Former Bill Clinton operative George Stephanopoulos on Thursday interviewed Marco Rubio and demanded the Republican listen to a clip of Hillary Clinton sneering that all the GOP contenders are as bad as Donald Trump. Following a comment by the senator on the importance of refocusing the debate on terrorism, the Good Morning America co-host pounced, “On that issue Secretary Clinton is making the argument the whole GOP field is cut from the same cloth. Watch this.”
Stephanopoulos then played a clip of the Democrat suggesting that the 2016 contenders are “all driving the exact narrative that jihadists want to advance.” The journalist, who secretly donated $75,000 to the Clinton Foundation, pressed, “Your response?”
Rubio blasted, “My response is that there isn't a place on Earth where America is stronger or safer after Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State or Barack Obama has been president. Ask me. Ask them.” He added, “She really has no credibility to talk about these issues.”
Earlier in the segment, Rubio rebuffed a question on Trump’s Muslim ban, lecturing Stephanopoulos that “I'm not do what the media has fallen into” and waste time on “this plan that's never going to happen.”
In November, the co-host wondered if the freshman senator is a “risky bet.” That was not something Stephanopoulos and other liberals in the media spent much time on when Barack Obama ran in 2008.
A transcript of the December 10 segment is below:
7:09
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Let's talk to Senator Marco Rubio right now, also running for president on the Republican side. Senator Rubio, welcome back to Good Morning America. You called Mr. Trump's proposal outlandish, offensive and unconstitutional. So why would you still support him if he's the nominee?
MARCO RUBIO: Well, first of all he's not going to be the nominee. I'm pretty confident of that. And so, let's continue moving forward on this campaign where I think we'll nominate someone that actually has a chance to win in the general election. That's what I'm going to focus my campaign on. George, look what’s happened here. We had a terrorist attack —
STEPHANOPOULOS: Let me interrupt you here. You say he’s not going to be the nominee, but he’s at 35 percent, not only in that poll that Tom just said. But new New York Times/CBS poll out just now has him at 35 percent. You're only at nine.
RUBIO: I know, George, but you've been following politics for a long time and you — most of the people that are leading in December very rarely win in January and February and March when these votes start to count. So I'm not going to hyperventilate about polls and I’m not do what the media has fallen into, which is we had a major terrorist attack on U.S. soil a week ago yesterday and now all the talk, including the newscasts, are dominated by this plan that's never going to happen.
This will never become the law of the country, what Donald Trump is proposing. Let's focus back on the things we can do something about, which is how these people in San Bernardino carried out this attack and the others who are out there perhaps even within the homeland even as I speak that are attempting to carry out similar attacks. And so, we need to refocus back on the important issue of terrorism, particularly as it applies to attacks here in the homeland because this is a growing threat and we're not spending nearly enough time focused on that.
STEPHANOPOULOS: On that issue Secretary Clinton is making the argument the whole GOP field is cut from the same cloth. Watch this.
HILLARY CLINTON: They are all driving the exact narrative that jihadists want to advance. That we are at war, not with barbarist [sic], violent murderers, but with an entire religion. This is a grave mistake.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Your response?
RUBIO: My response is that there isn't a place on Earth where America is stronger or safer after Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State or Barack Obama has been president. Ask me. Ask them. What part of the world today is safer or more stable and America is stronger after seven years of Clinton and Obama in charge of our foreign policy? So, she really has no credibility to talk about these issues. The truth is that there are elements within Islam that are radicalized and that believe that it is their obligation and duty to kill or enslave anyone who does not agree with their interpretation of their faith. And we node to confront it for what it is. It is an ideological movement that attempts to enslave and kill people that do not agree with them. And the sooner we realize that the better our strategy to confront them is going to be. They cannot be contained. They must be defeated.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Ted Cruz is coming on strong now. His new polls put him ahead in Iowa. He says we need to carpet bomb ISIS. Says, “I don't know if sand can flow in the dark but we're going to find out.” Would that be part of your strategy, as well?
RUBIO: Well, we're going to increase air strikes but you cannot defeat ISIS simply from air strikes. There is to the a credible single military official, either active or inactive, that would say we can defeat them simply from the air. They will have to be confronted on the ground. It must be a coalition of which the bulk is made up of Sunni Arabs. Obviously, the Kurds are doing a great job in the Kurdish areas. We should even empower Christians to defend themselves in their areas and their families. But the bulk of that ground force needs to be Arab Sunnis that reject ideologically and defeat militarily ISIS and they will need our help. We will have to increase the number of special operators to call in those air strikes. We’ll need for logistical and intelligence support and we're need more support from Egypt, the Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the UAE and other kingdoms immediately impacted by ISIS' presence in the region but they must be defeated on the ground. We will not be able to defeat them simply from air strikes.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Rubio, thank you for your time.
RUBIO: Thanks, George.
