The hosts of Bloomberg’s With All Due Respect dove into the latest New York Times piece about 2016 Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio on Tuesday and came away with the conclusion that the story concerning Rubio’s personal finances is both “dangerous” and “totally legitimate.”
Co-host Mark Halperin started things off by declaring that “The New York Times has shoved Marco Rubio down deep into the barrel” and gushed to co-host John Heilemann that “The Times is on it” with Friday’s piece about traffic tickets he’s accumulated with his wife and Tuesday’s article about his finances.
After being asked by Halperin if “this line of inquiry” into Rubio is “legit” and “politically dangerous,” Heilemann agreed with each of those sentiments and explained that: “It is legitimate in the sense that you got a Republican here who, like many Republicans, has campaigned against profligacy and talked the way that the government wastes money.”
Also singing the praises of latest Times article, Heilemann remarked how there are “so many lines in paragraphs that are open to additional reporting, additional digging” and “[t]here's a lot of danger here, I think, for Marco Rubio.”
Trying to caution viewers to “not treat this like it’s some sort of indictment,” Halperin pointed out that “[i]t is totally legitimate to look at any candidate's personal finances, particularly someone like Rubio who has lived an unorthodox life in terms of how he’s made his money and how he’s spent it.”
In the show’s second topic about Rubio, the pair brought up how “[r]etaliating against The New York Times is of course, Republican Party tactics 101” with Rubio’s campaign responding the article by arguing a double standard is in place as if Rubio were wealthy, he’d be attacked like Mitt Romney.
Neglecting to consider that reality that Democrats do this against what they see as Republican outlets and members of the media employing this tactic against others in the press, Halperin instead maintained that Rubio “has led a pretty lucky life” in that “The Times went with their story about the traffic violations that both he and his wife had over the weekend.”
This way, Halperin suggested, an “environment” has been “created...where people who want to rally on the Republican side to Marco Rubio against The Times, can do that on social media, talk radio, etc.”
While the articles on Rubio have received attention on cable news and other news sites, the story has surprisingly yet to receive any attention on any of the morning or evening network newscasts.
The relevant parts of the transcript from Bloomberg’s With All Due Respect on June 9 are transcribed below.
Bloomberg’s With All Due Respect
June 9, 2015
5:00 p.m. Eastern
MARK HALPERIN: But first, Miami Vice. The New York Times has shoved Marco Rubio down deep into the barrel. There’s the $80,000 boat, the stone pavers paid with the Republican party account, the liquidated retirement account, and of course, we can’t forget the traffic violations also reported by The Times a few days ago. John, The Times is on it. Is this line of inquiry about Hastert’s – Rubio’s assets, liabilities, and purchases legit and is it, for Rubio, politically dangerous?
JOHN HEILEMANN: Yes and yes, Mark, would be my answer to that question. I think it is legitimate in the sense that you got a Republican here who, like many Republicans, has campaigned against profligacy and talked the way that the government wastes money. You got to look at the guy’s finances. He’s a young guy on the scene, looking at how he has spent his money, how he has misspent his money, how he’s managed his money. Totally legitimate and in this case, this story – I mean, there are so – as you just read through them – so many lines in paragraphs that are open to additional reporting, additional digging. There's a lot of danger here, I think, for Marco Rubio.
HALPERIN: Look, people should not treat this like it’s some sort of indictment. It is totally legitimate to look at any candidate's personal finances, particularly someone like Rubio who has lived an unorthodox life in terms of how he’s made his money and how he’s spent it, but I do – and I do think, as you said, that there’s more to come here. People who have covered him in Florida know that The Times didn’t break ground, but they had some new details and there are more to come and more requests for public documents, and some of the things that aren’t quite adding up our being looked at more and I think people on Rubio's side who are trying to say this is an illegitimate story or people who say this doesn’t matter to be president – first of all, the reality is it's going to be looked at and second, I think most people would these are perfectly legitimate questions.
HEILEMANN: I mean, look, first, we will talk about the defense Rubio's campaign is putting forward in an second – in a moment, but I've got to say, you know, if you think about just the things that a lot of voters will wonder about – you know, the fact that Rubio – there are a couple of instances in this story and these are things that have come up before, but again, I think a lot of voters will wonder about them. The houses that he bought with no money down. How exactly he got those mortgages, why those mortgages came to him. There are a lot questions, I mean, this story raises way more questions than it answers and that’s why I think it is such a problem for Marco Rubio.
(....)
HEILEMANN: Alright, okay, moving on to our second Rubio-related topic. Retaliating against The New York Times is of course, Republican Party tactics 101. Today, calling the paper “elitist” and “arrogant,” communications director Alex Conan said, quote, “First, The New York Times attacked Marco over traffic tickets and now they think he does not have enough money. Of course, if he was worth millions, The Times would then attack him for being too rich, like they did for Mitt Romney.” Mark, here is my question. How effective is this very traditional Republican but, in this case Marco Rubio-centric defense, of attacking The New York Times?
HALPERIN: You know, Marco Rubio, it has often been said, has led a pretty lucky life. He was extraordinarily lucky that The Times went with their story about the traffic violations that both he and his wife had over the weekend –
HEILEMANN: Right.
HALPERIN: – because it’s created this environment where people who want to rally on the Republican side to Marco Rubio against The Times, can do that on social media, talk radio, etc. If this story had come out about his personal finances without the antecedent of the traffic story, I think at least some additional Republicans would have looked at The Times story and said, “whoa, this guy has questions about him. Do we want to make him the nominee?” Instead it’s just pile on The Times which, as you suggested, has happened before.
