Sen. Marco Rubio tried Sunday to balance between critcizing Donald Trump while not allowing campaign “disruptors” from the left off the hook.
There is a “new brand of leadership” in America that “says get angry, get even angrier,” the Florida Republican said at a campaign stop in Florida. He was referring to businessman Donald Trump, who Rubio said is focused on hate instead of finding solutions to common problems.
Rubio, Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are competing for the Republican presidential nomination.
Earlier in the day, Rubio said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program that he is concerned escalating campaign violence could lead to someone being killed. But he argued both sides bear blame.
“In America, the worst thing that is supposed to happen if you are running for office is they run a nasty commercial about you,” Rubio said in Florida, where a primary election will be held on Tuesday.
Now there are “professional disruptors” that get hired to be “rude and nasty” at campaign rallies, Rubio said, citing protesters Trump blamed for his decision to cancel a rally Friday in Chicago. Rubio did not explain how he knows the protesters were paid.
Trump began talking about “disruptors” Saturday at campaign stops in Ohio. He referred to them as hired “wise guys” sent to suppress his campaign. He even blamed Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton for sending them to upend his political campaign.
Rubio didn’t go that far. He said Trump encouraging supporters to attack protesters by saying he will pay their legal fees is unpresidential and “not excusable.”
“The words of a president have consequences,” Rubio said.
“You don’t have the luxury to say anything you want, or anything that comes to mind,” he said.
