Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) found himself in the spotlight after a notable CNN interview where he appeared to align closely with former President Donald Trump on various issues.
During the interview with Jake Tapper, Rubio defended Trump’s controversial remarks, including a recent comment suggesting he would encourage Russia to act against NATO allies who didn’t fulfill their financial obligations to the organization. Despite Tapper’s concern about Trump’s stance potentially endangering NATO countries, Rubio interpreted the statement differently, emphasizing Trump’s past efforts to push NATO members to increase their contributions.
Moving on to the collapsed bipartisan Senate border deal, Rubio dismissed support from the U.S. Border Patrol Union, which had backed Trump and the deal. Despite their ongoing criticism of President Joe Biden, Rubio asserted that their stance was misguided and that the deal wasn’t sufficient.
Lastly, Rubio addressed Trump’s recent remarks mocking the husband of Nikki Haley, a Major in the National Guard. While acknowledging the increasing negativity in political campaigns, Rubio defended Trump’s actions, suggesting they were in response to similar attacks and speculations made against Melania Trump in the past.
Rubio’s alignment with Trump’s positions in the interview underscored his continued support for the former president and his policies. However, his defense of Trump’s actions also raised questions about his own stance on certain issues and his willingness to challenge Trump’s behavior.
“Are you comfortable with him suggesting that he wouldn’t defend NATO countries?” Tapper said. “And actually he would invite Putin and Russia to invade them?”
“Well, that’s not what happened,” Rubiio said. “And that’s not how I view that statement. He was talking about something, a story that he talked about happened in the past.”
The senator added, “What he’s basically saying is, if you see the comments, he said NATO was broke or busted until he took over because people weren’t paying their dues. And then he told a story about how he used leverage to get people to step up to the plate and become more active.”
[They] consistently criticize President [Joe] Biden,” Tapper said. “Go check out their Twitter feed. They mock him all the time. They say this is better than nothing. It should become law. Are you saying that the Border Patrol union is wrong?”
“Yes,” Rubio said flatly. “If that’s what they still believe, they’re wrong. It’s not better than nothing.”
0 seconds of 2 minutes, 12 secondsVolume 90%What do you think about these comments?” Tapper asked.
“I think they’re part of the increasing nastiness of this campaign and every campaign in American politics,” Rubio said. “I mean, they’re calling him a grumpy old man. They’re attacking Donald Trump. I remember when Melania Trump was not visible for some period of time. You have people in the media and others snickering and speculating that she was no longer with Donald Trump. We find out later, of course, that she was caring for her ailing mother, who was in the last weeks and days of her life. So this sort of nastiness, you know, Trump gives us as good as he gets.”
