Rubio Talks National Security In First TV Ad

Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio on Sunday released his campaign’s first television ad that will begin running nationwide starting Tuesday.

The ad demonstrates Rubio’s commitment to defeating Islamic terrorism and keeping the United States secure, as the national debate shifted to national security after the deadly terror attacks in Paris last week.

In the 30-second ad, Rubio looks at the camera – in front of a black backdrop – and says, “This is a civilizational struggle between the values of freedom and liberty, and radical Islamic terror. What happened in Paris could happen here. There is no middle ground. These aren’t disgruntled or dis-empowered people. These are radical terrorists who want to kill us, because we let women drive, because we let girls go to school.”

“There can be no arrangement or negotiation. Either they win, or we do,” the ad concludes.

Rubio’s focus on the war on terror in his first TV introduction comes as 28 percent of Americans now call terrorism the top issue in their choice for president, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll published over the weekend. Americans say by 59-37 that the U.S. is “at war with radical Islam.”

A Boston Globe poll showed that 42 percent of Republican voters in the New Hampshire primary say “terrorism/national security” is now the most important issue facing the country. Rubio is in 2nd place after Trump, with 13% who think he’s “best equipped” to handle the U.S. response to the threat of ISIS.

In an appearance on Fox News Sunday, Rubio agreed that his foreign policy credentials have been given a boost with voters focusing more on national security in the aftermath of the deadly terror attacks. He also suggested that the attacks were a “positive development” for America.

“I obviously am not happy about the events from last week in Paris, but I think it’s a positive development that it suddenly has forced Americans to confront more carefully the issue of national security, because it is the most important thing a president will do and that is the most important function of the federal government,” Rubio told host Chris Wallace. “And I hope we focus on that more, not just for political advantage, but because the world has become a very dangerous place. It’s not just radical jihad. It’s the Chinese military buildup, it’s Russian aggression, it’s North Korea’s dozens of nuclear warheads, it’s Iran’s desire to acquire a nuclear weapon capability. These are all very real risks and we are eviscerating our military capabilities at a time when the world is growing more dangerous.”

“So, I’m glad we’re focusing on national security, and I feel very confident in my position and talking about those issues,” he added.