Rubio takes charm to New Hampshire

by Jesse Byrnes - 04/17/15 9:45 PM ET

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) sought to charm Republicans in the early-voting state of New Hampshire on Friday, delivering a wide-ranging, largely optimistic speech focused on America’s future.

Rubio capped off his presidential rollout this week with a half-hour dinnertime appearance at the Republican Leadership Summit that focused on economic opportunity and national security issues.

Rubio’s fast-moving speech was underpinned by emotional anecdotes about the realities of launching a presidential campaign. He spoke about missing his daughter’s volleyball tournament.

{mosads}”I understood that this election is as much about them as it is about anyone else,” Rubio said, referring to his family.

“This isn’t a sport. This is about the future of America and its very identity,” Rubio added of 2016.

On economic opportunity for Americans, Rubio suggested the U.S. stop allowing loan-burdened students to graduate college “with degrees that do not lead to jobs,” citing those who would study “basket-weaving.”

Rubio, whose allies have reportedly committed more than $40 million toward his campaign, pointed to remarks before his speech from former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), who said Hillary Clinton’s allies are reportedly expected to raise upwards of $2.5 billion in 2016.

“That’s a lot of Chipotle, my friends,” Rubio joked, referring to Clinton’s incognito outing with aide Huma Abedin at a franchise in Ohio this week that went viral after surveillance footage emerged.

The Cuban-American senator from Florida fielded questions on labor regulations, English-speaking requirements and immigration, seizing his answers as opportunities to deliver positive messages.

Regarding immigrants who illegally overstay their visas, Rubio grabbed laughs by describing the American system as “a hotel that checks you in but never checks you out.”

On foreign policy, Rubio took a sharper tone, raising the possibility of the United States taking military action to disrupt Iran’s nuclear program.

“We may have to decide at some point what is worse – a military strike against Iran or a nuclear-armed Iran,” Rubio said.

“I am not cheerleading for war — I don’t want there to be the need to use military force — but a nuclear Iran is an unacceptable risk for the region and the world,” he added.

Rubio, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who is opposed to the Obama administration’s current push to secure a deal over Iran’s nuclear program, highlighted other foreign policy issues as well.

He mentioned China’s efforts to expand its territorial claims by building islands in the South China Sea, “the spread of anti-Americanism” in Latin America and Russian aggression in Europe.

“America can’t solve all of these problems on its own, but none of these problems can be solved without America,” Rubio said, adding Obama had “eviscerated our military capabilities.”

“There’s only one nation in the world capable of rallying the freedom-loving people of this planet to confront evil. And the lessons of history is that evil is either confronted and defeated, or it grows and it spreads,” Rubio said.

Tags Marco Rubio