Rubio took to the national airwaves on Tuesday, appearing on The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson on Fox News to weigh in on the recent deal to exchange five Taliban leaders for a captured American soldier.
The president has violated the law here, Rubio said. The law is very clear. He must give congressional notification 30 days before any prisoner in Guantanamo is released. He failed to do that. Apparently, the only person he told was Harry Reid didnt even tell the chairwoman of the Intelligence Committee, a Democrat, Dianne Feinstein.
And then beyond that, the precedent that the president has set is a dangerous one, Rubio added. He has basically told terrorist elements around the world that if you take an American serviceman hostage, you can get five, six, three however many number of your own folks released. And these are dangerous people. I mean, these are people that were returning back to the battlefield.
Rubio doubled down on this line of attack with an op-ed in Wednesdays USA Today. In the meantime, Rubio continues to keep the option of running for the Republican presidential nomination on the table. Appearing on Preston Scotts radio show on WFLA in Tallahassee this week, Rubio said he was nearing making a decision on whether to run for the White House, stay in the Senate or go into the private sector.
Rubio also got some momentum this week in a crucial state for any presidential candidate. With Iowa state Sen. Joni Ernst winning the Republican primary in the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, Rubio cheered the news on Wednesday. Rubio backed Ernst in the competitive primary. Iowa traditionally holds the first presidential caucus.
Rubio insisted the results prove that conservatives across the country can come together to elect real conservative leaders in competitive races.
"I was proud to campaign alongside Joni," Rubio added, noting his Restore American PAC put ads on the air across Iowa touting her conservative credentials.
Rubio insisted he would continue to campaign for the conservative leaders across the country" including Senate candidates like Ernst, U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Colo.
Last night was a victory for not only creating a Republican majority in the Senate, but creating a conservative majority in the Senate, Rubio maintained.
But liberal group Americans United for Change released a poll taken by Democrat-connected Public Policy Polling (PPP) showing Rubio trailing former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination. The poll of registered voters finds Clinton taking 49 percent and Rubio getting 42 percent. When talking about Rubios doubts about man-made global warming, voters edged more Clintons way in the poll to 50 percent for her and 41 percent for the senator from Florida. The poll of 735 registered voters around the nation was taken on June 2 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.6 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com.
