Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Monday, the network’s political correspondent Kasie Hunt touted a clip of her pressing Florida Senator Marco Rubio over a handful of traffic tickets: “I have to ask you, there was a New York Times report about your collection of speeding tickets. Do you have a lead foot?”
Rubio brushed aside the hyped story: “They weren't speeding tickets alone. You know, I'll let people read into it what they want. It is what it is. I mean, an I know when you run for president, that's going to happen, people are going to look at every aspect of your life and talk about it. I can tell you being from Miami, where you drive everywhere, having four tickets in 17 years is not considered bad.”
Co-host Mika Brzezinski introduced the topic by declaring: “There is a big piece in The New York Times about speeding tickets. Is it an issue?” Hunt observed: “Well, I think you're starting to see the knives come out for Rubio....And that’s a sign of his strength.”
Following the clip of Hunt talking to Rubio at an event in Iowa, Brzezinski acknowledged how minor the issue was: “Four tickets in 17 years?” Hunt replied: “I think that there are some opponents of Marco Rubio who feel as though he was handed a gift with this New York Times story....Because I think most people can identify with having the occasional ticket and getting busted by one of those red light cameras.”
Evidence suggested that the Times story was inspired by opposition research done on Rubio by the left-wing American Bridge super PAC.
Here is a transcript of Hunt’s exchange with Brzezinski on the June 8 Morning Joe:
6:14 AM ET
(...)
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: There is a big piece in The New York Times about speeding tickets. Is it an issue?
KASIE HUNT: Yes. Well, I think you're starting to see the knives come out for Rubio.
BRZEZINSKI: Marco Rubio.
HUNT: Yes. And that’s a sign of his strength. But I asked him whether or not he thinks those tickets should matter. I have to ask you, there was a New York Times report about your collection of speeding tickets. Do you have a lead foot?
SEN. MARCO RUBIO: They weren't speeding tickets alone. You know, I'll let people read into it what they want. It is what it is. I mean, an I know when you run for president, that's going to happen, people are going to look at every aspect of your life and talk about it. I can tell you being from Miami, where you drive everywhere, having four tickets in 17 years is not considered bad. But let me just say, I really don't like red light cameras, though. That’s a big scam. But that's another topic for another day.
BRZEZINSKI: Doesn't he know cry? Just kidding. Four tickets in 17 years?
HUNT: I think that there are some opponents of Marco Rubio who feel as though he was handed a gift with this New York Times story.
BRZEZINSKI: Yeah.
HUNT: Because I think most people can identify with having the occasional ticket and getting busted by one of those red light cameras.
(...)
