A day after businessman Donald Trump won the Florida presidential primary, Gov. Rick Scott endorsed him for the Republican nomination.
Calling for an end to “Republican on Republican violence," Scott took to Facebook on Wednesday to endorse Trump.
“I’m asking all Republicans today to come together and begin preparing to win the general election in November," Scott noted. “With his victories yesterday, I believe it is now time for Republicans to accept and respect the will of the voters and coalesce behind Donald Trump. This has been a hard fought primary, with an outstanding roster of excellent candidates, including two of Florida’s favorite sons, and several Republican governors who are close friends of mine.
“But the voters are speaking clearly – they want a businessman outsider who will dramatically shake up the status quo in Washington," Scott added. “When I first ran for governor the political class and party leaders opposed me with great vigor, and some even said if I won the primary they would never vote for me. But the voters had other ideas, and they are the only ones who count.
“Here’s what really matters – we have to elect a Republican in the fall in order to grow jobs, rebuild our military, and put a person who respects the Constitution on the Supreme Court," Scott wrote in closing. “This is the stuff that truly matters. If we spend another four months tearing each other apart, we will damage our ability to win in November. It’s time for an end to the Republican on Republican violence. It’s time for us to begin coming together, we’ve had a vigorous primary, now let’s get serious about winning in November.”
Trump easily won the 99 delegates on the line in Florida’s winner take all primary, beating out U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who dropped out of the race following his second place showing.
Back in January, Scott offered very kind words for GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump in an op-ed that ran in the USA Today.
“I know Donald Trump personally, and while I currently have no plans to endorse a candidate before Florida’s March presidential primary, there is no doubt that Donald is a man who speaks and tweets his mind freely,” Scott wrote. “But, I don’t think his ability to give the most interesting interviews or speeches is the only thing that has him leading in the polls. I think he is capturing the frustration of many Americans after seven years of President Obama’s very intentional government takeover of the American economy.”
Pointing to his own business career, Scott slammed bureaucratic regulations emerging out of Washington D.C. that hurt the private sector and insisted he understood why frustrated Republicans were backing Trump. Scott also used his time on the national stage to showcase his own record.
“I ran for governor of Florida to turn our economy around,” Scott noted. “I pledged to create 700,000 jobs in seven years. In the last five years, we have added one million private sector jobs. We presently have almost 300,000 job openings. Housing prices have recovered, and our crime rate is at a 44 year low. Even though the politicians will scoff at the notion, we can see this kind of growth nationally if we dramatically change our approach to governing.
“It is my hope that every Republican presidential candidate will become laser-focused on job creation because I want our next president to be a Republican, and I want them to eliminate the regulations and taxes that are poisoning our country’s future,” Scott concluded. “The pollsters and pundits will keep trying to read voters’ minds. In the meantime, I am glad Republicans are frustrated. I am glad we are demanding a major change, because until we get serious about that, we will continue to get more of the same.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
