Rubio complains 'sideshows' distract from campaign issues
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio complained Wednesday night that the news media is paying too much attention to “sideshows” involving business magnate Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, and not enough on serious issues facing the country.
“This is not a show. This is serious. We cannot lose this election. We have to turn this country around,” Rubio told about 400 people during a campaign event at Wellman’s Pub and Rooftop in West Des Moines.
He added, “Now if you think I am partisan about this, I think both parties are messing up America. I think Washington is out of touch.”
The Florida senator, who is a distant third in polls of Iowa Republican presidential candidates behind front-runners Trump and Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, indicated frustration with all the news coverage Trump has received for pulling out of Thursday night’s GOP presidential debate in Des Moines. He also mentioned the attention Cruz had received for challenging Trump to a one-on-one debate.
“We are going to turn this country around, but first we have to win. We are not going to win if this election becomes a sideshow. We have all watched some of the theatrics that have gone on. That all makes for very interesting television, but it doesn’t solve our problems,” Rubio said.
Rubio was introduced by U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., who received some good-natured boos from the Iowa crowd when he described himself as “first of all a dad and a Husker football addict.” Sasse wore a red pullover with a white “N” for the University of Nebraska. Rubio joked afterward, “Unfortunately, I just lost 20 caucus commits.”
Sasse praised Rubio as a “very strong defender of the Constitution” and Rubio followed up by suggesting that children in the United States be taught that America is the greatest country in the history of the world.
“We are a great country. We just have a really bad president,” Rubio said.
Rubio warned that if Republicans lose the presidential election in November, the Affordable Care Act will become permanent, President Barack Obama’s controversial executive orders won’t be rescinded, the military won’t be rebuilt, the threat of ISIS terrorism against the U.S. will increase, and America’s standing in the world will fall.
He said it would be a “disaster”” for the U.S. if Hillary Clinton is elected president and he suggested that U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, would be best suited to be president of Sweden, which has a capitalist economy governed by social democratic policies.
Eric Holdmeyer, a salesman from Adel, said Rubio gave a great speech and he was impressed with the senator’s ideas. “I thought I was for Trump, but now I am not sure,” he remarked. He also said Trump’s decision to pull out of Thursday night’s debate left a bad taste with him.
Veronica Solovyova of Altoona, a quality control technician in a factory, said her opinion of Rubio became more favorable, but she’s still undecided about which candidate to support. “He made some really good points and he didn’t only say what he planned to do, but how he would do it,” she said.
At the event
SETTING: Wellman’s Pub and Rooftop, West Des Moines.
CROWD: About 400 people standing inside the pub.
REACTION: Positive. He gots lots of applause and some cheers throughout his speech. Several people said afterward they were particularly touched by his story about how his immigrant parents worked hard to have a nice home and how they wanted their four children to have better lives than their generation.
WHAT'S NEXT: Rubio will appear at a Republican presidential debate Thursday night at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines hosted by Fox News Channel. He will make four stops in eastern Iowa on Friday.