NBC "Meet the Press" - Transcript: Cuba Policy
Interview
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CHUCK TODD:
I'm joined by Florida Senator and potential Republican 2016 presidential candidate, Marco Rubio. Senator Rubio, good morning. Welcome back to--
MARCO RUBIO:
Good morning.
CHUCK TODD:
--Meet the Press.
MARCO RUBIO:
Thank you.
CHUCK TODD:
What was working with the old policy?
MARCO RUBIO:
Well, I think that's not the question. The question is what new policy can we put in place so we'll actually achieve our goal? Our goal for Cuba is freedom and liberty for the Cuban people. And my opposition to what the president has done is it won't do anything to further that cause.
On the contrary, just yesterday, Raul Castro gave a speech where he made very clear that there will be no political changes on the island. Nor did the president ask for any. So if you're going to make concessions to Cuba, if you're going to recognize them diplomatically, you're going to have more commerce with them, there has to be some reciprocal opening on their part towards democracy. There was none in this engagement. So that's why this policy is misguided.
CHUCK TODD:
Well, I mean, by going back. But you acknowledge the old policy wasn't working?
MARCO RUBIO:
The old policy, I keep hearing these reports about how the old policy was designed to overthrow the Castro regime. That's false. The embargo's original purpose was to protect American companies because those properties had been expropriated.
CHUCK TODD:
Right.
MARCO RUBIO:
American companies in Cuba had their assets seized. And so, in order to prevent that, that was the reason why the embargo was put in place. The new purpose of the embargo in the 21st century was to serve as leverage, and leverage towards democracy. We now have sanctions in place with the embargo that allows us to remove those sanctions. And it's codified in exchange for a democratic opening. What the president has done here is given away much of that leverage in exchange for zero democratic opening.
CHUCK TODD:
Look, you've heard the criticism, though, of this Cuban policy, that it flies in the face of U.S. policy toward China, U.S. policy toward Myanmar, U.S. policy toward Vietnam. Why should Cuba be treated differently than China?
MARCO RUBIO:
We should actually learn our lessons from those policies. You talked about China as an example. We reestablished both commercial and diplomatic relations with China in the 1970s. Certainly the Chinese economy has grown. But politically, they're more repressed than they were to 20 or 30 years ago. There's no freedom of religion, no freedom of speech, no free access to the internet, no elections, no political parties.
So in essence, that is the model that Cubans will try to follow. They're are going-- they wholly control the economy. They're going to use all the benefits of access to the U.S. markets to grow their own, line their own pockets, the government. But there isn't going to be any political opening, Raul Castro made it clear. And Vietnam and China are the model for that.
CHUCK TODD:
So if you're president, would you change our policy with China? Would you pull back on the engagement?
MARCO RUBIO:
Well first of all, comparing China and Cuba is really not a fair comparison. There are geopolitical realities, as well, to why we reengaged with China. And that included splitting them from the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War. China is the second largest economy in the world, the most populous nation on the planet, the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world.
So there are geopolitical realities with China that do not exist with Cuba. Cuba is a small, impoverished island in our hemisphere that our policies have an opportunity to help bring freedom and democracy to. If I were president, what I would have done is I would have actively and vibrantly engaged with democracy activists inside the island of Cuba, who, of all, and many of whom, wanted changes in Cuba policy, but who all feel betrayed by this president. He completely ignored them and threw them to the side in this whole process.
CHUCK TODD:
Now you made an interesting charge in a previous interview earlier this week. I'm going to play that clip and ask you about it on the other side.
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MARCO RUBIO:
If Cuba was a right-wing dictatorship, right now the Obama administration would be calling for increased sanctions. And I would support them. But because it is a left-wing dictatorship, they actually find some support in some editorial pages around this country. And it's outrages.
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CHUCK TODD:
The president of the United States this week signed new sanctions against a, quote unquote, "Left-wing dictatorship," of authoritarian regime in Venezuela.
MARCO RUBIO:
Right.
CHUCK TODD:
So, you know, isn't there a contradiction in your attack there?
MARCO RUBIO:
No because--
CHUCK TODD:
I mean he is sanctioning a, quote unquote, "Left-wing dictatorship" in Venezuela. Obviously, with Cuba, he's trying to change the policy.
MARCO RUBIO:
Well first of all, look at the example of Honduras. There was what the president claimed to be a coup d'etat in Honduras. And the U.S. took action against the Honduran government back in 2009, even though it was the Supreme Court that ordered the president removed, who at that time, was a liberal. That was a left-wing, basically, had become a dictator, which is a model that we've now seen followed throughout the hemisphere.
And the Venezuelan example is perfect. I'm glad you raised it. So on Wednesday, the president announces a new policy towards Cuba, lifting sanctions. On Thursday, he signs a bill imposing sanctions on Venezuela. But Venezuela's human rights violators have learned all their tactics and in fact received support for those tactics of violating human rights from the Cuban government. So there's no consistency here on behalf of this administration.
CHUCK TODD:
I want to get you to react to a fellow Republican Senator of yours, Rand Paul of Kentucky. He sent you a series of tweets, I will roll them on the screen, about his support for lifting of the embargo versus your criticism of the lifting of the embargo. And he has various questions here, "If it doesn't hurt Cuba, why do you want to keep it?" And essentially calling you the isolationist. What do you say to Senator Paul?
MARCO RUBIO:
Well, look. Rand Paul has, if he wants to align himself and become a supporter of the Obama foreign policy, particularly towards Cuba, that's his right. He has a right to do that. My interest here is singular. And that is freedom and democracy for the people of Cuba. I want people in Cuba to have what people in the Bahamas have, what people in Jamaica have, what people in the Dominican Republic have, which is freedom and elections.
And I just don't think that this policy that the president has put in place furthers that goal. In fact, I think it makes it harder to achieve. Because you're now going to provide hard currency for a repressive regime to fund their repression of the Cuban people.
CHUCK TODD:
Can you imagine running in the same Republican primary as Jeb Bush?
MARCO RUBIO:
You know, Jeb, if he runs, will be a very credible and formidable candidate. And he's someone I have tremendous respect for. As I have outlined earlier, you know, when you reach a point where you're thinking about running for president, as I am, what you have to make your decision on is not on who else is running. It's on whether you think that's the right place for you to achieve your agenda and serve your country.
If I make that decision that that's the right place for me to serve at this moment in my life, I'll run for president. And that's what my decision will be built on. But, you know, I have tremendous respect for Jeb Bush. And I think, if he runs, he'll be a very credible and strong candidate.
CHUCK TODD:
All right, Marco Rubio, Florida Senator, thanks for coming on Meet the Press.
MARCO RUBIO:
Thank you.
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