Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said Friday that 2016 GOP presidential rival Donald Trump doesn’t know what he’s talking about with respect to Mr. Rubio’s relationship with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush — a relationship Mr. Trump described as “political bull——” earlier this week.
“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Mr. Rubio said on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.” “I have great admiration for Governor Bush. We’re friends. We’re running for the same office. I’m not running against him. I’m running for president. [It] doesn’t change my feelings towards him as a person.”
Mr. Trump said at an event in New Hampshire this week that even though Mr. Rubio and Mr. Bush speak highly of one another in public, they “hate each other.”
“Trust me, I know,” Mr. Trump said. “They hate so much. They hate more than anybody in this room hates their neighbor. But it’s political bull——, do you understand? It’s true. It’s true.”
Mr. Rubio, though, said he admires Mr. Bush even though they’re running for the same office.
“You don’t have to hate the people you’re running against, and in the case of Governor Bush, who I’ve known for a very long time, I admire him and we’re friends, but we’re competitors now, too,” Mr. Rubio said. “And we can do that in a way that I think is deserving of what the American people deserve in this election cycle.”
Asked what Mr. Trump was trying to do, Mr. Rubio said: “I have no idea.”
“Who knows with Donald, what he’s trying to do. Who cares?” he said. “I’m running for president. I’m focused on the future of our country.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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