Ron DeSantis discounts Marco Rubio endorsement of Donald Trump

At this point, both Ron DeSantis and Marco Rubio are on solid footing.

Florida’s Governor is shaking off the state’s senior Senator endorsing Donald Trump for President.

During a CNN interview, Ron DeSantis diminished the importance of Marco Rubio’s decision.

“Donald Trump is the candidate of the Washington politicians,” DeSantis told Dana Bash.

The Governor touted his endorsements from “state legislators” and “state officials” in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina as evidence of a “different viewpoint”

“I think the Washington folks, they’re scared of Donald Trump primarying them or whatever he’s going to do,” DeSantis said, eliding the fact that Rubio was re-elected in 2022 and won’t face another election for four years.

“The state folks, they’re concerned about the top of the ticket. They want to see a strong performance and then they look at what we’ve done in Florida. They’re like, ‘Man, this guy is a leader, he gets things done.'”

DeSantis reiterated his belief that Trump is enthralled to the “D.C. establishment” while he would “be a change agent in Washington, D.C.”

During a NewsNation interview, DeSantis made similar points.

“I am not the candidate that is preferred by Washington politicians. That is true. But honestly, I don’t think our voters want to see somebody that is being supported by all these Washington politicians. I think they look at Washington D.C. and they say, you know, these Republicans talk a big game but they don’t ever deliver.”

In his endorsement, Rubio focused on electability and accomplishments he had in the Senate during Trump’s term.

“It’s time to get on with the work of beating Biden & saving America,” asserted Marco Rubio Sunday.

“When Trump was in WH I achieved major policies I had worked on for years (like expanded Child Tax Credit & tough sanctions on regime in Cuba & Venezuela) because we had a President who didn’t cave to special interests or let bureaucrats block us. I support Trump because that kind of leadership is the ONLY way we will get the extraordinary actions needed to fix the disaster Biden has created,” Rubio posted to X.