Donald Trump baits Marco Rubio in NH trash-talk duel

Republican Senators are turning their hopes for the presidential nomination from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to one of their own: Florida Sen.

Under pressure to do so, Marco Rubio released a full report Saturday of his use of a Florida GOP credit card from his time in the Florida state legislature. Lee outlined facts related to the issue of the Republican presidential candidate’s charges to the card between 2005 and 2009, and concluded that “based on the information released so far, a mountain’s been made out of [a] molehill, by the media and Rubio’s opponents”.

“It wasn’t a credit card, it was a charge card”.

While Rubio has described a few personal charges as a mistake – such as the Iberia Tiles flooring – he also seemed to think it was all right to use the card for personal expenses as long as he later paid the charge.

The statements from late 2006 to late 2008 are now public, but those from 2005 and most of 2006 are not. The release shows he did make eight personal purchases on the card – a practice for which he has been criticized by rivals – but his campaign insisted that he reimbursed American Express $7,200 for them.

“Rubio was one of about a half-dozen lawmakers given RPOF cards during years when the party was flush with cash”.

“Each time, I identified the charges and paid the costs myself, directly to American Express”, he wrote.

“Rubio’s going down next”, Trump said, with dozens of sign-waving supporters standing behind him on the steps of the New Hampshire State House yesterday morning.

“When Donald comes across a poll he doesn’t like, he gets weird and does these sorts of odd things”, said Rubio after an event at St. Anselm College in the afternoon.

When Rubio was using the card, the Republican Party of Florida’s policies stated that corporate cards were for “business use only”, according to a report by an outside law firm that conducted an independent investigation into credit card expenditures at the state party’s request. His spokesman, Alex Conant, said Wednesday that those expenses were for party business and that the state GOP paid them.

Rubio’s finances were an issue during his 2010 run for the U.S. Senate, and he has faced questions over his mortgage payments and a liquidated retirement account.

“It will be soon – these are old documents and they take time to assemble”, Rubio told CNN’s Dana Bash. “Second, Marco Rubio presents the clearest contrast to these twin socialists…He has truly lived the American dream that we all know America holds”.

The records showed plenty of personal spending, including movie tickets, charges to a wine store, a family vacation, even $1,000 for damage to his minivan and thousands more for a rental vehicle to replace it. For his part, Rubio dismissed the incidents cited by Quirk, referring to them as “discredited, ” according to Politifact.