Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Donald Trump was wrong to support eminent domain, which allows government to seize private lands.
Rubio told reporters in New Hampshire that when he served in the Florida Legislature, he helped pass a law to block developers from seizing private property from owners.
“We passed what has become model legislation for other states around the country, that actually passed both a law and a constitutional amendment that keeps developers like Donald Trump from using the power of eminent domain to take private property away from an owner and give it to another owner,” he said.
“So he’s wrong about that,” he added. “It’s one of the most important rights that Americans have is private property.”
On Fox News on Tuesday, Trump called the power of eminent domain a “wonderful thing.”
“Eminent domain — when it comes to jobs, roads, the public good — I think it’s a wonderful thing,” Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier. “I fully understand the conservative approach, but I don’t think it was explained to most conservatives.”
Some on the right, including the influential Club for Growth, have been attacking Trump for his backing eminent domain because they believe the sweeping government power violates individual property rights.
Trump has recently stepped up his attacks on Rubio as the senator rises in the polls.
On Tuesday, Trump on CNN called Rubio a “total lightweight” and knocked his past financial difficulties. “Take a look at his past, he’s got $12 in the bank,” Trump said.
He added, “Rubio is not the guy that’s going to be negotiating with the kinds of people you have to negotiate with to turn this country around.”
