Trump encourages Rubio to run again for Senate

FILE - In this March 14, 2016, file photo, then-Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks during a campaign rally at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Fla. Rubio is facing intense pressure to run for re-election to his Florida Senate seat, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell taking the lead in a campaign to get him to reconsider his plans to retire. Republicans fear that if Rubio doesn’t run for a second term they could lose his seat. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File) FILE - In this March 14, 2016, file photo, then-Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks during a campaign rally at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Fla. Rubio is facing intense pressure to run for re-election to his Florida Senate seat, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell taking the lead in a campaign to get him to reconsider his plans to retire. Republicans fear that if Rubio doesn’t run for a second term they could lose his seat. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

By Associated Press May 27, 2016 2 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – Donald Trump is adding his voice to the growing chorus of Republicans encouraging Marco Rubio to run for re-election to the Senate.

Trump derided Rubio as “Little Marco” on the presidential campaign trail and remarked in March that “the people of Florida can’t stand him. He couldn’t get elected dogcatcher.”

But now Trump says over Twitter that polling shows Rubio has the best chance of keeping his Senate seat in GOP hands, and that it’s important for Republicans to keep their majority. “Run Marco!” Trump writes.

Rubio told reporters this week he’s “unlikely” to reconsider his plans to retire from the Senate, especially since a good friend of his, Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, is in the race.

But he acknowledged he’s under pressure, with Senate leaders including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell weighing in to get him to run.