Donald Trump’s campaign on Monday unveiled a new campaign ad attacking Sen. Marco Rubio (R) on his home turf ahead of next week’s winner-take-all primary in Florida.
The minute-long “Corrupt Marco” spot frames Rubio as an absentee senator “defrauding” Florida voters by using the state GOP’s credit card to pay for personal expenses. The ad also accuses the Florida senator of having the “worst voting record” in Congress, which is one of Trump’s frequent criticisms of his GOP rival, who he calls “no-show Marco Rubio.”
“Lightweight Senator Marco Rubio is a dishonest person,” Trump said in a press release announcing the ad campaign. “He has cheated with credit cards, and does favors for lobbyists. In my opinion, he is a total crook and I am doing the people of Florida a great favor by further exposing him.”
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to TPM’s inquiry about the size of the ad buy. There was one report that the campaign had yet to reserve any airtime for the aid.
Rubio has failed to gain much momentum in the early primary states, earning just two wins to date in Minnesota and Puerto Rico. He currently lags behind Trump in polls of his home state. A Monmouth University poll released Monday found the New York real estate tycoon with 38 percent support in the Sunshine State, compared to 30 percent for Rubio.
Rubio’s staff has bet the vitality of his campaign on a Florida victory. In a Sunday appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Rubio told Dana Bash, “I have never based my campaign on one state but I can tell you this, we will win the state of Florida.”
Watch Trump’s full ad on his campaign site.
This post has been updated.
