Republican presidential hopeful, Senator Marco Rubio on Friday entered the Donald Trump-Ted Cruz fight over the “establishment,” by slamming the billionaire businessman as someone who isn’t a “movement conservative” and calling the Texas senator “incredibly calculated.” Rubio, an admirer of National Review, said he hadn’t read its new issue, titled “Against Trump” but emphasized two points regarding the business magnate. “I don’t think Donald is running as a movement conservative,” Rubio said. “I don’t think he’s ever said that. It’s clear he’s not. I mean, what he’s running [as is] someone who’s a populist, who’s upset about the direction of this country — as am I, as are millions of Americans.”
Rubio says he offers the ability to beat Hillary Clinton
The Florida senator maintained that he offers the Republican Party “consistent conservatism, real conservatism, but also the ability to beat Hillary Clinton.” Senator Ted Cruz on Wednesday told reporters that the establishment was dumping Rubio for Trump. “Right now, the Washington establishment is abandoning Marco Rubio,” Cruz said. “They’ve made the assessment that Marco can’t win the race and the Washington establishment is rushing over to support Donald Trump. We’re seeing that happen every day, and Mr. Trump is welcoming that support.”
Rubio says Cruz is politically calculated
Senator Marco Rubio rejected Cruz’s assertion that the last two Republicans standing will be a conservative and an establishment moderate, that is Cruz being the former and Trump the latter. According to politico, Rubio asserted that every position Cruz takes is politically calculated, and cited what he characterized as his rival senator’s shifting stances on immigration, ethanol and trade. “So my point is, he’s incredibly calculated,” he continued. “And this thing now he’s saying about Trump is part of that calculation.”
Cruz believes the GOP contest is between him and Trump
Cruz’s self-serving premise that the presidential race is already a two-man race and he’s the sole alternative to Donald Trump. Rubio however doesn’t accept such comment. “In the end, it sounds like for Ted Cruz, anybody who’s not for him is part of the so-called establishment. Meanwhile, the establishment has spent like $20 million attacking me,” Rubio said.
