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Washington D.C. — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined The Brian Mudd Show. See below for highlights.
 
On what Americans believe in: 
 
“Today’s Democratic Party is not about fighting for real people in the real world…. They’re fighting for a small group of elite liberal activists. These are the people that staff their offices…, and they have a very unique agenda. Most of them are very popular [among college faculty], but they run counter to some very basic truths. 
 
“Most Americans believe being an American isn’t a race or ethnicity. There are rules, therefore, that have to be the same for everyone, and it’s un-American to divide people on the basis of their race, gender, or ethnicity, and they shouldn’t have different rights and different laws based on skin color. 
 
“[Most Americans] believe schools exist to teach children, not indoctrinate them, and that parents have a right to be involved in their kids’ education. They believe the military exists to win wars and defeat enemies, not to promote ideology or be a laboratory for a social experiment. Most Americans understand that the only way you’re going to bring crime down is if criminals are arrested by police officers, prosecutors prosecute them, and they’re put in jail by judges. 
 
“Americans believe there’s such a thing as truth in America. People have a right to believe in lies—for example, that biological gender doesn’t exist—but they don’t have a right and shouldn’t have the power to enforce that delusion on everyone else. [They believe] that we should have a border, and that if you come here legally, we’re going to welcome you. And if you don’t, you’re going to have to leave. 
 
“These are basic elements of reality that most Americans are governed by. It’s called common sense, and it runs counter to the entire agenda of the Democratic Party.”
 
On Republicans’ successes when they held a Senate majority: 
 
“Probably the two most significant things that happened under four years of President Donald Trump is, first, I think it freed the Republican Party from a [false] ideology. For example,…we support the free market 100 percent—we are not socialists and should never be socialists—but we also have to be a country that can make things again. There are certain things that you have to be able to make in America, even if it costs more to make it here. I think those are the kinds of things on trade and international relations that Donald Trump, in that era, really was a big achievement and turning point. You see that in the people running as Republicans now. I think that’s going to be important for the country and for our future. 
 
“I think the other thing is we put [people] in place, particularly the judges and the Supreme Court, that are going to return more power where it belongs, into the hands of voters, states, and local communities. Because we cannot be a country where, for example, some congresswoman from San Francisco gets to impose national, one-size-fits-all rules on conservatives living in Alabama, Mississippi, or Florida, for that matter. We’re too diverse a country. Returning power to states and local communities via their voters is an enormous achievement of those two years. I think these are the things that we should not underestimate. 
 
“I would also tell you [that] the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 [brought] record revenues…into the government. We’re spending more than ever under Biden. But [the 2017 tax reform law] was a huge, huge success. The economy was roaring, before it was obviously tanked by the COVID pandemic and then the overreaction by some left-wing officials across the country that continues to this day. But that was an enormous achievement….”
 
On why Hispanics are moving to the Republican Party: 
 
“It’s not just because they’re Hispanics per se, but because they also happen to be small business owners and workers who are trying to raise families. The reason why they’re turning on the Democrats [isn’t] just because…they’re a bunch of socialists, even though clearly [the Democrats’] agenda reminds them of the country they came to get away from in many instances. I would say it’s because Hispanics don’t want to pay $4.55 a gallon for gas. That hurts them. 
 
“Hispanics are tired of runaway crime and criminality, prosecutors who refuse to prosecute and put people in jail, and things of that nature. They don’t want our schools telling our son[s] that they’re our daughters and vice versa. They don’t want our schools to be indoctrination centers. They want our schools to teach their kids so their kids can go out and have a better life than themselves. 
 
“That is a very simple agenda. It’s based on common sense in the real world. These are hardworking people who own small businesses and work for a living, and they don’t have time for the silliness that some of these other people who sit around all day and read Twitter have time for….”
 
On the Miami Dolphins’ chances in the coming NFL season: 
 
“I think they’re going to be a fun team to watch. Wins and losses are tough to predict in the NFL. But they’re going to score a lot of points, I hope. They’re fast, I’ll tell you that. They’re probably the best team in the NFL right now. I think they’re going to score a lot of points and their offense is going to be better. 
 
“I tell people this all the time: you take the 32nd team in the NFL, the worst team, and you put it up against the best team in a 10-game series, and the worst team is probably going to win three or four of those games. That’s how close the competition level is. 
 
“I have low expectations—that way I can’t be disappointed—but I do expect them to be at least fun to watch. I think they’ll score points. This is the time of year where everyone is going to the Super Bowl. We’ll find out.”