Community Leaders from across Florida expressed their disappointment with Senator Marco Rubio’s latest betrayal of the Latino and immigration community, as well as their concern that the spread of Trump style racist, xenophobic, anti-Muslim, and misogynistic rhetoric would spur legislative, and even physical attacks on diverse communities.
Rubio implicitly endorsed the presumptive Republican nominee last Friday afternoon, saying to CNN’s Jake Tapper that he would “support” the nominee and would be “honored” to be asked to speak on his behalf at the Republican convention. The announced support is an about face for Rubio, who previously called Donald Trump unfit to serve as President.
“Rubio’s willingness to speak on behalf of Trump signals his willingness to embrace all of Trump’s policies — including mass deportation, which has become a fundamental tenet of Trump’s candidacy,” Maria Rodriguez of FLIC Votes told assembled media last week outside of Rubio’s office in Doral, Fl. “He’s not just endorsing Donald Trump, he is endorsing Trump’s agenda to remove every undocumented immigrant and millions of American citizen children within the first two years of his administration. That’s a policy that should insult not just Latinos, but every person who knows of the important contribution of immigrants to our country.
Said Maria Bilbao of United Families “Senator Rubio has lost not only his candidacy, he has now lost his dignity.”
“Marco Rubio has abandoned all Latinos once again in his quest for a Republican acceptance allowing racists to undermine the hardworking Latino communities that have helped to build America.” stated Yulissa Arce, Orlando Director at Organize Now.
Jimmy Torres Vélez of Iniciativa Acción Puertorriqueña added, “The people of Puerto Rico have already experienced the flip flop conduct of Marco Rubio when he abandoned the people of Puerto Rico to protect his hedge fund donors. So just like Chris Christie and others he will go back to Trump. In this case is even harder to see the son of immigrants become a supporter of Donald Trump, a person that hates immigrants, especially Latinos.”
While pundits debate Rubio’s a potential renewed run for Senate, leaders like Gihan Perera say that all Americans should be worried when racist and xenophobic comments are not just routinely expressed but accepted as normal political talk.
“Our concern is not just Trump and Rubio, but how the spread of hatred and racism within the Republican Party threatens to have real and lasting negative impact on our communities” added Perera.
