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U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined Face the Nation to discuss foreign election interference, threats to President Donald Trump’s life, the impact of illegal mass migration on communities across America, and more. See below for highlights and watch the full interview on YouTube and Rumble.

On foreign election interference:

“I think this is going to become a fact of life in the 21st century. It’s just very easy now for anyone to do it. You don’t have to be a big nation-state. 

“They’re kind of all different. The Russians are looking at the preexisting fractures in our country, and then they try to sow division, getting us to fight with one another. That’s primarily what we’ve seen them focused on, sowing messages out there, including with inauthentic things that they create. You use AI, you make a fake video, you put it out there just to get Americans to fight against each other. 

“In the case of Iran, it seems to be more specifically focused on Donald Trump. It’s now publicly documented that they’re trying to kill him. If Iran is trying to kill Donald Trump, they most certainly don’t want him to win the election. That’s what their efforts have been [focused on], including the attempted hack and leak operations. 

“The Chinese are new to this business or growing into it. In past cases that we’ve seen publicly disclosed, [they have been] going after specific candidates that they view as being anti-China. I don’t think they want Donald Trump to win, but I do think you’ve seen them focus on things like congressional races in the past. I also think they’re laying the groundwork for more expansive operations in the future to influence American public opinion, on things like Taiwan and what’s happening in the South China Sea. 

“There are multiple actors out there that are in this space now, and I think you’ll see more in the years to come, because you don’t need to build anything really expensive. You just need access to the World Wide Web. We’re an open country, an open society with open means of communication, and the best way to deal with all this is awareness. People need to understand that not everything you see on the internet is true.”

On the congressional testimony of Microsoft’s president:

“What he alluded to are some instances in the past where some fake audio or fake video generated using AI is put out there, and it influences the election in 48 hours. I think we’re a little bit insulated from that. Not that we should let our guard down, but a lot of the votes are already in by the time 48 hours comes around. That doesn’t mean it’s irrelevant. In very close races, it could tip the scales.

“Here’s the bottom line. If you see something out there, a video that just seems way too scandalous, I would pause for a second and make sure that it can be verified. That’s my advice to everybody. Don’t just believe something you see for the first time. It may have been something that happened five years ago, and they’re making it look like it happened yesterday. It may be something that has been made up using an AI mechanism to do so.

“Again, I’m not saying 48 hours before the election is irrelevant in America. I am saying it’s probably less impactful than it is in some of these other countries who don’t have mail voting, early voting, where so many of the votes are already in by then.”

On the hack and leak operation that targeted the Trump campaign:  

“I think you’re going to see more of that in the years to come. I remind everybody that back in 2016, when this first happened, I said, ‘That’s a foreign operation that was used to target the Clinton campaign.’ So, [organized operations] are going to become [more regular]. I’m not saying we should be happy about it or accepting of it, but we need to understand that this is going to become a regular feature.

“[It won’t just be a feature] of presidential races. Presidential races get so much attention that I think you can wade through some of that. I think some of these lower ballot races are the ones that are more susceptible, because if you’re running for Congress or Senate somewhere, and someone dumped something like this on you, it’s much harder to get the truth out there in time for it to be cleared up. There just isn’t going to be as much interest [in the story], and there aren’t going to be as many people covering it.

“I don’t know anything more than what’s been publicly reported when it comes to that hack and leak operation. Perhaps we’ll know more this week. It doesn’t surprise me that someone clicked on something [that allowed hackers in]. [The hackers] got into the system, they stole documents, and then they tried to give it to the media. 

“Here’s what we’re going to see. One day, they’re not going to take it and give it to a campaign or the media; they’re going to give it to some online journalist, somebody who will run with this stuff, begin to report on it, or maybe even alter it. For example, [they will] make up a fake email where it looks like a real email. Maybe it is a real email, but they altered a few words in it and put it out there. By the time you put out that fire, you know it’s done damage. 

“In a presidential race, everybody will cover that. I think you can get to the truth a lot faster in a down ballot race. It’s going to be a lot harder for some candidates to prove that that email is fake. By the time they do, the election may be over.”

On Americans’ lack of trust in federal law enforcement:

“What information is made available to the American public, which deserves to know, on what is behind not just one, but two assassination attempts on Donald Trump? I think that’s where this lack of trust in institutions [comes from]. Multiple people in the Federal Bureau of Investigation face charges or were fired for misconduct in the way they handled issues about Donald Trump just eight years ago. I think people are right to be suspicious and distrustful.

“That’s why it’s so damaging, for example, when 51 former intelligence officials signed a letter saying that a laptop of Hunter Biden is Russian disinformation, then it turns out not to be true. People logically conclude that this is an example of how these agencies and our institutions work against candidates they don’t like. It undermines people’s trust in our institutions. That lack of trust is eroded in government, in the media, in our agencies, and within the government. 

“That’s why disclosure and openness with regard to these investigations is so critical. It’s not just because we want to know. It’s because it’s important to preserve trust in our institutions.”

On the FBI’s duty to be transparent about foreign influence in the 2024 elections: 

“I trust rank and file, in the field FBI agents to do their job. I don’t know what their leadership in some of these agencies or the mid-level [management] will do with it, because you’ve seen a history in the past of there being bias. I hope that’s not true.  

“I’m not saying I know this to be true or even that I think it is true, but let’s say there is a foreign nexus to one of these two attempts [on Donald Trump’s life]. Would they allow that information to be put out there to the American public before the election in November?”

On the bomb threats in Springfield, Ohio, being called in by individuals overseas: 

“A lot of these calls where they call and tell the SWAT team to go to someone’s house because there’s a murder occurring, a lot of these come from overseas. That doesn’t mean it’s being directed by a government overseas. It could be. I haven’t heard that. But just because they’re coming from overseas doesn’t mean the government is behind it. But we have these kinds of individuals all over the world that like to do these kinds of things.” 

On the strain of illegal mass migration on communities across America:

“At a minimum, it shouldn’t keep us from saying, ‘Maybe I don’t believe the dogs and the cats thing, but there are literally people moving in by the thousands.’ They come to Charleroi, Pennsylvania. That’s a 4,000-person city that has 2,500 migrants. 

“Americans who are not intolerant, they’re not bigots, are troubled by the fact that their city is being flooded. In Springfield, you see legitimate reports of huge increases in traffic accidents, leading to slower police response times, and overcrowded schools. This puts a strain on a community, and if you complain about it somehow, you’re a bigot, you’re a racist, you’re a hater. Everyday Americans are being made to feel like they’re haters because they’re complaining about something that all and any of us would complain about. 

“If any of us, I don’t care who we are, lived in a city of 4,000 people, and you brought in 2,500 migrants overnight into one place, there would be problems there. It doesn’t make you a bigot. That’s the problem we should be focusing on.”

On media coverage of illegal mass migration:

“What should matter the most is there is a real migratory crisis…. There are real impacts happening in our country with this movement of mass migration, and that has not gotten the coverage that it deserves. You say you’ve covered it, but it hasn’t gotten the coverage. The cats and dogs thing has gotten way more coverage than the real world impacts that this is having, and I think that’s what needs to change in the way this issue is covered.”