U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) was confronted this week by an anti-Israel activist — but he came prepared with the facts.
The activist, evidently filming Rubio, wanted to catch him in an awkward moment. Instead, he dared her to post the video.
Rubio’s office posted the audio, which is transcribed below:
Activist: Senator Rubio, will you call for a ceasefire in Gaza?
Rubio: No, I will not. On the contrary — are you filming it? I want you guys to get this. I want them to destroy every element of Hamas they can get their hands on. These people are vicious animals who did horrifying crimes, and I hope you guys post that.
Activist: And what about the civilians that are being killed every day?
Rubio: I blame Hamas. Hamas should stop hiding behind civilians, putting civilians in the way. Hamas knew that this [attack] was going to lead to this. So Hamas should stop building their military installations underneath hospitals, and underneath the —
Activist: So you don’t care that 15,000 [sic] have died?
Rubio: Absolutely I do.
Activist: You don’t care about the babies that are being killed every day?
Rubio: I care. I think it’s horrifying. I think it’s terrible, and I think Hamas is 100% to blame. That’s what I think. Make sure you post that, please.
The figure of 15,000 dead relies on Hamas sources and does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.