“The Second Amendment is not an option. It is not a suggestion,” Rubio started. “It is a constitutional right of every American to be able to protect themselves and their families. I am convinced that if this president could confiscate every gun in America, he would. I am convinced that if this president, if he could get rid of the Second Amendment, he would. I am convinced because I see how he works with his attorney general, not to defend the Second Amendment, but to figure out ways to undermine it. I have seen him appoint people to our courts not to defend the Second Amendment, but to figure out ways to undermine it.

“Here’s the second problem. None of these instances the president points to as the reason why he’s doing these things would have been prevented. You know why? Because criminals don’t buy their guns from a gun show,” Rubio said, adding that they don’t get them from a collector, but rather on the black market. “ISIS and terrorists do not get their guns from a gun show.”

“If there’s an act of violence in America, his immediate answer before he even knows the facts is gun control,” Rubio said, pointing to recent attacks in Philadelphia and San Bernardino. “The last line standing between them and our families might be us and a gun. When I am president of the United States, we are protecting the Second Amendment, not undermining it.”

When asked by Cavuto to name an instance where the president actively sought to confiscate guns, Rubio pointed to Obama’s 2008 campaign statement in which he railed against “bitter” voters who “cling to their guns and religion.”

“That tells you right away where he was heading,” Rubio said.

Rubio ranks third in the latest batch of Washington Examiner power rankings.