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U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined America Reports to discuss President-elect Donald Trump’s historic victory, Democrats’ proclamation of “resistance,” and the failure of identity politics. See below for highlights and watch the full interview on YouTube and Rumble.

On Democrats proclaiming “resistance” in the wake of the election: 

“Resistance to what? Resistance to what the American people just voted for? In the history of the republic, no candidate for president has been clearer about what they’re going to do, in the simplest language possible. He’s going to secure the border. He’s going to bring down prices for energy and other things in America. And he’s going to make us strong in the world, so that we don’t have a war. He’s been very clear about this. No one has been more explicit. And people voted for that overwhelmingly. It’s an Electoral College landslide. He won the popular vote. Even in states that he didn’t win, like Virginia and New Jersey, these are states that became incredibly more competitive. The state of New York was more competitive. So what are they, a resistance to the American people? 

“This is their attitude. Their attitude is: ‘You guys are a bunch of dummies. We’re really smart people. We know what’s best for you. You don’t even know what’s best for yourselves.’ And that’s why they lost this election. And that’s why they’re going to continue to lose elections as long as they adopt that attitude. A resistance to what? You played, earlier, clips of the attorney general in New York. The mayor and governor as well. These are just Democrat politicians that sense opportunity. Their party is down there. This is a chance for them to step up and make themselves the face of the future of the Democratic Party. But what their ‘resistance’ to is the American people, who just voted Donald Trump into office overwhelmingly.”

On the ongoing realignment among American voters: 

“The Republican Party has fundamentally been remade, in a very positive way. It reflects a multiethnic, multicultural coalition of Americans…. Our primary identity as people is not our ethnicity or our skin color. It is the fact that we’re mothers and fathers, small business owners, employees who work for wages—who have to pay bills, who want their kids to have a better future, but are struggling with the cost of housing and everything else—people who are worried about some war breaking out that might suck their children into serving in combat, who are worried about these things very deeply. 

“And by the way, in Hispanic communities in particular, [people are] deeply worried that some criminal from somewhere in the world gets into this country illegally and comes to your neighborhood and murders someone that you love, because it’s happened. And that’s the neighborhoods that many of them are going to. 

“The Republican Party now reflects this governing coalition for the country. Now we have to turn that into action. You’ve won an election. Now you have to do the things that respond to why people voted this way in the first place. And if you do that, I think it helps, not just strengthen the Republican Party, but create a governing coalition that starts to break some of the gridlock that has kept us from doing meaningful things for our country for a long time. That’s the opportunity. We got to go out and do it right. But I feel good about it. But now we’ve got the actual work to do.” 

On the failure of identity politics: 

“My free advice to Democrats is, fire all these consultants, pollsters, and so-called experts that gave you advice on how to reach the Hispanic vote, because they don’t know Jack. The truth of the matter is that Hispanic voters are not in favor of illegal immigration. They are not in favor of uncontrolled immigration into our country. They are not in favor of allowing criminals to roam our streets and kill, murder, and rape. They’re not in favor of any of those things. Hispanic voters are not in favor of high prices. That makes life unaffordable, and they’re not in favor of policies that send our jobs to other countries. It’s that simple. And you know what? Neither are most Americans. Here’s the headline: Hispanic Americans are Americans, and they believe and feel about these issues the way all Americans feel.

“I think that extends to other communities as well. It goes back to my earlier point. Our primary identity is not the color of our skin. It’s not our ethnicity. It is how we live our life on a daily basis. And it’s hard for everyday people. [The Harris campaign] had all these great endorsers. But Bad Bunny didn’t deliver for Kamala Harris. Jennifer Lopez didn’t deliver for Kamala Harris. Because the average voter, even in the Hispanic community, they listen to the guy’s music, but they don’t give a damn what he thinks about this, because he doesn’t have to pay the bills. [The American people] have to pay. No [illegal immigrant] is going to murder [Bad Bunny], but [the average voters] are worried about it, because they’re coming to their communities. I think that’s what this is proof of, and you’re seeing it play out. You talk about that border region. Of course they voted for Trump. Migrants are coming across to their neighborhood, to where they live. They’re not in Beverly Hills watching some PBS documentary about this. They’re living it every single day.”