Report: As a Teenager, Rubio Dreamed of Being ‘First Hispanic President’

According to a report from the Washington Post, ever since Marco Rubio was a young man, he dreamed of becoming the first Hispanic president. The report may provide fresh insights into the cozy relationships Rubio has fostered with his wealthy donors over the years, as well as his life-long career as a politician.

Angel Barrios, whom the Washington Post describes as an “old friend” of Rubio’s, said, “Ever since we were teenagers, I remember Marco Rubio saying he wanted to be the first Hispanic president of the United States.”

Barrios’ assertion about Rubio’s ambitions as a teenager may lend fuel to the narrative that Rubio has put ambition ahead of achievement.

For instance, in an interview with MSNBC this morning, Rick Santorum — who endorsed Rubio despite Santorum’s repeated claims that expansive immigration policies are hurting American workers — was unable to name a single accomplishment of Sen. Rubio. Instead, the only so-called achievement Santorum was able to sputter out was, in fact, a myth created by the Rubio campaign, which has been repeatedly debunked in five separate fact-checks and reports.

“I know he included something that went after the insurance companies in the most recent omnibus,” Santorum stammered. However, a fact check from the Associated Press, a fact check by the Washington Post, a follow up report by the Washington Post, a correction issued by the New York Times, and a subsequent Washington Post piece covering the New York Times correction all note that the legislative accomplishment is attributable to Jeff Sessions, Fred Upton, and Jack Kingston — not Marco Rubio.

In an exclusive statement to Breitbart News, Mickey Kaus responded to Angel Barrios’ declaration about Rubio’s ambitions. As Kaus told Breitbart News via email, Rubio is “a man in a hurry, not bothering to pause at any level to actually accomplish something before he grabs for the next level up. In that respect, at least, he really is like Obama. His disastrous Gang of 8 amnesty effort can be seen in this light — it was a potential ticket to national office for Rubio. At least that’s undoubtedly what he thought, and what the lobbyists and donors told him.”

The Washington Post suggests that Barrios had a close relationship with Rubio, which would seem to make him a credible witness as to Rubio’s ambitions from a young age. The Washington Post notes that “Barrios was one year behind Rubio at South Miami High School. When they were in school together, Barrios said,  Rubio and his other friends ‘were just messing around and partying.'” According to the Post, Rubio even appears to have mentioned Barrios in his senior-year dedication.

Indeed, their friendship may have been strengthened by a shared brush with the law. The Post notes that after their run-in with law enforcement, Barrios later went on to “share a townhouse with Rubio” in Gainesville, Florida.

According to the Post, Angel Barrios was arrested along with Rubio in 1990. The Post writes, “At 9:37 p.m. on Wednesday, May 23, 1990 — five days before Rubio’s 19th birthday and an hour and a half after sunset — a police officer was dispatched to Alice C. Wainwright Park … [which] had become a notorious locale in the late 1980s and early ’90s, a haven for drug dealers, prostitutes and gang members.”

“A local homeowners association’s newsletter documented the complaints of neighbors: ‘Gang warfare, gunfire, prostitution (straight and gay), drug dealing and muggings,'” the Washington Post writes.

“It was very dark and had lots of trees … people went out there to smoke illegal substances, have sex, [and] drink,” Delrish Moss told the Washington Post. The Post notes that Moss is “a Miami police public information officer and a 32-year veteran of the department.”

The Post writes that according to Barrios, he and Rubio “were sitting in a car when they were approached by an officer. ‘We were there just hanging out,’ said Barrios.”

While the court file was destroyed, the Post writes that the incident’s legacy may have had a lasting impact upon the young Marco Rubio.

The Post suggests that Rubio was spurred to re-examine whether his life was moving in the right direction to accomplish his lofty ambitions. After the arrest, “Rubio attacked his courses with a newly found intensity and sense of purpose,” the Post writes, noting that his “his new focus had paid off: He had been accepted at the University of Florida. He was on his way.”

Indeed, Rubio was ultimately catapulted to the U.S. Senate, where he was nearly successful in enacting the Gang of Eight immigration agenda, now a central topic in the 2016 race.