PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has been clear and emphatic about denouncing Wednesday’s assault on the U.S. Capitol, saying that it reminded him of what happens in third-world countries. On Friday, he took it a step further, releasing a video on Twitter that again denounced the violence and blamed the media and some politicians for sowing discord and division.
He has also contends that 99 percent of the people who were at the Trump rally had nothing to do with the mob that stormed the Capitol.
Sen. Rubio’s tweet is only 4 minutes long, but it is long enough to blame the liberal media along with “lying” politicians for the atmosphere that made the assault possible. But the one person he didn’t blame was President Donald Trump.
“For those of us on the center right of American politics, now is a time that calls for honest reflection,” he said in the video.
Rubio’s video is a kind of manifesto and a political roadmap to 2024.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) January 8, 2021
“Is the mainstream media, especially places like CNN and MSNBC, outrageously bias? Of course, 100 percent,” he says.
The media are not blameless for the country’s discontent, but it’s the president who urged thousands of supporters to march on the Capitol and “be strong.”
A huge crowd of protestors bullied their way into the Capitol on Wednesday. Fighting with police, trashing offices, and frightening member of Congress. Rubio contends only a few intruders were at the earlier Trump rally.
“99 percent of the people who came here had nothing to do with that mob. Nothing. But 1 percent of tens of thousands of people is a lot of people. It’s enough to inflict damage to buildings and it’s enough to do even more damage to our country,” he said.
Rubio made the same argument in two appearances Thursday on cable news channel Fox where he is rarely challenged. Rubio usually turns down interview requests from Local 10.
“There is now literally no individual or institution in this country that can speak definitively about anything.”
So, who can fill the current political vacuum? Well, how about Marco Rubio?
“This country needs a viable and attractive alternative to the radical left,” he said in his video tweet.
As you recall, Rubio ran for president in 2016.
With this video, it looks like he’s positioning himself to run in 2024.
(Setting the record straight. In a newscast on Thursday, I said Sen. Rubio changed his mind to vote to confirm the electors. In fact, he never indicated beforehand how he would vote. In the end, he voted to confirm them.)