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Rubio On Foreign Policy : Putin Is A Gangster

Pat Blank/IPR
GOP presidential hopeful Marco Rubio addresses a crowd in Cedar Falls Thursday night

Republican Presidential candidate Marco Rubio is on a two-day swing through eastern Iowa. Thursday night in Cedar Falls he told a crowd of more than 300 that the federal government is failing in its obligation to keep Americans safe.

The junior Senator from Florida says there’s plenty of blame for what he calls the loss of prestige by the U.S. He says the recent air strikes by Russian planes in Syria are proof that the situation is out of control.

"You have a gangster in Moscow; Vladimir Putin, with an economy smaller than Italy and somehow he has positioned Russia to be more influential than America is in the Middle East at this point," he said.  "You have a foreign policy that betrays our allies and encourages our adversaries and America seems less able than ever, under Barack Obama, to shape global events."

Rubio says if elected, he would reject the Iran nuclear deal during his first days in office.  Rubio received favorable reviews and a slight boost in the polls after the most recent GOP candidate debate on CNN.  He holds a meet and greet in Dubuque Friday morning and a town hall discussion in Cedar Rapids at noon.

Pat Blank is the host of All Things Considered