Rubio shows funnier side to followers
The hometown crowd was chanting over and over: Marco, Marco, Marco.
When the presidential candidate took the stage, he took note. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” he said, then the snap. “My son is saying Polo, so I thank you for that.”
He was not, of course, referring to the 13th century explorer with whom he shares a first name, but the water game by the same name in which a player, with eyes closed, shouts “Marco” and tries to locate and tag one of the other players after they’ve yelled “Polo.”
Rubio was relaxed and often turned the jokes on himself this month at his first big speech at home in Miami since his April 13 announcement that he’s seeking
the Republican presidential nomination.
Political thirst
Lt. Gov. Carlos LopezCantera introduced Rubio. He’s a pal of the senator, and an all-but-officially declared candidate for the Senate seat Rubio is relinquishing to seek the presidency.
Lopez-Cantera spoke for 14 minutes about his own political ideas and about Rubio — and several times quenched his thirst by taking a swig from a water bottle.
Rubio has an unfortunate history with a water bottle. As a fresh national star of the Republican Party, the then-brand new U.S. senator was tapped by party leaders to deliver the opposition response to President Barack Obama’s 2013 State of the Union address. As millions of TV viewers watched, Rubio clumsily reached for water during that maiden venture on the national stage.
“I appreciate very much the introduction Carlos has just given me. In fact, he is already well ahead of schedule from where I was a few years ago because, as you noticed, he drank his water in between applause lines,” Rubio commented, drawing widespread laughter and applause.
“So if you’re here to clap or you’re here to heckle, just let me know — because I’ve got to sneak in a little water.”
Coffee jitters
Rubio recalled his early days in Miami-Dade County politics, starting with his first campaign, for a city commission seat.
“We literally knocked on every door in West Miami. We navigated dog bites and all sorts of things that happen on the campaign trail,” he recalled. “It was in that campaign that I fully met my community. I talk about this in my book — available in paperback if you’re interested.”
The book plug drew a line of applause, but Rubio continued, reminiscing that the 2008 campaign was “where I really met my community face to face. I’ll never forget knocking on the doors and people would invite us in, and it was the 18th Cuban coffee cup that I’d had that day. I never drank coffee before then, so my hands were shaking.”
Crowded field
There’s now a baker’s dozen of Republican presidential candidates, with more on the way.
Rubio noted the field keeps growing. “There’s a lot of talk out there about, man, there’s a lot of Republicans running. I actually am grateful that we have so many quality Americans who have chosen to aspire to serve our country under the banner of the Republican Party.
“We have 15, 16, 14, 12 very high-quality individuals who seek to serve us as president of the United States. We have all these good candidates. The Democrats can’t even come up with one.
“I’m also proud to be from a state that has four presidential candidates. And from a city that has more presidential candidates per capita than any city in America.”
The city in question is Miami, although sticklers would note that Rubio actually lives in the city of West Miami and presidential candidate and former Gov. Jeb Bush lives in the city of Coral Gables.
The others from Florida are Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon and author who lives in West Palm Beach, and Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and former Fox News host who lives in Florida’s Panhandle.
Cleanup in Aisle 3
Rubio comes from humble origins. His parents held working-class jobs, including bartender (his father) and hotel maid (his mother).
His roots, and his family values, are selling points that are a staple of Rubio’s campaign speeches. Before the hometown crowd, he recalled some of the places his parents worked.
“She even one day became a stock clerk at Kmart, the one that used to be on Coral Way and 87th Avenue,” he said, a recollection that prompted a smattering of applause.
“Yeah, thanks — for making a mess in the aisle. She had to pick it up every night.”
Breaking Obamacare
It’s a guaranteed applause line for a politician appearing before a Republican audience to criticize Obamacare.
This crowd was no exception (even though congressional districts with the largest numbers of people who enjoy government subsidies for their Obamacare insurance are represented by Miami-Dade Republican members of Congress).
“We will repeal and replace Obamacare before it repeals and replaces more American jobs,” Rubio declared, prompting the biggest applause of the night.
The applause turned into some pounding on tables so forcefully that the noise could be heard throughout the ballroom, with vibra- tions so strong that the room filled with the sounds of clinking flatware, plates and glasses.
“Thank you very much,” Rubio said, laughing, and asking the rest of the audience, “Should I say that again just to see if they do it again?”
And they did, cheering and drumming on the tables again, until Rubio calmed them down. “All right,” he said. “Don’t break anything, guys.”
Strongest supporters
Rubio, 44, acknowledged that as a relatively young candidate, with a potentially long political career ahead and many older political veterans seeking the presidency, that some in the party think he shouldn’t be running.
“I’ve been told that it isn’t my turn to run for president,” he said.
He then repeated a familiar account of his political history, reminding the audience that when he launched his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat in 2009, he was “that I had no chance,” and he should step aside in favor of the candidate favored by party elders. He ignored the naysayers — and won.
Still, it took a long time for anyone to give him a chance. “At the very beginning, the only people who thought I could win all lived in my home. And four of them were under the age of 10. And yet we prevailed.”
Gone fishin’
Rubio used humor before the friendly crowd for a serious purpose: to undermine a detailed critical examination of his personal finances published this month by The New York Times. It’s the kind of scrutiny that goes with running for president, and candidates never like it.
The Rubio campaign has attempted to discredit the entire Times account by pushing back against one line: that he used some of the proceeds from his first book “on an extravagant purchase: $80,000 for a luxury speedboat.” He also attempted to make his financial decisions, including an early withdrawal of money from a retirement account, make himself seem more relatable to average folks. Here’s how Rubio put it: “Perhaps the most interesting criticism I have received, you might have read about it, is that I’m not rich enough to be president. It’s true. It’s true. I don’t have a foundation that raised $2 billion from special interests and foreign governments [a jab at Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton].
“And yet Jeanette [his wife] and I have been blessed. We have been able to pay off student loans, send all four of our kids to receive a quality, private Christian education, and invest in their future by saving for college.”
Rubio paused. The audience clapped. And then the zinger:
“In fact, we were able to buy a luxury speedboat,” Rubio said. The audience erupted with laughter, whooping and cheers and Rubio added, “although it’s cleverly disguised as a family fishing boat.”
Donald Trump
Before the dinner, in a secluded part of the DoubleTree by Hilton Miami Airport & Convention Center complex, Rubio met with South Florida reporters.
Before he came around the corner, where the media contingent was waiting, he rode down an escalator — but not in the grandiose style of Donald Trump, who descended an escalator in his eponymously named tower in New York to announce his presidential candidacy a few days earlier.
Rubio laughed at the notion of reporters with cellphones trying to get escalator-riding images.
Even though Trump is showing up strong in the most recent round of polls — benefiting from notoriety he’s gotten by slapping his name on buildings and hosting a reality TV show — he’s considered more of a distraction than a serious candidate.
Rubio declined an opportunity to get drawn into the discussion when asked if he’s “look[ing] forward to Donald Trump in the debates?”
His response, delivered with a big smile: “I’m not answering any questions about Donald Trump today.”