Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump hopes the five-person GOP race will narrow down to just two candidates after Super Tuesday, and he doesn’t want it to be between him and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
“I think he has to get out,” Trump said of Rubio during an interview Tuesday on Fox News. “You know, he hasn’t won anything, and Ted Cruz very rightly points out, you know, Marco has not won.”
He continued, “Little Marco Rubio, let me tell you, he’s been a disaster for Florida. [He] doesn’t show up to vote. Never even shows up to vote. He’s got the highest miss record in the, you know, in the U.S. Senate, so Marco Rubio’s done a horrible job in Florida. That doesn’t come up for two weeks, but, you know, honestly, I don’t think he could be right now elected a dog catcher in Florida, so we’ll see what happens.”
Trump is vying for another big victory Tuesday in the 11 states that will hold Republican primaries or caucuses. The self-funded billionaire has traveled to seven different states in the past week following his three consecutive wins in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. Cruz, who has failed to finish in the top two since his first-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, is hoping to win big against Trump in his home state of Texas or pick up enough delegates in other states to remain in the race.
Rubio, as Trump and Cruz have both noted, has yet to have a first-place finish. While he is expected to finish second in a handful of Super Tuesday states, a 0-15 record for the Florida senator could send his campaign into a downward spiral. Part of his strategy in the past 72 hours has been to turn Trump’s frequent attacks into a mockery.
“He doesn’t sweat because his pores are clogged from the spray-tan that he uses,” Rubio said of Trump during a campaign rally over the weekend. Trump has previously mocked Rubio’s perspiration, suggesting he “sweats too much to negotiate with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.”
Trump is set to arrive in Florida Tuesday evening where he will likely address supporters once the elections in several states have been called. The businessman has also teased a press conference at 6 p.m. ET which has many speculating he plans to announce another high-profile endorsement.
