Marco Rubio gets Donald Trump’s endorsement for 2022 reelection race

Former President Donald Trump continued a recent string of 2022 endorsements by backing his home state senator — former rival-turned-ally Marco Rubio — on Friday morning.

In a statement, Trump said Rubio is “a tireless advocate for the people of Florida” and praised Rubio’s policy positions.

“Marco has been a tireless advocate for the people of Florida, fighting to cut taxes, supporting our Second Amendment, our Military and our Vets, a strong national defense, and all of the forgotten men and women of America,” Trump said. “Together, we worked closely with the Cuban and Venezuelan communities, and have made great progress.”

The endorsement comes two months after Trump and Rubio ended speculation that Trump’s daughter Ivanka, a newly minted Florida resident herself after her father’s electoral defeat, would mount a GOP primary challenge against Rubio.

“I am grateful for President Trump’s endorsement and his leadership on the major issues facing our nation, including the threat from China and the need to bring good jobs back to America,” Rubio said in a statement. “Democrats are trying to undo everything we accomplished over the past four years, but I will continue to fight for the forgotten men and women of this country and deliver results for hardworking Florida families.”

For now, Rubio is favored to win reelection. No prominent Democrats have announced a bid, though Central Florida Rep. Stephanie Murphy has launched a statewide “listening tour” that could be a precursor for a run. In 2016, Rubio won reelection by 8% while sharing a ballot with Trump, and the former president increased his popularity in Florida throughout his four years in office, winning the state in 2020 by 3.3%.

In his statement Trump also asserted that Rubio ruled “President Trump was in no way involved with Russia” in his role as Senate Intelligence Committee chairman when the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election concluded last year. The final bipartisan report concluded that associates of Trump had regular contact with Russians, who sought to help Trump at the expense of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Rubio released an additional statement, stating the report should explicitly say “the Committee found absolutely no evidence that then-candidate Donald Trump or his campaign colluded with the Russian government to meddle in the 2016 election.”

Trump has continued to weigh in on political issues and put out his own endorsements since leaving office, an unusual step for former presidents. He could run again in 2024.

On Thursday, Trump put out a statement excoriating Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson after he vetoed a bill from the Arkansas Legislature that bans gender-affirming treatments for transgender children. Trump has also pledged to campaign against GOP senators who voted to convict him on impeachment charges stemming from his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

But Rubio, who called the impeachment trial “stupid,” is firmly on Trump’s good side. On Friday evening, Rubio was scheduled to speak to GOP donors behind closed doors in Palm Beach, a few miles away from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. Florida Sen. Rick Scott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were also expected to attend.

Rubio, Scott and DeSantis could consider presidential bids of their own should Trump decline to run.