Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio predicted more than two weeks ago that Russia would begin launching airstrikes in Syria. Now, the Florida senator is telling voters he was right in a new web-based campaign ad.
“Senator, you nailed it,” Fox News’ Megyn Kelly tells Rubio in one clip included in the minute-long ad. Rubio ranks fourth in the Washington Examiner‘s latest power rankings.
Rubio’s campaign released the video Friday, two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin established his own no-fly zone over Syria — a move met with opposition that has amplified tension between U.S. and Russian defense officials.
The video, titled “Rubio Predicted,” is a montage of sound bites from Rubio’s appearances on the campaign trail, in the media and during the second Republican debate. Each clip shows the senator discussing Russia’s aggression in the Middle East.
“I have an understanding of exactly what it is Russia and Putin are doing and it’s pretty straightforward,” Rubio says in one sound bite. “He wants to reposition Russia once again as a geopolitical force.”
The junior senator from Florida currently serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has stood out in the GOP field for his foreign policy chops. According to the latest RealClearPolitics polling average, Rubio has risen to fourth place and he recently surpassed former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in a separate poll of voters in both candidates’ home state.
