Marco Rubio gains traction with security, foreign policy message

Sen. Marco Rubio kept hammering away Thursday at foreign-policy issues ­after a finding success in the second GOP presidential debate when he focused on how to protect the United States.

“There’s no more important obligation of the presidency than to keep the country safe,” Rubio told Fox News.

“Our next president, on their very first day in office, could very well face a global threat,” said Florida’s junior US senator and member of the Foreign Relations Committee. “Our enemies aren’t going to take a two-week honeymoon period and wait for the United States president to catch up.”

Rubio’s remarks struck a chord with voters.

“His comments on foreign policy were impressive,” Hans Hassell, assistant professor of politics at Cornell College in Iowa, said of Rubio, who managed Wednesday night to squeeze in mentions of Syria’s military, North Korea’s nukes, China’s cyberattacks and Russia’s incursion into Ukraine.

“Within the GOP, Rubio is “perceived as someone who is viable, able to unite the party and beat Hillary Clinton in the general election,” Hassell said.

During his appearance on Fox News, Rubio criticized the debate format, saying CNN appeared determined to give viewers a slug-fest.

“I saw some of the promos, and it looked like they were promoting a pay-per-view boxing match,” he said.

- NYPOST -