Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) on Sunday refused to commit to accepting the 2024 election results, instead placing blame on Democrats for creating doubts about electoral credibility.
When asked on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” whether he would accept the outcome of this year’s election “no matter what,” Rubio responded, “No matter what happens? No, if it’s an unfair election, I think it will be contested.” on each side.”
“Meet the Press” anchor Kristen Welker repeated the “it doesn’t matter who wins” part of the question, to which Rubio said, “I think you’re asking the wrong person.”
“The Democrats are the ones who have opposed every Republican victory since 2000, every single one of them. Hillary Clinton,” he continued.
This was a likely reference to the small group of Democrats in Congress who fought to certify George W. Bush’s victory over John Kerry in Ohio in 2004. Clinton, the former Secretary of State, officially conceded to former President Trump in the 2004 election. 2016 the morning after the election.
“No Democrat refused to concede. Hillary Clinton conceded. Senator, will you accept the election results?” Welker responded.
“Hillary Clinton said the election was stolen from her and that Trump was illegitimate,” Rubio said, to which Welker interrupted: “But she caved.”
“[Clinton] said Trump was illegitimate. She said, ‘The election was stolen.’ Kamala Harris agreed. By the way, there are Democrats in Congress today who, in 2004, voted to not certify Ohio voters because they said these machines…had been tampered with,” Rubio later added.
In 2019, Clinton called Trump “illegitimate president” and suggested “he knows” he stole the 2016 election, accusing the campaign of voter suppression and purging.
Welker repeatedly tried to interject as Rubio continued: “And now you have the Democrats saying they won’t certify 2024 because Trump is an insurrectionist and ineligible to hold office. So you need to ask them. Have you already asked the Democrats this question about the presentation ?”
Welker then pointed out that Rubio voted to certify the 2020 election despite pressure from some of his Republican colleagues who falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. At the time, Rubio said: “Democracy is held together by the people’s trust in elections and their willingness to respect their results.”
She then asked Rubio, whose name has been floated as a possible pick for Trump’s vice president, whether the former president’s allegations of a stolen election continue to “undermine Americans’ confidence in democracy.”
“I think what undermines people’s confidence in elections is when you have places like Wisconsin with over 500 illegal drop boxes, when you have places like Georgia,” Rubio responded.
The Florida Republican accused NBC News of censoring stories about the Hunter Biden laptop controversy, which Welker has repeatedly denied.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
