ and I understand what he’s trying to say, but I would remind him that America is great,” Rubio said.
“Ask yourself this question: who would you trade places with? Would you rather be China? Would you rather be Brazil or India or anyone else for that matter? There’s no nation on earth I’d trade places with,” he added. “The issue’s not that America isn’t great. The issue is that America has the chance to be greater. And we’re not fulfilling our potential.”
Trump took a swing at Rubio during a campaign rally in Iowa Tuesday, describing the senator’s decision to launch a White House bid in the same cycle that his mentor, Jeb Bush, is running as “very disrespectful.”
“If that was me, if I were Bush, and I brought somebody along and all of a sudden the guy said ‘I’m running against you’ and it’s not my turn … I would really go after that guy,” said the brash New York businessman, as previously reported by the Washington Examiner.
When asked about Trump’s comments on Wednesday, Rubio retorted: “I’m running for president. I’m not running against anybody.”
Public Policy Polling reported Tuesday that Trump’s 35 percent in New Hampshire is currently greater than in any other state. Meanwhile, the Florida senator is currently tied at 4 percent support with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for the No. 6 spot among Republican voters in the state.
