Breaking from the rigidly disciplined and unflappable style that’s characterized his campaign until now, Rubio has used his final days to offer an elegiac and nuanced critique of America in the age of Trump.

“My whole life I’ve been told being humble is a virtue, and now being humble is a weakness and being vain and self-absorbed is somehow a virtue,” Rubio told an audience of 1,200 in West Palm Beach on Monday evening. “My whole life I have been told no matter how you may feel about someone, you respect everyone because we are all children of the same God. Now being respectful to one another is considered political correctness.”…

No one has been spared in his assessment. He’s criticized himself for stooping to Trump’s level with attacks on his rival’s physical appearance. He’s asked the media to consider whether non-stop cable coverage of Trump abetted his rise. He’s accused President Obama of widening divisions and anti-Trump protestors of raising tensions. He’s criticized Sen. Ted Cruz for embracing Trump early on rather than distancing the conservative movement from him…

Rubio’s message still comes across as heartfelt and worth listening to, even if the messenger hasn’t always lived up to its ideals. In recent weeks, he’s taken to delivering a robust defense of Muslims not only in America, but around the world, a surprising move in a primary in which candidates frequently compete for the toughest sound bite against radical Islam.