From Trump-bashing to Trump-backing, former GOP presidential candidate Marco Rubio recently announced his intention to cast his ballot for presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

“I’m going to support [Trump]. I’m going to vote for him,” Rubio told Florida reporters.

Close

The Florida lawmaker even said he would be “honored” to vocalize his support for the former reality television star at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

“Look, my policy differences with Donald Trump — I spent 11 months talking about them. So I think they’re well understood,” Rubio told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “That said … I don’t want Hillary Clinton to be president. If there’s something I can do to help that from happening, and it’s helpful to the cause, I’d most certainly be honored to be considered for that.”

The abrupt change of tune comes after months of sparring by the former adversaries throughout the primary elections. Rubio took unrelenting jabs at the successful businessman, calling him a “con man” and hammering him on everything from his so-called “unclear” policies to his “small hands.”

Trump threw punches right back, often referring to the Florida senator as “Little Marco.” Trump condemned Rubio’s absence from Senate votes, described Rubio as “a disaster with his credit cards,” and ignited a war against him on Twitter.

“I will be using Facebook and Twitter to expose dishonest lightweight Sen. Marco Rubio. A record no-show in Senate, he is scamming Florida,” tweeted Trump in early March.

[lz_ndn video=30878789]

Now, though, Trump has tweeted such messages as: “Poll data shows that @marcorubio does by far the best in holding onto his Senate seat in Florida. Important to keep the MAJORITY. Run Marco!”

Trump didn’t specify whether the move was a calculated effort to collect more votes in Florida, but it certainly never hurt a presidential candidate to have another friend in the Senate when competing in a critical swing state like Florida in the general elections.

Who do you think would win the Presidency?

By completing the poll, you agree to receive emails from LifeZette, occasional offers from our partners and that you've read and agree to our privacy policy and legal statement.

Should Trump and likely Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton go head-to-head in November, the two are slated to have a tight race in the Sunshine State. Clinton leads Trump 44 percent to 42 percent in overall votes, according to recent polling data from Real Clear Politics, though a Quinnipiac study showed the two tied in favorability ratings.

Some Washington analysts say there’s a perfectly good reason for the two men to tout their new support for each other: unification of the Republican party. House Speaker Paul Ryan has also begun changing his tone toward Trump after months of skepticism.

In an effort to unify the party and as a rebuke to the #NeverTrump movement, Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus announced his decision to back Trump earlier this month, tweeting, “@realDoanldTrump will be presumptive @GOP nominee, we all need to unite and focus on defeating @HillaryClinton #NeverClinton.”