Marco Rubio in CNN 2015 GOP primary debate
On Energy & Oil:
Addressing global warming would destroy our economy
Q: When Reagan was president, there were dire warnings about the ozone layer shrinking. Reagan urged skeptics to come up with a plan and "do it as an insurance policy in case the scientists are right." Why not take out an insurance policy?RUBIO:
Because we're not going to destroy our economy. We are not going to make America a harder place to create jobs in order to pursue policies that will do absolutely nothing: nothing to change our climate, to change our weather. So the bottom line is,
I am not in favor of any policies that make America a harder place for people to live, or to work, or to raise their families.
Q: So would you call yourself a skeptic of climate change?
RUBIO: You can measure the climate. That's not the issue we're
discussing. Here is what I'm skeptical of. I'm skeptical of the decisions that the left wants us to make. They will not do a thing to lower the rise of the sea. But what they will do is they will make America a more expensive place to create jobs.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
On Foreign Policy:
North Korea is run by a maniac with nuclear weapons
If you're running for president, [foreign policy] are important issues, because look at around the world today.There is a lunatic in North Korea with dozens of nuclear weapons and long-range rocket that can already hit the very place in which we stand
tonight. The Chinese are rapidly expanding their military. They hack into our computers. They're building artificial islands in the South China Sea, the most important shipping lane in the world.
A gangster in Moscow is not just threatening Europe,
he's threatening to destroy and divide NATO. You have radical jihadists in dozens of countries across multiple continents. And they even recruit Americans using social media to try to attack us here at home.
And now we have got this horrible deal with
Iran where a radical Shia cleric with an apocalyptic vision of the future is also guaranteed to one day possess nuclear weapons and also a long-range rocket that can hit the United States.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
On Foreign Policy:
Putin trying to position Russia as a geopolitical force
Putin said that the fall of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century, and he's trying to reverse that. He's trying to destroy NATO. He is exploiting a vacuum that this administration has left in the Middle East.
The Russians will begin to fly combat missions in that region, not just targeting ISIS, but in order to prop up Assad. Putin will say, "America is no longer a reliable ally, Egypt. America is no longer a reliable ally, Saudi Arabia. Rely on us."
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
On Gun Control:
Criminals will ignore gun laws because they're criminals
The only people that follow the law are law-abiding people. Criminals by definition ignore the law. The criminals are going to ignore it because they are criminals. The real issue is why are they committing the violence?
You can't have a strong country without strong people, you cannot have strong people without strong values, and you cannot have strong values without strong families and the institutions in this country that defend and support those families.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
On Homeland Security:
Radical terrorism cannot be solved by intellect
CARSON: I have no argument with being aggressive where aggression is needed. But it is not needed in every circumstance. There is a time when you can use your intellect to come up with other ways to do things.RUBIO: But radical terrorism cannot be
solved by intellect. It cannot--they require--what they need, is they need an operating space. That's what Afghanistan was for Al Qaida. It was a vacuum that they filled, and they created an operating space. That's why they had to be drawn out of there.
That's why they had to be destroyed. It is the reason why ISIS has grown as well. We allowed a vacuum to emerge in Syria. They used it as an operating space to grow; and today they're not just in Iraq and Syria anymore, they're now in Libya, conducting
operations in the Sinai. They're now in Afghanistan, trying to supplant the Taliban as the most powerful radical jihadist group on the ground there, as well. You cannot allow radical jihadists to have an operating safe haven anywhere in the world.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
On Homeland Security:
Don't use military for pinpricks; only engage to win
Let's remember what the president said. He said the attack he would conduct would be a pinprick. Well, the United States military was not built to conduct pinprick attacks. If the United States military is going to be engaged by a commander-in-chief, it
should only be engaged in an endeavor to win. And we're not going to authorize use of force if you're not put in a position where they can win. Quite frankly, people don't trust this president as commander-in-chief because of that.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
On Homeland Security:
We're eviscerating our military in dangerous times
These are dangerous times that we live in. And the next president better be someone that understands these issues and has good judgment about them because the number one issue that a president will ever confront, and the most important obligation
that the federal government has, is to keep this nation safe. We are not doing that. We are eviscerating our military. And we have a president that is more respectful to the ayatollah in Iran than he is to the prime minister of Israel.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
On Immigration:
My family are all immigrants; but no comprehensive solution
My family is immigrants. My neighbors are immigrants. My in-laws are immigrants. America doesn't have one immigration problem, it has three. First, we have people coming illegally. Second, we have a legal immigration system that no longer works.
It is built on the basis of whether you have a relative here instead of merit. And third, we have 11 million people who are here illegally. We must deal with all these problems. We cannot deal with all three in one piece of legislation.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
On Immigration:
Replace family-based system with economic contribution
First, we must secure our border with a wall. We also need to have an entry/exit tracking system. 40% of the people who come here illegally come legally, and then overstay the visa. We need a mandatory e-verify system. Step two would be to modernize our
legal immigration system so you come to America on the basis of what you can contribute economically, not whether or not simply you have a relative living here. If you're a criminal, obviously, you will not be able to stay.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
On Principles & Values:
America is based on freedom of choice
Q: How will the world look different once your Air Force One is parked in the hangar of your presidential library, like Reagan's here?A: Reagan understood that America was a unique nation. He knew it was founded on the dignity of all people,
human rights, the rights of all to live in freedom and liberty, and choose their own path in life. I hope that my Air Force One, if I become president, will one day land in a free Cuba, where its people can choose its leaders and its own destiny.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
On War & Peace:
Theocratic ayatollahs should never possess nuclear weapons
We need a commander-in-chief who will stand up and protect this country. And I'll tell you, I can't wait to stand on that debate stage with Hillary Clinton and to make abundantly clear if you vote for Hillary, you are voting for the
Ayatollah Khomeini to possess a nuclear weapon and if you elect me as president, under no circumstances will a theocratic ayatollah who chants death to America ever be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
On War & Peace:
We should have supported Syrian uprising from its start
The uprising in Syria was started by the Syrian people. I warned at the time that if we did not find moderate elements that we could equip and arm, that void would be filled by radical jihadists. The president didn't listen, and that's exactly what
happened. That is why ISIS grew. That is why ISIS then came over the border from Syria and back into Iraq. And the more we disengage, the more airplanes from Moscow you're going to see flying out of Damascus and out of Syria.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Page last updated: Dec 07, 2018