Trump touts endorsements from Florida senators in jab at DeSantis 

Former President Trump thanked Florida GOP Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott for endorsing him in the Republican presidential primary on Monday, taking a jab at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). 

“Thank you to Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida for the great Endorsements. Nice when both highly respected Republican Florida Senators ENDORSE TRUMP over the missing from Florida Republican Governor, Ron DeSanctimonious! They know something that others don’t,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. 

Scott endorsed Trump in November, while Rubio, who challenged Trump for the GOP nomination in 2016, made a surprising last-minute endorsement for the former president on 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,” Rubio wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday.  

“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. It’s time to get on with the work of beating Biden & saving America!” Rubio added. 

Only one Florida lawmaker in Congress has endorsed DeSantis in the GOP primary, Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.), who served in the DeSantis administration as his secretary of state.  

Polling in Iowa and other early states has shown DeSantis facing an uphill climb to earning the mantle as the viable Trump alternative, with polling averages of Iowa and New Hampshire surveys compiled by Decision Desk HQ/The Hill showing DeSantis largely in third place.