She’s not running.
Weeks after her father left office and returned to Mar-a-Lago, Ivanka Trump shut down rumors of challenging Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) during next year’s midterm elections, the New York Times reported on Thursday.
Growing speculation of the former president’s daughter making a run for Rubio’s seat began in the waning days of Trump’s presidency, in anticipation of the former president, as well as his eldest daughter’s family, moving to Florida permanently. A run for Rubio’s seat up for grabs next year would involve a primary challenge against the incumbent Republican senator, who has maintained his loyalty to Trump recently by calling the former president’s second impeachment trial “stupid.”
A spokesperson for Rubio confirmed to the Times that Rubio spoke with the former president’s daughter “a few weeks ago.” Ivanka Trump supposedly signaled her support for the Trump loyalist’s re-election efforts.
“Ivanka offered her support for Marco’s reelection,” Nick Iacovella, a spokesperson for Rubio, told the Times. “They had a great talk.”
A person close to Ivanka Trump also confirmed the conversation to the Times, and denied that the former president’s daughter ever seriously considered a Senate challenge against Rubio. The same Ivanka confidante told the Times that Rubio’s office requested that she hold off until April on confirming that she will not against the Florida senator. Rubio reportedly hoped to hold a joint event with her in April.
Although Iacovella did not confirm Rubio’s request to Ivanka Trump to the Times, the Rubio spokesperson confirmed discussions related to holding an event with the former president’s daughter to boost Rubio’s work with her on an expanded child tax credit, which was part of the tax law then-President Trump passed in 2017 that ultimately left out millions of low-income families with children.
Last month, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) brushed off rumors of Ivanka Trump launching a primary challenge against Rubio in the aftermath of the Trump presidency by repeatedly insisting that he is “supporting incumbents.”
Rubio also tried last month to pretend that he’s not sweating over rumors of Ivanka Trump launching a primary challenge against him during an interview on Fox News.
“But but but who can’t? All of us are elected. Every single one of us can be primaried. Every single one of us can have a primary challenger,” Rubio told Fox News. “I’m not the owner of the Florida Senate seat.”
