The media must report the truth about the violent rowdies disrupting Donald Trump's rallies — that they are professional protesters paid to create havoc, Sen. Marco Rubio says.
"Many of the violent protestors … are 'professional protestors,' not grassroots [people]," the Florida Republican on Twitter.
"[There are a] whole industry of professional disrupters who go to events to disrupt them knowing cameras will gravitate to them. These protests are not organic."
Rubio's comments came two days after
rioting demonstrators at a Trump rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico threw burning T-shirts and bottles at police officers and stormed through barricades — actions that injured several cops.
According to
Breitbart, Rubio's negative tone towards Trump has mellowed considerably since he quit the race for the GOP presidential nomination in March.
After riots in Chicago back then, Rubio pounded away at Trump's explosive, take-no-prisoners campaigning bluster, saying:
"I'm telling you, that this boiling point that we have now reached has been fed largely by the fact that we have a front-runner in my party who has fed into language that basically justifies physically assaulting people who disagree with you."
"It's not just about Chicago, it happened in St. Louis … this has happened repeatedly now, this is not new. This is a pattern. You cannot say whatever you want, words have consequences."