SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Florida Sen. Marco swung at Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in Iowa on Saturday morning for running a “very deceitful campaign” ahead of the first-in-the-nation caucuses.
Rubio told the crowd he would unite the warring factions of the Republican Party and sought to strike a contrast between himself and Cruz.
“Look, this is the last minute of the campaign, this is where desperation kicks in,” Rubio told the crowd gathered in northwestern Iowa. “Ted Cruz has been my friend and is. He’s decided to run a very deceitful campaign at the end. Some of the things he’s saying, people see through that.”
Minutes after Rubio slammed Cruz, the Florida senator’s presidential campaign sent out a fundraising pitch asking for donations of “$5 or more right now to ensure I can fight back and answer Ted Cruz’s attacks.”
“Ted Cruz’s campaign and his super PAC can say whatever they want about me and my campaign, but the truth is this: I am the only candidate for President who has the conservative vision to win the nomination AND beat Hillary Clinton,” Rubio’s fundraising pitch reads. “Their attacks are ridiculous at best, but Friend, we must respond right away to show we aren’t going to allow the Cruz campaign to tear down my campaign. While Ted Cruz’s campaign is busy trying to defeat me, I am on the campaign trail talking with Americans about how we can undo the wrongs Barack Obama has done to our nation.”
Rubio and Cruz are both campaigning in western Iowa on Saturday. Rubio ranks third in the Washington Examiner‘s newest GOP presidential power rankings. Cruz ranks second.
