Rubio slams media’s treatment of Trump in clash with Anderson Cooper: ‘He’s going to punch back’

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio defended former President Trump’s attacks against the media and Democrats during his closing message to voters this week, saying he’s “going to punch back” against his critics.

During a Tuesday interview, CNN host Anderson Cooper asked Rubio if those in Trump’s orbit wish he would have focused on the economy and the border in his final message to voters rather than “going off on tangents” by attacking Nancy Pelosi at a campaign rally on Monday.

“Well, this is a guy that’s been compared to Adolf Hitler,” Rubio began, highlighting major networks like MSNBC who’ve compared his rallies to Nazi rallies.

The two clashed after Cooper cut in to remind Rubio of disparaging comments he and Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, made about Trump in years past.

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“That was his vice president who called him Adolf Hitler,” Cooper said. 

In 2016, Vance said Trump could be America’s “Hitler,” in comments he has since disavowed many times.

Rubio again brought up the media’s reporting on the former president and his supporters to argue there’s been unfair treatment of the Republican presidential candidate.

“Maybe it wasn‘t your network, although I could point to things in your network that label anything he says as violent rhetoric, including jokes and including things that are clearly off the cuff. But he has a unique communication style, and he is not going to change the day before. This is the guy who has been subjected to relentless and ruthless attacks against his character, against everything you can imagine. Yeah, he is going to punch back. There’s no doubt about it. That’s going to happen,” Rubio said.

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Oprah Winfrey speaks on stage during Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign rally in Philadelphia, Nov. 4, 2024. (Reuters/Hannah McKay)

“So to argue that in the last 24 hours, Kamala Harris has not mentioned his name, after you‘ve got Oprah Winfrey – and look, I don’t really care, celebrities can endorse who they want — but last night she said something at a rally, ‘If you don‘t vote today, you never get a chance to vote again.’ Really? Come on. This is silly stuff,” he continued. “Yeah there’s going to be some punch back on that, no doubt about it.”

During Harris’ final campaign rally in Philadelphia on Monday, Winfrey told voters they can’t stay home this election or they might lose their voting rights.

“We don’t get to sit this one out. If we don’t show up tomorrow, it is entirely possible that we will not have the opportunity to ever cast a ballot again,” she warned.

Cooper told Rubio that Trump had also been using his own charged rhetoric about the election in the final days, before again bringing up Vance’s past remarks about Trump.

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Sen. JD Vance arrives to vote at the St. Anthony of Padua Maronite Catholic Church on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Rubio said that Vance had changed his mind about Trump and claimed “a lot of people” who didn’t vote for the GOP candidate in the past two elections would vote for him this election because of concerns about the economy, the cost of living and the direction the country was headed.

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“You know what they are saying to themselves? When Donald Trump was president, life was more affordable, our country was safer and it was stronger and more respected in the world. And ultimately, that is what’s going to matter,” Rubio said. “When people go put gas in their car, when people have to pay their bills at the end of the month, they believe they will be better off under Donald Trump then they will under a Kamala Harris presidency. That’s what’s going to matter on a daily basis and going to matter for the future of the country. There’s no doubt both sides are saying that this is the definition of an election that will determine the future of the country.”