Rubio Blasts Gingrich TV Ad as "Inflammatory" and "Inaccurate"

The Miami Herald's Marc Caputo reports:

Sen. Marco Rubio scolded Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign over a Spanish-language radio ad that accuses rival Mitt Romney of being “anti-immigrant.”

“This kind of language is more than just unfortunate. It’s inaccurate, inflammatory, and doesn’t belong in this campaign,” Rubio told The Miami Herald when asked about the ad.

“The truth is that neither of these two men is anti-immigrant,” Rubio said. “Both are pro-legal immigration and both have positive messages that play well in the Hispanic community.”

Rubio's comments here, along with his statement yesterday that Mitt Romney is "no Charlie Crist" and a "conservative," have fueled some speculation that Rubio is really pulling for Romney while officially remaining neutral. That could be--there are plenty of pro-Romney folks in Rubio world. But Rubio takes a strong position against illegal immigration. And for Gingrich to call Romney "anti-immigrant" is to call Rubio "anti-immigrant" as well. Rubio was defending himself today as much as he was defending Romney. Yesterday, he was simply responding to Gingrich's claim that Romney is just another Charlie Crist. Romney endorsed Rubio before Gingrich did, so Rubio must have felt obliged to speak up.