Marco Rubio Standing By Donald Trump But Wishes 'We Had Better Choices'

GOP Senator Marco Rubio of Florida reiterated his support for Donald Trump on Tuesday, going against the wave of establishment Republicans who are fleeing the presidential nominee's corner in the wake of the release of a 2005 video that captures Trump boasting about treatment of women that amounts to sexual assault.

"I ran against Donald Trump. And while I respect that voters chose him as the GOP nominee, I have never hesitated to oppose his policies I disagree with. And I have consistently rejected his offensive rhetoric and behavior," Rubio said in a written statement.

"I disagree with him on many things, but I disagree with his opponent on virtually everything. I wish we had better choices for President," Rubio continued. "But I do not want Hillary Clinton to be our next President. And therefore my position has not changed."

Rubio's statement comes as his Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, admonished him for remaining silent since since Friday's video revelation, save for a single tweet.

"Florida women and families deserve better than a tweet," Murphy told reporters Monday on a conference call, adding, "Rubio responded to Donald Trump’s dangerous misogyny with a single tweet and then has been silent ever since."

Rubio may have felt more comfortable making a statement with a new poll that was released on Tuesday morning showing he holds a 7 point lead over Murphy. Although the poll was completed before Friday's video release, University of North Florida pollster Michael Binder attributes the gap to Murphy's lack of name recognition.

Rubio's name also came up in Tuesday's WikiLeaks release of emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, in which the Florida senator was considered a "real threat."

In February, Clinton's chief strategist Joel Benenson said he was "beginning to worry about Rubio more than others."

"He's playing this very smart — only one who didn't duck like a chicken s--t on the Q of whether POTUS loves America," Benenson wrote in the Feb. 23 email to other top aides. "He had stronger right wing cred than Jeb and he's finding a way to the middle enough for now and he will be the most exciting choice to Republicans. Could pose a real threat with Latinos."

Clinton campaign adviser Mandy Grunwald disagreed with Benenson's assessment, saying, "He's very inspiring at his best," adding, "Feels kind of like a light weight in a lot of interviews — but I take your point."

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