As Utah GOP Representative Jason Chaffetz -- who has endorsed Marco Rubio for President -- appeared as a guest on Monday's The Situation Room on CNN, host Wolf Blitzer repeatedly questioned Rubio's fitness for office, with seven out of his first nine questions and setup statements challenging the Florida Senator on issues ranging from his repetition of lines during Saturday's debate, to his level of experience and number of missed votes in the Senate.
Blitzer at one point suggested that the Florida Republican's debate performance "could be a Rick Perry 'oops' moment for him," and brought up his opponents derisively comparing him to Barack Obama as a first-term Senator.
After introducing Rep. Chaffetz at 6:12 p.m. ET, Blitzer brought up Senator Rubio's line repetition in his first question:
And, as you know, you just heard, Rubio getting hammered for repeating that same message over and over -- I think four times -- within a few minutes at the debate. He says it's consistent messaging, but Ted Cruz says Rubio had a very, very tough night. Trump says it was strange. Governor Christie says he can't take the heat. You say what?
The CNN host then jabbed at Rubio with the Obama comparison:
What they also say is that if you like the first-term freshman Senator like then-Senator Barack Obama in 2008, on the Republican side, you'll like a first-term 44-year-old freshman Senator like Marco Rubio. You have heard that criticism.
After posing another couple of statements questioning Rubio's experience, Blitzer returned to the issue of the GOP presidential candidate repeating lines and brought up Perry's "oops moment" from 2012 blamed by many for derailing the former GOP presidential candidate's campaign:
The criticism that you heard from Chris Christie, he doesn't need a teleprompter because he memorizes these 25-second soundbites. You heard that, and some people are suggesting -- and it may be unfair that because those are going to be replayed and replayed and replayed, those soundbites from the debate, it could be a Rick Perry "oops" moment for him. You've heard that presumably as well.
After asking a couple of questions about Rubio's accomplishments, leading Chaffetz to cite some of the Florida Republican's work in the Senate, Blitzer shot back: "Well, they say he doesn't even show up for votes."
The CNN host then followed up:
But they say he also doesn't show up for briefings at the -- classified briefings at the Intelligence Committee. You've heard that suggestion, and we've gone through some of those reports, and some of the most important meetings apparently he hasn't attended.
Before asking Chaffetz to stay through the commercial break, Blitzer seemed like he might have been trying to further undermine Rubio's voting record by paying a compliment to his guest for his own voting record:
I can say this, having followed your career, I know you show up for all the votes in the House of Representatives, and I know you go to all the important hearings as well for your committee and the other committees as well.
After the commercial break, Blitzer asked a few horse race type questions, including Chaffetz's reaction to the possibility of former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg running independently, before pivoting to his final question about former Secretary of State Colin Powell using a private email account during the Bush administration.
Below is a transcript of all the questions and statements made by Blitzer as he interviewed Rep. Chaffetz on the Monday, February 8, The Situation Room on CNN:
6:12 p.m. ET
Let's get some more on all of this. Joining us, Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz of Utah. He's the chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He's a supporter of Senator Marco Rubio. Congressman, thanks very much for joining us. And, as you know, you just heard, Rubio getting hammered for repeating that same message over and over -- I think four times -- within a few minutes at the debate. He says it's consistent messaging, but Ted Cruz says Rubio had a very, very tough night. Trump says it was strange. Governor Christie says he can't take the heat. You say what? [REP. JASON CHAFFETZ (R-UT)]
What they also say is that if you like the first-term freshman Senator like then-Senator Barack Obama in 2008, on the Republican side, you'll like a first-term 44-year-old freshman Senator like Marco Rubio. You have heard that criticism. [CHAFFETZ]
Jeb Bush says Rubio, and I'm quoting now, "is a bright, charismatic leader that hasn't been tested." He said Hillary Clinton would, quote, "scrape the bark off a candidate that has never done anything." Those are very, very strong condemnations. [CHAFFETZ]
Our Jamie Gangel is reporting that the attacks from Bush and Christie and Trump for that matter, they are, in fact, having an impact on Marco Rubio, that some of his supporters are beginning to have doubts about him. I take it you have no doubts. [CHAFFETZ]
The criticism that you heard from Chris Christie, he doesn't need a teleprompter because he memorizes these 25-second soundbites. You heard that, and some people are suggesting -- and it may be unfair that because those are going to be replayed and replayed and replayed, those soundbites from the debate, it could be a Rick Perry "oops" moment for him. You've heard that presumably as well. [CHAFFETZ]
What's Rubio's biggest accomplishment? [CHAFFETZ]
What's his biggest foreign policy achievement? [CHAFFETZ]
Well, they say he doesn't even show up for votes. [CHAFFETZ]
But they say he also doesn't show up for briefings at the -- classified briefings at the Intelligence Committee. You've heard that suggestion, and we've gone through some of those reports, and some of the most important meetings apparently he hasn't attended. [CHAFFETZ]
I can say this, having followed your career, I know you show up for all the votes in the House of Representatives, and I know you go to all the important hearings as well for your committee and the other committees as well. I need you to stand by. There is more to discuss because there's a potential huge wild card about to emerge if the former New York City mayor, Michael Bloomberg, decides to run. Now, he's publicly saying he's thinking about it very seriously. Much more with Jason Chaffetz right after this.
6:18 p.m. ET
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
6:23 p.m. ET
Congressman Chaffetz, will Marco Rubio be able, in your opinion, to clinch second place in New Hampshire? [CHAFFETZ]
Your reaction to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg now acknowledging, publicly confirming for the first time he's considering a run for the White House as an independent third party candidate. Your reaction? [CHAFFETZ]
In an interview I did with Donald Trump earlier, he told me he sort of thought his biggest competition was going to be Marco Rubio, but now after the debate, he says he's not so sure. Does Rubio believe Donald Trump is his biggest competitor? [CHAFFETZ]
Very quickly before I let you go, Congressman, put on your congressional chairman hat right now, I want to ask you, moving forward with this investigation into Hillary Clinton's private use of an email server -- I know you're looking into that -- but if you're looking into her use of that and classified information that may have wound up on that private email server, are you also investigating Colin Powell's use of private email and classified information that may have wound up there or aides to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who may have had private email accounts where classified information wound up there? [CHAFFETZ]
