Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) carefully avoided criticizing Mitt Romney for the ex-nominee’s claim that “gifts” to minorities, youth, and women were responsible for President Obama’s victory, telling Politico on Thursday that Romney was merely offering an “analysis to donors.”
But he made clear that he was uncomfortable with the idea of characterizing voters as dependent on government, saying that “our mission should not be to deny government benefits to people who need them,” but to make sure that “less people need government benefits.”
Rubio added that he has “tremendous admiration for [Romney] as a person” and hopes he stays active in the GOP.