Duval Times

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) appeared on Special Report with Bret Baier to discuss the conviction of former President Donald Trump by a New York City jury. Below are highlights from the interview.

On the conviction, Rubio stated, “They’ve made a travesty, a mockery of our criminal justice system. All over the world right now, they’re watching news reports, and they’re saying, ‘What has America turned into?’”

Rubio criticized various aspects of the trial: “You have a judge that supported Joe Biden in 2020. His daughter makes money off a political campaign from the far left. A jury pulled from one of the most liberal counties in America. A prosecutor that ran on the promise, ‘I’m going to get Trump...’ Charges that turned a misdemeanor into a felony…by tying it to some tax law in New York... The list goes on and on.”

He expressed concern about broader implications: “It’s terrible. What this showed today is that if they can go after a former president with a ridiculous charge like this and gain a conviction, they can go after anybody... Most people can’t afford to fight this stuff off.”

Reflecting on historical comparisons, Rubio said, “The shock is not that they went after [Trump]... The shock is that this could happen in America. I grew up listening to people tell me about show trials that happened in Cuba. This is a show trial.” He added an anecdote about media reactions: “CNN was on television when the verdict came in... You could literally hear one of the people on the panel... shriek with joy.”

Rubio also addressed what he sees as damage to American politics: “Derangement has poisoned American politics. The harm this has done today to our system of justice is terrible…. This is an ugly blemish to our reputation around the world and...to faith and confidence in our justice system here.”

Discussing perceived double standards, he remarked, “These people love to talk about rule of law [but] have manipulated and violated every rule…because they think that Donald Trump somehow is not worthy of the same protections...” He noted multiple legal challenges against Trump: “[They] tried to impeach him after he was out of office… They have four charges in four different jurisdictions [against him].”

Finally, Rubio commented on public sentiment: “There’s a level of derangement here... It’s really pushing Americans to these polar opposites.” However, he believes many Americans are skeptical: “I do think there’s a large number of Americans who didn’t follow this trial that are scratching their heads saying, ‘This is too much; this has gone way too far.’”