U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is defending country singer Luke Bryan after Bryan invited Gov. Ron DeSantis onto stage at a Jacksonville concert Friday night, in the context of Hurricane Ian relief efforts.
During a Fox News hit, Rubio said the move was not a political act.
“I don’t think Luke Bryan was taking a political position. He was in Florida. They just had a storm. The Governor’s in charge of raising that private money to help people who have been damaged by the storm, and he brings him on stage to talk about that,” Rubio said.
“I’m glad he’s ignoring all the noise around him. It’s just a bunch of left-wing loons who are going to criticize you every time you say anything nice or do anything nice around a Republican,” Rubio added. “They want the total destruction, leftists do, of anything that’s Republican.”
The Senator offered more of this ideological critique regarding Bryan bashers during the Tuesday afternoon appearance.
“He got dragged on social media by a bunch of leftists and liberals who don’t like DeSantis and don’t like Republicans. On the other hand, it’s OK to invite whatever Democrat they want on stage. Every celebrity in America for the most part is either Democrat-leaning or openly supports Democrats.”
“They just can’t tolerate any dissent,” Rubio added. “They don’t want Republicans to have anybody on their side.”
While it’s unknown if Bryan agrees with Rubio’s beliefs about Democrats, the Senator’s words do offer rhetorical cover for Bryan’s attempt to justify bringing the “polarizing” DeSantis onto stage.
“I typically don’t respond to stuff when I’m getting run down on a social platform but here’s the deal,” Bryan tweeted. “I understand Governor DeSantis is a very polarizing figure. But I grew up in a country where if a governor ask you if they can come and raise awareness to help victims of a natural disaster you help.
“I’ve generally stayed out of politics throughout my career. I knew people would chatter about this but for me the more important piece was (if) I am going to come back there a few weeks after a large portion of people have been affected by a natural disaster in a state where people have been good to me this felt right.”
The post Marco Rubio claims Luke Bryan appearance with Ron DeSantis not a ‘political position’ appeared first on Florida Politics – Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..