NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Sen. Marco Rubio said Saturday that it is obvious why Donald Trump backed out of giving a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference.
“This is the American Conservative Union, so it’s usually reserved for conservatives,” Rubio said to raucous cheers from the crowd. “Either the ideas behind conservatism matter or they do not. And if they do not, then it’s fine, but I believe they do. It is not enough to say vote for me because I am angrier and over-the-top, and I’m going to say things that no one else is going to do.”
Speaking to a packed room of conservative activists, Rubio upped his attacks on Trump during a question-and-answer session after his speech. Rubio, who did not mention Trump directly in his prepared remarks, mocked Trump for backing out of a planned address at the event. Event organizers said Trump declined to attend when they would not agree to give him extra time for speech and allow him to avoid taking questions.
Trump’s name was booed roundly by the room when mentioned after the speech.
Rubio compared Trump to former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who Rubio beat in a hotly-contested election to win his Senate seat in 2010. He also guaranteed that he would win the Florida’s winner-take-all primary in ten days.
“I’ve never based my campaign on one state, but I can tell you this,” Rubio told Bash, “We will win the state of Florida. We will beat Donald Trump there the way we beat Charlie Crist. I have experience at beating people who don’t say who they truly are. I have experience at beating people who portray themselves to be one thing, but are actually something else, and you’re going to find that one on March 15 in Florida.”
Rubio talked directly to the many college-aged conservatives in attendance while pointing out why he believes there are many 40- to 50-year-old conservative leaders in the country, pointing to the likes of himself, Sen. Ted Cruz, and House Speaker Paul Ryan.
“It is not a coincidence that there are a plethora of young, conservative leaders in this country in their 40s and 50s,” Rubio said. “Why are there so many conservatives now serving our country? I’ll tell you why. It’s because we grew up in the era of Reagan, and Ronald Reagan acted nothing like Donald Trump.”
Trump elicited loud reactions when he was mentioned. During his speech, Rubio argued that young Americans might not have a chance at success if “conservative movement is hijacked by someone who is not a conservative,” which brought about the loudest cheers from the crowd and attendees to their feet. Rubio also drew cheers when he said that the American dream isn’t about how much money one makes or “how many buildings have your name on it.”
Rubio’s speech to CPAC was his first of three events on the day. Later on, Rubio is set to hold campaign rallies in Jacksonville, Fla., and Puerto Rico, which holds it’s primary on Sunday.
