Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on Wednesday issued a statement criticizing presidential rivals Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) for turning their participation—or lack thereof—in the upcoming GOP debate into a “sideshow.”
Trump said late Tuesday that he would not take part in the Fox News debate scheduled for Thursday. Cruz then challenged Trump to a “mano-a-mano” confrontation.
Rubio said the debates were important and that his rivals’ “theatrics” were nothing more than a distracting, “entertaining sideshow.”
Here’s the full statement from Rubio’s communications director:
BREAKING: Statement by @marcorubio about @FoxNews debate: pic.twitter.com/Qln87mFVoo
— Alex Conant (@AlexConant) January 27, 2016