Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich’s campaign on Wednesday pulled an ad that accused rival Mitt Romney of being “anti-immigrant” after influential Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida complained that the ad was inaccurate and inflammatory.
“We respect Senator Rubio tremendously and will remove the ad from the rotation,” Gingrich’s Florida campaign chairman, Jose Mallea, told The Miami Herald. “We will replace it with a positive message that will continue to focus on drawing contrast between our clear vision on the issues important to the Hispanic community and our opponents lack thereof.”
Rubio scolded Gingrich over a Spanish-language radio ad that says Romney is “anti-immigrant.”
Rubio told the newspaper, “This kind of language is more than just unfortunate. It’s inaccurate, inflammatory, and doesn’t belong in this campaign. The truth is that neither of these two men is anti-immigrant. Both are pro-legal immigration, and both have positive messages that play well in the Hispanic community.” Rubio plans to stay neutral in the race, and he is viewed as a potential running mate for the eventual nominee.
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