Rubio’s Endorsement of Trump Underscores Reversal for Latino Leader

Senator Marco Rubio’s endorsement of Donald J. Trump at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday made the Florida Republican the highest elected Latino leader to fall in behind the former president. It also marked a pivotal point in Mr. Rubio’s nearly 14-year journey from being a rising star of his party to a keynote speaker during the coronation of a onetime rival.

“By giving voice to everyday Americans, President Trump has not just transformed our party,” Mr. Trump said, describing Mr. Trump as inspiring “a movement of the people who grow our food and drive our trucks. The people who make our cars and build our homes.”

The speech — filled with rhetoric about the origins and promise of the United States — was celebrated by Latino Republicans who viewed Mr. Rubio’s ascent as a point of cultural pride and long criticized the lack of Hispanic representation in politics.

Kevin M. Cabrera, 33, a county commissioner in Florida, said that as a second-generation Cuban American, he took “great pride” in seeing a senator from his hometown, Miami, take such a prominent role.

«There are few that better articulate the spirit of the American dream than he does,” he said, adding that Mr. Rubio’s support of Mr. Trump underscored “the resilience of the American spirit.”

But for many Latino voters and leaders, who lean Democratic overall, it was a jarring moment because of Mr. Rubio’s transformation from a Trump rival to Trump loyalist and vice-presidential contender, standing by a man they say has been convicted of multiple felonies, is running on a platform they see as a threat to democracy and has made demonization of immigrants a defining feature of his campaign.