Rubio campaign highlights praise from Jeb Bush in video
Facing down potential attacks from allies of Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio's team has responded with a video detailing the many times Bush has complimented his younger counterpart in Florida politics. The video was published on the day of the fourth Republican debate.
Entitled "Before The Phony Attacks," the video cuts together sound bits and video of the former Florida governor saying things like "I'm a huge Marco fan," "He's probably the most articulate conservative on the scene today," and Rubio is someone who has "the fortitude to be a good president."
Here's the Rubio campaign's video:
The Florida senator has seen his poll numbers rise in recent weeks in the 2016 Republican primary contest. That is causing some consternation among allies of Bush, who are reportedly preparing to spend millions in ads to attack Rubio.
Bush himself has been harping on Rubio's poor attendance record in the Senate in both debates and on the campaign trail.
Despite the attacks, Rubio said on CBS' "Face the Nation" earlier this month, "My campaign's not going to be about attacking him or any other Republicans."
"If there are policy differences, we should debate those. That's a legitimate issue. But I'm not going to badmouth other Republicans," he said.
The two Floridians have known each other since 1998 when Rubio was running for West Miami city commissioner and Bush was running for governor. Just two years later, Rubio was elected to the Florida House of Representatives, and as he rose through the ranks of that chamber over the next decade, he had opportunities to work and consult with Bush.
Bush even gave Rubio with a sword representing conservative values in 2005 when he became the first Cuban-American House speaker in Florida's history.