If Rubio Won’t Stand Up to Trump Now When Will He?
Senator Rubio’s silence is deafening as Donald Trump doubles down on his “Machado Moment” and focuses the full energy of his campaign on disgusting, sexist, racist, and bullying attacks against Alicia Machado, a Latina, Miss Universe pageant winner.
Floridians didn’t elect their junior Senator to be a bully’s wingman. While Sen. Rubio rarely hesitates to speak out against the abuses of international authoritarians in Cuba and Venezuela, he has remained silent in the face of a domestic aggressor. Alicia Machado may not be a household name for some, but for many, she represents and advocates for the rights of all types of women: the Latina; the mother; the immigrant; the U.S. Citizen; and the domestic worker.
As Sen. Rubio sits idly by, Machado is fighting back with her voice and her vote against Trump. A newly naturalized citizen, Machado will cast her first ever ballot against the man who has publicly fat-shamed her, bullied her, and called her “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping” for decades.
Floridian women across the state are joining the fight — tomorrow, Saturday October 1st, more than 200 women, girls, and femme-identified persons are expected to attend “Femme Agenda” Women & Femme Economic Congress. The conference is part of a national effort to build a platform by which women can demand the policies and politics to protect and empower them.
Unfortunately, Machado is just the latest example in a long line of offensive attacks from Donald Trump. He has called Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals; called for an end to immigration from Muslim countries; attacked a well-respected U.S. citizen Judge because of his Hispanic heritage; encouraged his supporters to attack dissenters at rallies; and criticized a Gold Star Muslim family whose son died serving the country.
As voter registration interest among Hispanics spikes across the nation and particularly in battleground states, Sen. Rubio and other Republicans continue to support Donald Trump and by extension, his racist campaign and his relentless, brutal attacks on communities.
Their silence is insulting and, frankly, repulsive.
Elbert Garcia, State Director of Florida’s Voice, said “Leadership – the kind of effective leadership we need statewide and nationally – does not bully, not does not shame, does not cower to the worst instincts in each of us. If Senator Rubio wants to be the kind of leader that the public needs, desires, and deserves, he needs to stand for something more than being a loyal supporter of Donald Trump.”
