News

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined Today to discuss President-elect Donald Trump’s historic victory and various policy challenges facing the country. See below for highlights and watch the full interview on YouTube and Rumble.

On the ongoing realignment among American voters:

“I think we have to understand how he [President-elect Donald Trump] won, not just that he won, but how he won. He won by putting together the most diverse coalition of American voters in modern history. You were talking a moment ago, before I came on the air, about Hispanic voters. I think the lesson here is that the primary identity of Americans is American. 

“Whether you’re of Hispanic descent or African American or of any background, the price of gas, the price of food, the fear of uncertainty and not being safe in your own community—because people have entered the country illegally and happen to be criminals in their home countries before they came, and then they come here and commit crimes as well—concerns about what’s happening in the world, that every day there’s new conflict that threatens to pull us in—these are things that Donald Trump campaigned on. His primary message was, ‘I’m going to put the interests of Americans and America before anything else.’ I think that’s a message that’s resonated in a way that has led to this very diverse coalition. 

“At the end of the day, I think that is part of the mandate, that Americans of all backgrounds want a government in the Senate, in the White House, in the House—everywhere—that puts them and the things they care about ahead of what is important to somebody else, whether it be in politics or in another country. That’s an important lesson to learn and take away from all of this.”

On various policy challenges facing the country:

“The immigration law of this country is as follows, ‘If you are here unlawfully, you are to be detained until removal.’ That’s the law of the country. He [President-elect Trump] is talking about enforcing our existing laws. He’s also made clear that his priority is to deport dangerous criminals. People that are in this country and are criminals in their home country, or are committing crimes here, they will be the priority for removal from this country. That’s a widespread, supermajority position in this country. It’s one of the reasons why he won yesterday. 

“In the case of Ukraine, who wants war? What he’s talking about is that he wants the war to end. As a businessman, he’s not going to tell you about his negotiating tactics to bring it to a close. But I don’t understand why we would not want a war like that to end. Obviously, you don’t have to be a fan of Vladimir Putin to want the war to end….

“They don’t admit it publicly, but if you ask the Biden Administration, they will tell you we are funding a stalemate. I think the Ukrainians have been incredibly brave and strong in standing up to Russia. But at the end of the day, what we are funding here is a stalemate war, and it needs to be brought to a conclusion, or that country is going to be set back 100 years. That doesn’t mean that we celebrate what Vladimir Putin did or are excited about it, but I think there has to also be some common sense here.”