Marco Rubio Quotes & Sayings

A lot of factors go into choosing a vice-presidential nominee. — Marco Rubio

Of course there are critics who believe that no matter what we do, the Florida dream is over. They claim that we must accept the idea that inevitably our future is one of high taxes and big government. — Marco Rubio

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's strategy is to lead from behind. It sounds like what he is outlining is not to lead at all. We cannot continue to outsource foreign policy. We must lead. We are the most powerful nation in the world. We need to begin to act like it, again. — Marco Rubio

I'm not interested in being Donald Trump or anybody else's vice president, that's not what I'm aiming at ... — Marco Rubio

To tackle the big and relevant issues of the day with bold and innovative ideas is without question the most rewarding way to serve. — Marco Rubio

I would vote against anything that grants amnesty because I think it destroys your ability to enforce the existing law — Marco Rubio

Jay-Z's a guy that wears the Che Guevara t-shirt and he doesn't realize Che Guevara was a racist. Che Guevara was a murderer and a killer. So look, he's an entertainer, obviously. He's not in the middle of any public discourse here. But I think it's important to point out when people take stances like this that are absurd. — Marco Rubio

You cannot give up on the American dream. We cannot allow our fears and our disappointments to lead us into silence and into inaction. — Marco Rubio

In 1980, I watched my first Republican convention with my grandfather. — Marco Rubio

The air strikes are important [to fight ISIS], but we need to have an air force capable of it. And because of the budget cuts we are facing in this country, we are going to be left with the oldest and the smallest Air Force we have ever had. We have to reverse those cuts, in addition to the cuts to our Navy and in addition to the cuts to our Army, as well. — Marco Rubio

Bashar Assad has been so brutal toward the Sunni within Syria that he created the space that led to the people of Syria themselves to stand up and try to overthrow him. That led to the chaos which allowed ISIS to come in and take advantage of that situation and grow more powerful. — Marco Rubio

We have to show what life is really like in ISIS territory, and we have to show them why ISIS is not invincible, by going out and conducting these attacks and publicizing them to those who they recruit. — Marco Rubio

I'm a big believer in family-based immigration. — Marco Rubio

My parents were just as smart as I am, just as hard working if not harder; I think my father and grandfather were probably better men, yet I've been able to accomplish things professionally that they were not able to. — Marco Rubio

For over 200 years this has been a special country. A unique place where anyone from anywhere can achieve anything. But now millions of Americans feel like they're being left behind. Insecure in their future and unsafe in the face of terrorism. — Marco Rubio

Every single one of us is the descendant of a go-getter. Of dreamers and of believers. — Marco Rubio

You're never going to have a legal immigration system that works if you grant amnesty. — Marco Rubio

Today you have millions of Americans that feel left out and out of place in their own country, struggling to live paycheck to paycheck, called bigots because they hold on to traditional values. — Marco Rubio

Ultimately, my proposal isn't intended to increase or decrease the amount of federal spending spent on antipoverty programs. — Marco Rubio

There are going to be stories of very young kids that were brought to this country at a very young age who don't even speak Spanish that are going to be sent back to Nicaragua or some other place. And it's gonna feel weird and I understand that. The goal here is to have an immigration policy that works. And if you provide a path for people to enter this country illegally and if they stay here long enough and pay enough in taxes, well let them stay legally ... why would anyone come in through the legal process? — Marco Rubio

The way to turn our economy around is not by making rich people poorer, it's by making poor people richer. — Marco Rubio

People have a right to be a Democrat. People have a right to be wrong. I know they're the same thing. — Marco Rubio

I think God has blessed us. He has blessed the Republican Party with some very good candidates. The Democrats can't even find one. — Marco Rubio

ISIS is winning the propaganda war. They are recruiting people, including Americans, to join them, with the promise that they are joining this great apocalyptic movement that is going to defeat the West. — Marco Rubio

Unfortunately, President Obama's failed policies of new regulations, higher taxes, and Obamacare and his anti-business rhetoric have hit Hispanics especially hard. Big government really hurts those who are trying to make it. — Marco Rubio

The State of the Union address is always a reminder of how unique America is. — Marco Rubio

Let me just say the rules are what they are in the Republican Party. You have to have X-number of delegates in order to be the nominee. And if you don't have those number of delegates, then there's a process in place.Here is what would be a calamity, for Donald Trump to become our nominee. — Marco Rubio

In 2013 we had never faced a crisis like the Syrian refugee crisis now. Up until that point, a refugee meant someone fleeing oppression, fleeing Communism like it is in my community. — Marco Rubio

I have never voted for a tax increase. — Marco Rubio

My hope is that the Pope Francis visit to Cuba will remind all the Cuban citizens that they possess dignity and fundamental rights that come from God and that the Castro regime has no claim on changing what is 100% God-given. — Marco Rubio

I believe Jesus Christ is God. I believe He loves every single human being that has ever lived, no matter what they have done, even if they don't believe in Him. — Marco Rubio

Barack Obama hasn't kept us safe. The problem is we had an attack in San Bernardino. And we were paying attention to the most important issue we have faced in a decade since 9/11, and then all the talk was about this proposal, which isn't going to happen. — Marco Rubio

We cannot allow our fears and our disappointments to lead us into silence and into inaction. Because this country that God has blessed us with, it is worth fighting for. — Marco Rubio

After a migratory crisis on the border with minors coming over that you're seeing start up again now, after all these executive orders the President has issued. More than ever we need to prove to people that illegal immigration is under control. — Marco Rubio

When was the last time you heard news accounts of a boatload of American refugees arrive on the shores of another country? — Marco Rubio

I think parents should be able to teach their kids what their faith says, what science says. — Marco Rubio

What is the conservative movement? It's pretty straightforward. We believe that the way prosperity is created is when people have the freedom and the opportunity to pursue their dreams. — Marco Rubio

I believe with all my heart that God is not done with America yet. — Marco Rubio

I honestly believe that once people begin to understand what's at stake here, that we have a chance here not just to make our country great, but greater than it's ever been, and we have a plan to do it, I think is going to begin to influence a lot of voters, not to mention coalesce those maybe who were with someone else first around us. — Marco Rubio

If there's somebody that I love that's in my life, I don't necessarily have to agree with their decisions or the decisions they've made to continue to love them and participate in important events. — Marco Rubio

People end up fleeing countries who adopt economic policies based on these flawed principles. And more often than not, they come here. — Marco Rubio

We've never been people that go around and confront people that have been financially successful and say, 'We hate you. We envy you because of how well you're doing.' — Marco Rubio

A key part of your sovereignty is the ability to control the influx and outflow of your people and is the ability to secure your border. — Marco Rubio

We do have to treat people the way Americans always treat people, with the highest level of compassion and care. But they will have to be returned, because that is the law. If you ignore that, if you don't apply that - as heartbreaking as it may be - you are basically telling another 80,000 people to try to come. — Marco Rubio

We need to have a regulatory budget in America that limits the amount of regulations on our economy. We need to repeal and replace Obamacare, and we need to improve higher education so that people can have access to the skills they need for 21st century jobs. — Marco Rubio

USA Freedom Actdid, however, take away a valuable tool that allowed the National Security Agency and other law - and other intelligence agencies to quickly and rapidly access phone records and match them up with other phone records to see who terrorists have been calling. — Marco Rubio

No community values entrepreneurship and small business more than the Hispanic community. — Marco Rubio

In America you have the right to worship any way you choose. That's why virtually every faith and every denomination on Earth has a presence in our land. You have a right to not believe in God at all. — Marco Rubio

And that sort of victimization narrative is something we shouldn't contribute to. On the other hand, we have to acknowledge that there is a radical element in Islam, jihadism, that needs to be called by name and needs to be confronted. — Marco Rubio

My parents were working class folks. My dad was a bartender for most of his life, my mom was a maid and a cashier and a stock clerk at WalMart. We were not people of financial means in terms of significant financial means. I always told them, 'I didn't always have what I wanted. I always had what I needed.' My parents always provided that. — Marco Rubio

My job in the Senate is not just to give speeches and do interviews, it's to solve problems. — Marco Rubio

I don't want there to be millions of people that are permanently barred from every becoming Americans. — Marco Rubio

Obviously I don't agree with everything he [Donald Trump] says. There's a lot that we have a difference of opinion on. But we can't ignore that he's touched on some issues that people are concerned about. If you look at the statements he made this week, obviously I think he made them partially to recapture the limelight after having lost it. — Marco Rubio

Leaders at the highest levels of our government are undertaking a deliberate and systematic effort to redefine our government, our economy and our country. — Marco Rubio

Presidents in both parties - from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan - have known that our free-enterprise economy is the source of our middle-class prosperity. — Marco Rubio

I'm blessed to represent Florida in the United States Senate. — Marco Rubio

There is a lot of fiscal conservatives in the United States senate that didn't vote for that because we understand that national security spending is not the reason why we have a debt. Our debt is being driven by the way Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid and, by the way, the interest on the debt is structured in the years to come. — Marco Rubio

Leadership can not be measured in a poll or even in the result of an election. It can only be truly seen with the benefit of time. From the perspective of 20 years, not 20 days. — Marco Rubio

70% of children born into poverty will never make it to the middle class. The uncomfortable truth is that there are now a number of other countries with as much or more opportunity than ours. In fact, more people in Canada go on to surpass the income of their parents than in the United States. — Marco Rubio

I challenge the Republican nominees and all Republicans to not just be the anti-illegal immigration party. That's not who we are and that's not who we should be we should be the pro-legal immigration party. — Marco Rubio

Despite our differences, I know that both Republicans and Democrats love America. — Marco Rubio

We Americans are free to give our opinions and make our voices heard. We work in a free enterprise economy that, for over 200 years, has lifted countless individuals above the circumstances of their birth to achieve their God-given potential. We have been an exceptional country because, here, people are free to practice their faiths and worship God. — Marco Rubio

I think the private sector for the most part, the vast majority of employers in America, they wake up in the morning, and they have a bottom line. This is how much they make, this is how much their expenses are; they certainly need to break even just to stay in business, and they need to make a profit in order to survive long-term. — Marco Rubio

Here's a guy that inherited $200 million. If he hadn't inherited $200 million, you know where Donald Trump would be right now? — Marco Rubio

We must educate and train our children to compete and succeed in the 21st century. Our kids are not going to grow up to compete with children in Alabama or Mississippi. They're going to grow up to compete with kids in India, and China, all over the world; children who are learning to compete and succeed in the 21st century themselves. — Marco Rubio

If my house was on fire, I can't compromise about which part of the house I'm going to save. You save the whole house or it will all burn down. We either save this country or we do not. — Marco Rubio

And so, whether they came here on the Mayflower, on a slave ship, or on an airplane from Havana, we are all descendants of the men and women who built here the nation that saved the world. — Marco Rubio

And I believe only with a strong America will we defeat this radical group, this apocalyptic group called ISIS. That's why when I'm president we are going to rebuild our intelligence capabilities. And they're going to tell us where the terrorists are. And a rebuilt U.S. military is going to destroy these terrorists. — Marco Rubio

For fifty years now, we have tried big government. Yet too many people remain trapped in despair. Now, we must try a new way. — Marco Rubio

Big government doesn't help the middle class, it buries it. — Marco Rubio

Conservatism is not about leaving people behind. Conservatism is about empowering people to catch up, to give them the tools at their disposable that make it possible for them to access all the hope, all the promise, all the opportunity that America offers. And our programs to help them should reflect that. — Marco Rubio

But while I'm realistic about our challenges, I'm optimistic about our future. There are a few things, and if we do them, we're going to have the greatest era in our history. And I have detailed what those things are specifically. — Marco Rubio

I do think the most important thing we need in leadership in our country, not just in the presidency but in the United States Senate, are people that have a clear vision of what the role of government should be in our lives and what the role of America should be in the world. — Marco Rubio

We don't need new taxes. We need new taxpayers, people that are gainfully employed, making money and paying into the tax system. And then we need a government that has the discipline to take that additional revenue and use it to pay down the debt and never grow it again. — Marco Rubio

I know in the past Republicans have agreed to minimum-wage increases that there's built-in protections for small and midsize businesses. — Marco Rubio

Government doesn't have to be the enemy, but too much government has produced a new kind of inequality in America: opportunity inequality. — Marco Rubio

Donald Trump has the benefit of the fact that he's dominated media coverage, I mean, literally dominated media coverage because of the outrageous things he says and so forth.That's going to end here. There's going to be real fight now for the heart and soul of the Republican Party and the conservative movement. And it is not - I will do whatever it takes to prevent it from being taken over by a con artist. — Marco Rubio

Another Clinton presidency would be a death blow to the American Dream. — Marco Rubio

We Americans are as great as we have ever been. But our government is broken. — Marco Rubio

Just because you have opposition doesn't make you a great leader. — Marco Rubio

The Dream Act as it's been written originally is too broad, to be honest. It basically would apply to too many people. — Marco Rubio

Mitt Romney understands free enterprise, he has worked in it. He has seen companies succeed and he has seen them fail, too. He knows what people think about when they invest their money. — Marco Rubio

His [Donald trump] views on Vladimir Putin, I think, are troubling. And I don't think he fundamentally understands exactly who Vladimir Putin is or exactly what he's trying to do. So, these are the kinds of things that I think in detail you need to begin to understand. — Marco Rubio

Presidents don't have the benefit of hindsight. You have to make difficult decisions based on the information that's before you at that moment. — Marco Rubio

I'm not new to the political process; I was making a contribution as the speaker of the third largest and most diverse state in the country well before I even got into the Senate. — Marco Rubio

We do need our defense capabilities. The cuts that Senator [Ted] Cruz would have supported would leave us with an even smaller Air Force and a smaller Navy than the one we are going to be left with. — Marco Rubio

Let's be honest - Bill Murray was onto something when he laughed at Andie MacDowell's degree in 19th century French poetry in 'Groundhog Day' — Marco Rubio

The 21st century looks different. It's been very disruptive. It has created a lot of insecurity. We have to adjust to that, because the 21st century has real promise. Now, the higher-paying jobs of this new century are fantastic. The problem is, you have to have some level of higher education, maybe not a four-year degree, but some level of higher education, to get those jobs. — Marco Rubio

I think Tupac was more someone who was trying to inform us about what was going on, and he did it through entertainment. — Marco Rubio

I'm not looking to be anyone's vice president. I looking to be the president of the United States. Or, I'll be a private citizen, there's nothing wrong with being a private citizen. — Marco Rubio

The truth is every problem can't be solved by government. Many are caused by the moral breakdown in our society. And the answers to those challenges lie primarily in our families and our faiths, not our politicians. — Marco Rubio

American Dream Is Under Assault. People that haven't been able to find a job in months and this growing sense in this country that this is the new normal, well we can't accept that. — Marco Rubio

We don't need a new idea; the idea is called America, and it still works. — Marco Rubio

With unemployment still abysmally high, the Obama economy is crushing Hispanics' dreams for their children to live a better life. — Marco Rubio

It's easier to sell cotton candy than it is to sell broccoli to somebody, but the broccoli is better for you, and the same thing with a limited government. — Marco Rubio

That may not be a majority position in my party, but that's down the road. You can't even begin that process until you prove to people - not just pass a law that says you're gonna bring illegal immigration under control. You're gonna have to do it and prove to people that it's working. — Marco Rubio

And here's the fact: the fact is it doesn't solve the problem. First of all, if you taxed these people at 100 percent, basically next year you said, 'Look, every penny you make next year the government's going to take it from you,' it still doesn't solve the debt. — Marco Rubio

I promise you, the next time there is attack on - an attack on this country, the first thing people are going to want to know is, why didn't we know about it and why didn't we stop it? And the answer better not be because we didn't have access to records or information that would have allowed us to identify these killers before they attacked. — Marco Rubio

But let me tell you what happens when regulations go too far, when they seem to exist only for the purpose of justifying the existence of a regulator. It kills the people trying to start a business. — Marco Rubio

The truth is, the greatest tool to lift children and families from poverty is one that decreases the probability of child poverty by 82%. But it isn't a government spending program. It's called marriage. — Marco Rubio