Iowa is Rubio Country

[UWS]

If CA is that close than OR would at least be a Lean R state if not Likely R

It also depends on the poll firms. This one is from CNN/ORC.

[2016]

Hey UWS,
with the President being so popular you may should choose a bigger Venue for his Election Night Rally. Something to consider.

[Mike Thick]

Can you guys stop? Yeah, this is a little weird, but it's clear that UWS puts a lot of time and effort into his TL, and it's really rude to fill up his project with stupid insults.

[Huey Long is a Republican]

Can you guys stop? Yeah, this is a little weird, but it's clear that UWS puts a lot of time and effort into his TL, and it's really rude to fill up his project with stupid insults.

THANK YOU FOR SPEAKING COMMON SENSE!

[#CriminalizeSobriety]

Election What-ifs is usually the most pedestrian board. I'm pretty sure I once went a whole month without getting a single report from it. The recent activity regarding this particular timeline is obviously a deviation from the norm.

If you don't like the content that UWS is putting forth, then don't give it your clicks and comments. Vote with your mouse and your keyboard. Troll posts and threads will be deleted as spam. As somebody who has had to clean up literal vomit and feces in his line of work, I find this particularly tiresome.

[Conservatopia]

Apologies if you have already stated this UWS but I want to ask what are the following people up to in this timeline:
Tim Pawlenty
Steve Bannon
Richard Santorum
Steve Scalise (did the Baseball shooting still happen?)
Kevin McCarthy (did he/will he become House Speaker?)

Anyway brilliant, well-written timeline UWS!

[UWS]

Apologies if you have already stated this UWS but I want to ask what are the following people up to in this timeline:
Tim Pawlenty
Steve Bannon
Richard Santorum
Steve Scalise (did the Baseball shooting still happen?)
Kevin McCarthy (did he/will he become House Speaker?)

Anyway brilliant, well-written timeline UWS!

Tim Pawlenty is President and CEO of the Financial Services Roundtable
Steve Bannon's influence has weakened due to Marco Rubio's victory over Donald Trump in the 2016 Republican primaries
Rick Santorum became a CNN senior political commentator where he speaks in favor of President Rubio's foreign policy and economic policy
Steve Scalise recovered from the Baseball shooting that convinced the Rubio Administration to officially go forward to allow the Attorney General to block the transfer of firearms to suspected criminals and suspected terrorists
Kevin McCarthy is still the House Majority Leader

Thanks for your appreciation!

[UWS]

Third Presidential Debate

Date : October 17, 2020

Place : University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Moderator : Wolf Blitzer

Podium order :

Sanders        Rubio

Wolf Blitzer : Good evening from University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I'm Wolf Blitzer of CNN. And I welcome you to the third and final Presidential debate of the 2020 presidential campaign between President Marco Rubio, the Republican nominee, and Senator Bernie Sanders, the Democratic nominee. It is brought to you by the Commission on Presidential Debates. This debate is on foreign policy. The questions are mine, and I have not shared them with the candidates or their aides. Their campaigns have agreed to certain rules and they are simple. They've asked me to divide the evening into segments. I'll pose a question at the beginning of each segment. They will each have two minutes to respond and then we will have a general discussion until we move to the next segment.

The audience has taken a vow of silence, no applause, no reaction of any kind, except right now as we welcome President Marco Rubio and Senator Bernie Sanders.

[APPLAUSE FROM THE AUDIENCE AS MARCO RUBIO AND BERNIE SANDERS ARRIVE ON THE DEBATE STAGE, SHAKE HANDS AND SIT ON THEIR CHAIRS]

[UWS]

Third Presidential Debate, Part 1

Wolf Blitzer : So, thank you, gentlemen, for joining us for this great debate tonight. As this debate will focus on foreign policy and as we are living times of growing national security voters want to know what it takes to ensure the continuation of such security and the preservation of peace and stability. So let's get to the first question. What is your vision of America's role in the world? Senator Sanders, you won the toss. You go first.

Bernie Sanders Thank you, Wolf. Thank you to University of New Mexico for welcoming us here at this debate. And Mr. President, it's good to be with you once again.

We all agree that our national security requires strong alliances and making sure they all do their part. We don't have to be the world police. We have to make sure that America's actions don't conclude through massive cost of lives, massive number of injured soldiers, monetary costs and lasting effects in the region like the Iraq War did, which became a disaster. We can't afford to make the same mistakes twice. That's why I believe we have to build a coalition of capable military powers in the region, and the coalition should be led by Middle Eastern allies to defeat ISIS. I believe we've got to stand up to Vladimir Putin's agression without triggering World War III with Russia and that we both have the common goal to restore stability in the Middle East. We must work with the international community to deter foreign support for China’s military buildup and to stand for the respect of human rights, including in China, North Korea and Iran. I think we can get to a pacific deal with North Korea that will be beneficial for both America and North Korea. And I believe in a foreign policy based on fair trade for American workers instead of one detrimental for them. That is my vision of America's role in the world.

Wolf Blitzer : Mr. President.

Marco Rubio : Thank you, Wolf. Thanks  to the University of New Mexico's hospitality, the American people can guide their democratic choice based on proven leadership that has kept America safe in the last four years. And you know, today also marks the 22nd anniversary of the day I became the luckiest man on Earth when Jeanette accepted to marry me. I love you Jeanette.

The first duty of a commander in chief in terms of foreign policy is to keep America safe. That's why I believe we need to keep American leadership strong, to keep our military strong, to work with our allies to accomplish our common interests, to exercise all the necessary strong diplomatic pressure to ensure we can avoid nuclear wars, to stand for international territorial integrity and for the expansion of human rights and democracy around the world. That's why the world is a better, freer and safer place when America has the most powerful military in the world. And because we followed that strategy, we made America and the whole world safer than ever before. We took military action against ISIS in Syria and Iraq along with our allies and as a result, we freed both of these countries from ISIS' occupation, decimated ISIS' leadership, liberated Syria from Assad's oppression, we are rebuilding this nation and training their new army to ensure this region's stability. We ended the War in Afghanistan thanks to the collaboration of India and radical Islamic terrorism is eradicated in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Thanks to the restoration of sanctions against Iran, we prevented them from getting nuclear weapons. By working with our allies around the Pacific, reinforcing our military presence there and orchestrating all the economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea, we got them to start the process of their denuclearization.

Meanwhile, Senator Sanders has been on the wrong side of national security issues throughout his career. He called for the shutdown of the Strategic Defense Initiative and of the B-2 bombers despite the fact that these programs helped America to win the Cold War. He voted against the Gulf War while Saddam Hussein was in a good position of dominating the Persian Gulf. Time and time again, including after 9/11, including during times of growing terrorist threat when the cities of San Bernardino and Orlando were attacked by ISIS, Senator Sanders opposed any form of provision of the required arsenal and equipment our troops need to combat terrorism. We are faced with two choices : America's victory or terrorism's victory. For me, the choice is very clear, leading America to victory against terrorism for the sake of the defense of our democracy, freedom and values so our children can grow up in a safe and peaceful world and that's why I will work to keep our nation's military, alliances and leadership strong.

Wolf Blitzer : So we move to the first segment, Syria. Senator Sanders, you declared your worries that our military intervention against ISIS in Syria would result to another Iraq or another Libya. What do you mean and what are the solutions you would bring about the situation in Syria?

Bernie Sanders : Well, like I said earlier, we need to learn from the Iraq War. It was launched by President Bush for the pretext that they possessed weapons of mass destruction. However, there were no WMDs there and when we toppled Saddam Hussein, our intervention created instability and we created a vacuum fulfilled by ISIS. That's why I voted against the Iraq War. So I'm concerned that this kind of thing could happen again in Syria. We have to understand that we cannot just meet these challenges militarily. There are enough capable military powers in the region and that's why we need to build a coalition led by our allies in the region and that way we can restore stability in the Middle East without any danger, without any unnecessary disaster, saving billions of dollars that could have been used for our home interests.

Wolf Blitzer : Mr. President, your response.

Marco Rubio : Well, actually Senator, Saddam Hussein represented a threat to our national security since he gave sancturay to some of the worst radical Islamic terrorists, including Abu Abbas (who was directly responsible for the death of Leon Klinghoffer, an American Jew abroad the Achille Lauro) and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad terrorist who was involved in the millennium plot, a terrorist attempt to commit bombing attacks against tourist sites in Jordan as well as against the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and the USS The Sullivans in the context of millennium celebrations. After that, al-Zarqawi trained jihadists in Pakistan and Afghanistan before being killed 14 years ago. And ISIS' rise was actually caused by weak foreign policy decisions that you have supported such as our withdrawal from Iraq at the wrong time while our job to train Iraqi troops and to defeat terrorism was not yet completed as well as drastic cuts in our defense budget, which allowed ISIS to expand its territory in Iraq and Syria. It allowed them to commit terrorist attacks around the world, including here in the United States as we saw in San Bernardino and Orlando.

So I made the fight against radical Islamic terrorism my number one foreign policy priority as President of the United States. And under my leadership, we rebuilt our military, we and our allies took action against ISIS in the region, swept all of ISIS' territory and eliminated Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. We established background checks on Syrian rebels before arming them in order to know which ones can be trusted to fight terrorism, which contributed to more victories against ISIS through an increase of anti-terrorist forces. These are all successes that are leading us to victory against ISIS.

Now with regards to Syria, there is a clear difference with Iraq because Assad's Syria actually possessed weapons of mass destruction as well as rockets containing the chemical agent sarin and this regime used it on August 21 2013, killing almost 1500 people, including women and children. Assad was also supported by Hezbollah, a radical Islamic terrorist group which, along with Iran, shouted and chanted « Death to America » and « Death to the Jews and Israel ». That's why they were backed and funded by Iran to help Assad to remain in power by fighting the rebels instead of fighting ISIS, which complicated our fight against ISIS. Assad has even said, I quote : « First we'll deal with the rebels, then Israel. » Which meant that Assad would have done everything he could to destroy Israel and that's why he was cooperating with Iran in smuggling arms to Hezbollah. But when we defeated the Assad regime, we drastically facilitated our fight against ISIS by restoring democracy in Syria, which made sure that Syrians to have trust in their government again through the restoration of freedom and integrity in the Syrian government. We prevented any ISIS-like terrorist group from emerging through Assad's repressive measures like it happened in Egypt. Now America and our allies are giving efforts not only to defeat ISIS but also to rebuild Syria to ensure that Syrians will have access to all the social, food, financial and security services they need and we are training their new armed forces. We have trained over 100 000 Syrian soldiers without any danger and we are progressively transferring the responsibility of the security of their country to Syrians.

Now, it's strange to hear Senator Sanders expressing his opposition to the use of military force because he has changed several of his foreign policy positions during the course of his career. He supported the Iraqi Liberation Act of 1998 to restore democracy in Iraq and defeat terrorism there before shifting his position by voting against the Iraq War. He voted to release Guantanamo Bay terrorists and allow them to be on the run once again and to conduct attacks against us. But after that, in 2009, he changed his stance and was among the 90 senators who voted against shutting down Guantanamo. While claiming to be pro-Israel and while co-sponsoring a 2008 Senate Resolution reaffirming Israel's right to defend itself against terror, he has said, 9 years later, during an interview with The Intercept that he would « consider cutting U.S. military aid to Israel ». Senator Sanders has repeatedly opposed NATO expansion, which is crucial to defeat terrorism and other foreign policy threats and to maintain peace. And yet, three years ago, he supported Montenegro's ascension as NATO member. He has claimed being in favor of sanctions on Russia and North Korea and yet he voted against the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. So Senator, who are you debating with? With me or with yourself?

Bernie Sanders : I voted against these sanctions because the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act contained sanctions against Iran that endangered the Iran nuclear deal that was aimed at making sure that Iran never gets nuclear weapons and that you abolished, risks of triggering a nuclear war with Iran due to increased pressure on them and to increased tensions with them. That's why I will promote diplomacy over warmongering and put the use of military force as the last resort. That way we can get to peace in the Middle East without any war against Iran.

Marco Rubio : So I think you are suggesting, Senator, that we should allow Iran to get the necessary capitals from a lifting of the sanctions to keep sponsoring terrorism and to finance the continuation of the development of their nuclear program that would be aimed at targeting America and its allies, including Israel, through nuclear attacks. My approach with regards to Iran was the right thing to do because the abolition of this so-called deal deprived Iran of the money they need to get nuclear weapons and decreased their ability to sponsor and arm terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Sheikh Omar Hadid Brigade, ISIS' branch in Gaza, which strengthened our national security as well as stability in the Middle East. We also took advantage of Iran by creating an anti-missile shield to destroy any Iranian nuclear missile launched against any nation. Thanks to these sanctions, we weakened the Iranian economy that is also in decline because of rising  prices, higher inflation and Tehran's decision to cut fuel subsidies, thus causing a series of opposition protests across Iran to restore freedom, justice and integrity in Iran. That way, we will convince the Iranian government that this country's uranium should be used in the economic interests of the Iranian people instead of military purposes. That is the only way we can get to a non-nuclear Iran without any disastrous incident.

[UWS]

Third Presidential Debate, Part 2

Wolf Blitzer : This leads us to the next question. As we have defeated ISIS and Al Qaida in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Arabian peninsula, Somalia, Egypt and in an important part of North Africa, we are about to totally eradicate these two jihadist organizations. So I would like to hear from both of you. Which strategy are you going to use in order to defeat jihadism and to win the War on Terror?

Marco Rubio : What we got to do to win the War on Terror and to defeat ISIS and Al Qaida is to stay on offense against them, to keep America's military as well as our alliances strong and to modernize our intelligence programs. That's how we managed to find and kill Baghdadi as well as Ayman al-Zawahiri. We're going to support our allies in the Middle East and in Africa by providing them all the necessary military material and training to make sure they will be able to handle the jihadist threat more effectively. That's how we eliminated ISIS in Egypt, Cameroon and Nigeria. By rebuilding Syria and training their new army, we're going to prevent any rise of terrorism in the Middle East. We also took advantage against the terrorists by building great coalitions with nations of Muslim faith, including Egypt, the Jordanian kingdom, the Saudis, Turkey and the Gulf kingdoms. Now that we ended the War in Afghanistan through our victory against Al Qaida, the Taliban and ISIS there, we now have the opportunity to focus all of our attention on Syria, which will definitely ensure our success there and help us to eradicate ISIS by keeping going after them, by staying on offense against them through military strength, by striking them wherever they are and by training the new Syrian Army to make sure they will be able to handle their security.

By creating the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, we countered any attempt by terrorists or other threat actors to carry out an attack against the United States or its interests using a weapon of mass destruction by supporting operational partners in closing capability gaps along adversary pathways and by investing and developping innovative technologies to meet partner requirements and improve operations. So we ensured that nuclear weapons won't fall between wrong hands. Drones will also still be useful to discover the locations of the hidden terrorists and to destroy distant targets. It can also be done by using biometric sharing data. And last year, my administration took bold actions to modernize our military by investing into the development of the Air Force's Long Range Strike Bomber program that will build stealth bombers able to destroy any target, including terrorists, and to evade aerial defenses, including advanced ones, through a reduction of the heat signature of the new stealth plane and by using speed, long-range sensors and maneuverability as additional tactics intended to evade enemy air defenses. As a result, we'll be able to operate and strike anywhere in the world without an enemy even knowing an aircraft is there. That's how we're going to finally win the War on Terror in my second term.

Wolf Blitzer : Senator.

Bernie Sanders America's victory against terrorism requires, of course, a strong military but also strong alliances and a smart diplomacy. In fact, Saudi Arabia, for example, is a nation controlled by one of the wealthiest families in the world and has the fourth largest military budget of any nation. So this is a great and powerful that will definitely bring tip the balance in favor of us. And to make sure we're going to win this fight against terrorism, we got to ensure that all of our allies, including those in NATO, spend at least 2 % of their GDP on defense. That way, we can ensure that we're going to exercise all the necessary military power to defeat our enemies. We're going to use drones to fight terror if we are sure and certain that we isolated an important terrorist, thus avoiding accidental civilian deaths. Now, the President is right, as we successfully ended the War in Afghanistan and as our troops there will be coming back home next year, we have the chance to focus entirely on Syria, on only one front, something that should have been done in the last decade. So we're going to take definitive advantage against ISIS by focusing all of our efforts on Syria, including our efforts to rebuild this country, to train their new army and to go after ISIS. As a result, our troops' task in Syria is easier and that's how we're going to defeat the last pockets of jihadists and Syria and restore stability there.

Wolf Blitzer : The next segment, NATO. Senator Sanders, for several years, you questioned NATO's effectiveness, claiming that the other NATO members are not paying their fair share of defense spending and should be spending at least 2 % of their GDP on defense. How do you explain that?

Bernie Sanders : American taxpayers pay for 22 percent of NATO’s budget. The United States spends about 75 % of NATO's total military expenditures. To ensure we're going to ensure our national security goals while making it fair for American taxpayers, we need to get all of our partners to pay their fair share in terms of defense, so that they pay at least 2 % of their GDP on defense. I don't believe the United States should be the police of the world and that's why the other NATO members must do their fair part because we can't just support their economies. They got to put up their own fair share of the defense burden. Nothing wrong with that. After all, they all have excellent health care system and education system. That way, we can make NATO more effective and make sure that all the necessary efforts to restore security and peace.

Wolf Blitzer : Mr. President.

Marco Rubio : First of all, Wolf, Senator Sanders' claim that our allies are not doing enough is just wrong. Thanks to NATO countries' decision to increase their defense spending and to the addition of new NATO members such as Montenegro, Georgia, Norway, Finland, Ukraine and Israel, we are actually spending 69 % of NATO's total military expenditures, not 75 %. We and our European allies, especially France, Germany and Turkey, suffered so many terrorist attacks before I came in office. So just like we did, our allies agreed to spend at least 2 % of their GDP on defense and they fulfilled their pledge. France is now spending 2.5 % of their GDP on national security and defense, the United Kingdom 2.22 %, Germany 2 %, Greece 2.46 %, Poland 2.25 % and Turkey 2.6 %. And by the way, last month, Emmanuel Macron has called for the creation of a 10-nation defence coalition with European countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Estonia in order to combat radical Islamic terrorism in Mali. He has called on the United Nations to help fund the Europe-wide defense coalition and its cross-border operations. So in my responsibility as Commander-in-Chief to support our allies, including France and our other allies in Europe and those in Africa, I supported Macron's plan and we have, alongside with our partners in the U.N., agreed to help funding this coalition as well as its counter-terrorism operations, which made these operations successful and is about to lead us to victory against ISIS and Al Qaida in the region. So that is another factor of our allies' determination to make the world a safer place and to defeat terrorism, which led them to further increase their defense spending. As a consequence, we and our allies combined all of our military powers and gave powerful efforts that kept our militaries and our alliances strong, helped us to take the upper hand against terrorists and to accomplish several progress against the terrorist threat as we defeated ISIS and Al Qaida in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Arabian peninsula and in an important part of Africa in addition of decimating ISIS' core leadership. And by demeaning the incredible efforts, contributions and sacrifices that our allies in NATO and outside NATO gave in the last four years, like you just did Senator, you are denigrating our alliances. And if you discount their sacrifices, you can't lead an alliance, you can't win a war. As President of the United States and as Commander-in-Chief, I recognize the fact that our allies are fighting, sacrificing and succeeding along with us.

Meanwhile, Senator Sanders wants to tear down our military through drastic cuts in our defense budget and in our intelligence operations, which will make the United States an easier target for terrorists and allow jihadists to be on the run and to threat our values. But fortunately, we have prevented terrorist attacks against us by restoring American leadership and by working hard with our allies which is how we are defeating ISIS and winning the War on Terror and we're going to accomplish these goals as long as I'm President of the United States.

Wolf Blitzer : Let's move on to the next segment, which is Africa. Mr. President, in the last four years, your administration has orchestrated what is called the « pivot » of America's foreign policy to Africa, which increased America's role and competitiveness in this continent. How this increase of America's leadership in Africa benefited for both America and African nations?

Marco Rubio : Because we won the War in Afghanistan, we got a great opportunity orchestrate this pivot of our foreign policy towards the African continent. In over the last two decades, Africa has been neglected and did not occupy an important place in America's foreign policy, the moreover that Africa's population is likely to increase to 2.5 billion people in 30 years, which is a higher number than China's actual population. So we focused our attention to this zone that is strategic both economically and in terms of national security. So this pivot reinforced our competitiveness with China in Africa through an increase of U.S. investments there, which has been done thanks to partnerships between the U.S. Department of Treasury and private companies. Our efforts to reduce taxes for businesses in America, including agricultural businesses, helped them to innovate and manufacture more agricultural products and technologies and thus reduced food prices through the reduction of inflation, which made America's agricultural projects more successful and helped America to surpass China on this sector. By ending the War on Coal, by promoting clean coal technologies and by getting America to energy independence we managed to make the United States' investments in the construction of coal plants and other energy infrastructures in Africa surpassed China's. At the same occasion, we increased investments into the construction of schools in order to improve their access to education in their desperate quest for better living conditions to come out of poverty. As a result, Africa's business landscape improved, U.S. companies have been expanding into the continent and reinforced economic and trade ties with African countries by making it clear that America is a better economic partner for Africa than China is due to China's currency manipulation and to the fact that the free enterprise system is the only economic system that can make it possible for all to prosper, which is beneficial for both the U.S. economy and African nations' economies. We also focused on the fight for the promotion of democracy, freedom and human rights in this continent, especially with Zimbabwe's transition to democracy three years ago. We made considerable efforts to fight human trafficking in this continent just like the Girls Count Act, that I sponsored 5 years ago, brought U.S. foreign assistance on the establishment of birth registries to properly document childbirth and prevent kids' exploitation, trafficking or exclusion from society. We also made the fight against AIDS and radical Islamic terrorism in Africa a priority and that's why we established new drone bases and provided all the necessary intelligence and military support and all the necessary military training our local allies' armed forces needed to handle their countries' security against terrorism and that's how we defeated Al-Shabaab in Somalia and eradicated ISIS and Al Qaida in Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Cameroon and Nigeria and are about to do the same in Mali and Niger. So this pivot towards the African continent is successful.

Wolf Blitzer : Senator Sanders.

Bernie Sanders : This pivot has been proven to be success in terms of increasing these people's access to education. And of course we got to focus on promoting human rights and democracy and on fighting AIDS because I believe Africans, just like any people around the world, have the right to fair and decent living conditions and to freedom and have the right to a fair chance to prosper and to live safe. It is true that this continent can not be neglected as they will represent 25 % of the world's population by 2050. That's why I will work with the International Community to ensure that we will increase funds to invest into anti-poverty programs, health programs, anti-epidemic programs and education programs and pro human rights program in order to ensure a better access to education, health, freedom, democracy and better living conditions for Africans. And this pivot also ensured progress against terrorism in this continent without needing any ground military intervention there and I will work to make sure we won't have to. And that's why I will instead use drones to fight terrorism there when we have the certainty that we have isolated important terrorists. And we're also going to have to give efforts to fight human trafficking, crime, violence and that's how we're going to make opportunity, education, health care and freedom equally available for all people around the world, including Africa.

[UWS]

Third Presidential Debate, Part 3

Wolf Blitzer : So, next segment. During the course of the campaign, you have both expressed different views with regards to India as this country, that is about to become the most populated country, has occupied a larger place in America's foreign policy since the last four years as they engaged militarily in Afghanistan. So I'd like to ask to you both : how do you perceive India as an ally to the U.S.?

Bernie Sanders India is a great ally with great potential. They have a very powerful military that has the potential to counterbalance China's military power in Asia. But my concerns is whether India's military involcement in Afghanistan might cause a nuclear war with Pakistan as both of these nations have nuclear weapons. Such a war would create incentives for other countries to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

But we also have to work with India to make sure that our free trade policy will be fair. We also got to work with India and also with China and Russia to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. That way, we can make strong progress in reducing gas emissions and make a great step towards a clean and green enviromnent since, along with the U.S., these 3 countries are among the largest gas emission producers. So I see India as a decent partner.

Wolf Blitzer : Mr. President.

Marco Rubio : Well, Senator Sanders has forgot that the United States and India both ratified the India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement in 2008, a deal that gurarnateed that India utilizes its nuclear energy for economic, civil and energy matters, not military matters, which is an engagement India has always respected since then. There is no risk of war between India and Pakistan since we have convinced that radical Islamic terrorism is their common ennemy, which convinced them to actively combat terrorism and to engage in the War in Afghanistan.

I see India as a strong and great ally. By convincing them to send ground troops in Afghanistan, we definitely took advantage against terrorism in Afghanistan as they they have the 4th military power in the world after the United States, Russia and China. The ratification of the US-Indian Military Alliance Treaty not only helped us to obtain victory against radical Islamic terrorism in Afghanistan, but also ensured stronger regional pressure on Iran in order to make sure they won't get nuclear weapons.

India is also a strong partner in terms of trade and economic ties. While Senator Sanders opposed H1b visas, one of the main pillars of trade between US and India, as well as the US-India Free Trade Agreement during this campaign, I think he forgot India's importance in terms of trade. India is about to become the most populated country in the world and so they are representing an important part of the world market, a status that will get even larger as they will soon edge China as the most populated nation. My home state of Florida’s $1 billion annual exports to India represent a reason why trade ties with India’s large and growing market matter to Americans. We are representing 5 % of the world market and that's why we need to make sure that the other 95 % of the world market can have access to American products, which requires strong American competitiveness in the world economy and that's exactly what we did thanks to our free trade policy, adding two and a half million new American jobs. So the ratification of this free trade deal between the United States and India strengthened our economy and helped us to further counterbalance China's trade power. That's why India is a great ally to the U.S. and we'll have strong collaborations with them in terms of national security and economic relations as long as I'm President.

Wolf Blitzer : Now let's talk about Russia. You don't agree with each other on how America should act against Vladimir Putin's Russia and its agression in Eastern Europe and in the Middle East. So Mr. President, why is your policy towards Russia the right approach?

Marco Rubio : Before I came in office, Russia was invading Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, supported, trained and armed the pro-Russian insurgency there and annexed Crimea, which violated Ukraine's territorial integrity. They used Bachar al-Assad as their puppet in order to maintain their influence in the Middle East. And Vladimir Putin has violated human rights in Russia time after time since he has repeatedly ordered the imprisonment of pro-democracy and pro-human rights protesters there. But our policies helped us to change that as we supported our Ukrainian allies by providing them all the necessary military arsenal and military training their troops needed, thus leading them to victory in the War in Donbass and helping them to reclaim Crimea for Ukraine. After Assad was toppled, we gave Syria back to Syrians as we gave their sources back to Syria, as Syria reclaimed control of its own destiny and as they accomplished their path to democracy and we are successfully rebuilding that country and training their armed forces to ensure Syria's stability. Through an increase of the sanctions against Russia, we made it absolutely clear that we can't tolerate opression and that we stand with Russian pro-democracy and freedom activists.

And in addition, in the last four years, Putin has violated the UN sanctions against North Korea in the context of the increasing North Korean nuclear threat by increasing Russia's oil exports to North Korea. So by sanctioning Russia's oil exports to North Korea, we further weakened North Korea's military since every modern military mostly function on oil. And since the ratification of the Iran nuclear deal in 2015, Russia has increased its missile sales to Iran, the world's largest state-sponsor of terrorism. So by reinforcing our military presence on the Caspian Sea and by sanctioning these missile sales, we deprived Iran of such provision. That's why we added Russia on the list of state-sponsors of terrorism in order to make it clear that we won't tolerate any actions benefiting to terrorism, allowing terrorist attacks and undermining global peace. We need to make sure that Russia will chose the right side of geopolitical affairs and we're going to get there thanks to our policies.

Wolf Blitzer : Senator Sanders, your response.

Bernie Sanders : Instead of rushing in and making the same mistakes of the past we’ve made in Iraq and Afghanistan, I recommend making informed decisions and working with ally nations to isolate Russia economically and politically. I believes that only after all peaceful and diplomatic efforts have been exhausted should we consider war. We must have the support of the United Nations and the European Union when it comes to our adversaries, especially with Russia. I also believe that by cooperating with ally nations, we reduce military spending and casualties. We must not be provocative. But it is clear that we have to stand for freedom and democracy and that's why we must condemn any political imprisonment in Russia and that is something I will do.

Wolf Blitzer : Let's move to the next segment : China. For a long time, China has been accused of manipulating its currency and of economic cheating and there were concerns in the Asia-Pacific region about China's military agression. However, China has recently joined America's efforts to sanction North Korea in the context of North Korea's nuclear threat. So according to you, are the relations between the United States and China better off than they were four years ago?

Bernie Sanders : Of course we need to stand against China's cheating policies and that is part of the reason why we need to adopt fair trade policies putting American workers first. And in order to stop China from surpassing our military power, I will support putting in place sanctions on any individual or country that violates an arms embargo with China. And we need to condemn any human rights violation by China.

But it is a very good thing to see China siding with us against North Korea's nuclear threat. After all, their relations with North Korea started to deteriorate since China started to liberalize. North Korea represented a threat to their economic interests in the Yellow Sea and so they decided to increase sanctions against Pyeongyang, thus making a great contribution in getting North Korea to denuclearize and made strong progress in restoring peace in the region.

Wolf Blitzer : Mr. President.

Marco Rubio : Our relations with China made some improvements. But there is still work to do in this matter. We need to keep condemning China's currency manipulation and cheating trade policies, something we did through an increase of sanctions. Thanks to free trade between the United States with dynamic regions such as Latin America, the Asia-Pacific region and India, we counterbalanced China's trade power. We need to stand against China's agression in the Pacific and that's why we kept our military, including our navy, strong, reinforced our military presence in the Pacific, sanctioned any country violating the arms embargo on China through the prohibition of ownership and control of any business registered as a manufacturer or exporter of defense articles or services and the removal of all licenses relative to dual-use goods or technology. And we will keep working to make sure that countries must respect fundamental human rights, including China.

However, we managed to find common grounds with China as we have, last year, ratified an intelligence partnership between the United States, China and Hong Kong (which led to the establishment of a CIA base in Hong Kong) to orchestrate intelligence operations to fight the 14k triad in order to reinforce security and to deprive the radical Islamic terrorist organization of Abu Sayyaf of any supply in money and weapons from the 14k triad, which further reinforced the relations between Washington and Beijiing and will allow more progress in our fight against terrorism. Understanding that South Korea's annihilation through a North Korean nuclear attack would have deprived China of its second main import partner (because South Korea imports 10 % of exported Chinese products in the world) and since North Korea impounded Chinese fishing boats, we got China to join us and to increase sanctions against North Korea and Beijing reinforced its military presence in the Yellow Sea to further increase pressure. And that's partly how we got North Korea to start the process of its denuclearization. That's why our diplomatic policy is based on common sense for the sake of global peace, security, stability and freedom.

Wolf Blitzer : And that leads us to the next segment, which is Afghanistan. We have defeated Al Qaida, the Taliban and ISIS in Afghanistan and recently won the War in Afghanistan and our troops there are about to return home next year. So how optimistic are you about the effects of the end of the War in Afghanistan?

Marco Rubio : Until now, we have fought the longest war in which the United States were involved, it's even longer than the Vietnam War. And this war was caused by 9/11, the deadliest terrorist attack America has suffered in its history. But we did not surrender. We stood together against terrorism and chose to fight back. We and our allies went after Al Qaida and after any terrorist organization seeking to threat our security and our values. Thanks to India's military involvement in Afghanistan, we combined the military strengths of the 1st and 4th military powers in the world and took the upper hand against terrorists in Afghanistan, which overpowered jihadists, eradicated radical Islamic terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan and led us to final victory in the War in Afghanistan. And last summer we eliminated Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al Qaida's leader and major perpetrator of 9/11 along with Bin Laden. This victory ensured that the sacrifice of our troops who gave their lives in defense of democracy, freedom, justice and global security is not in vain.

Now we are accomplishing our duty to ensure Afghanistan's stabilization by rebuilding this country and training their army to make them fully prepared to fully take over the responsibility of their country's security. Our troops will be coming home by the end of 2021. We finally restored peace and security in Afghanistan. As a result, we'll be saving over $500 billion in the next 10 years to be invested into reducing the deficit and into our future. And by ending the War in Afghanistan, we can now focus all of our attention on Syria, which will accelerate our path to victory against ISIS there by staying on offense against them, striking them with our military power, rebuilding Syria and training the Syrian armed forces to ensure their full readiness to handle Syria's security. So this will definitely ensure our success in Syria. As a consequence, by ending the War in Afghanistan, we reinforced America's security and made our victory in the War on Terror imminent.

Wolf Blitzer : Senator.

Bernie Sanders : As the President just said, this is the longest war the United States were involved in. It cost billions and billions of dollars and took the lives of thousands of our soldiers. But it contributed to the decimation of Al Qaida's leadership and we eliminated the responsible of the 9/11 attacks that killed 3000 Americans. We finally restored peace in Afghanistan after this country suffered over 4 decades of conflict and violence there. Because the War in Afghanistan is coming to an end and because our troops are finally coming home, we will finally be able to save the necessary dollars to invest in America's future, in our infrastructures and in our social services. We need to provide these future veterans the necessary social services they need and the sources they need to find a job in their post-military career. This success accomplished by our troops are great news for global peace and security ensured that those who died for our country are not dead for nothing.

[UWS]

Third Presidential Debate, Part 4

Wolf Blitzer : Let's move to the free trade topic. As we know, American leadership and America's foreign relations also depend on trade relations with other countries. But Senator Sanders, while the economic prosperity of the last four years is partly due to the reinforcement of our trade ties with our allies, why do you believe our country should withdraw from free trade deals such as NAFTA and TPP?

Bernie Sanders I voted against these free trade deals because I believe that they were a disaster for the American worker. Since NAFTA, we lost several factories that moved overseas, including to China because they were too beneficial for corporations. I will take on corporations that take their jobs to China. We need to impose tariffs against countries which manipulate currency, which is something I will do. And in order to make our industries competitive after our withdrawal from these trade deals in order to restabilize them and bring our jobs back.

Wolf Blitzer : Mr. President.

Marco Rubio : Well, I will have to correct Senator Sanders on this issue again. Our free trade policy not only ensured strong job creation but also made a great contribution in restoring American leadership on the international stage. When it comes to China, Senator Sanders' call to withdraw from TPP would be serious mistake that will give China greater authority to dictate the terms of international trade. But by ratifying TPP, we made it clear that we stand for the internationalization of international waters and commercial shipping routes. Senator Sanders' anti-TPP rhetoric could also hurt exports of Silicon Valley computer and electronics products, as well as Central Valley farmers in California, for instance, while these industries are looking to grow their markets overseas. The film and music industries, hoping for stronger trademark protections, could suffer, too. And Senator, the reason why we were losing jobs is because our country had the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world, which was 40 %, and that's why our jobs were going away. But because we reduced our corporate tax rate to 15 % and because we reduced taxes for all businesses across this country, including small businesses and manufacturing businesses, we made America the best place in the world to do business, which made our free trade deals favorable for job creation in America, encouraged business owners to do business in America, brought our jobs back home and boosted our industries, including our manufacturing industry. The right way to grow the economy and to create jobs is not to withdraw from free trade deals, which is something that would undermine American leadership and hurt our economy through higher tariffs and higher taxes on businesses that will kill opportunities to create jobs. The right way to encourage economic growth is to make America the best business-friendly environment in the world, keep taxes low and reinforce our trade relations with our allies and partners. And the reason why we are now number 1 in automobile production again in the world is because we have free trade deals with 75 countries, which is 30 more than Mexico has. And so we ratified free trade deals with Europe, Latin America and India. These policies allowed U.S. businesses to make direct investments into foreign economies to produce goods at a lower cost in these environments, thus making American products much more easily accessible to international consumers and strengthening our competitiveness. That's how we created two and a half million new jobs thanks to the promotion of free enterprise and free trade and boosted this economy in these times of prosperity during which we created 12 million new jobs and brought unemployment at its lowest rate in 50 years and that's why need to pursue our quest for open markets in the next four years for the sake of American leadership and for the sake of our prosperity.

Wolf Blitzer : That leads us to the next segment that is about North Korea and its denuclearization. Recently, North Korea has accepted to dismantle its nuclear test site and started the process of its denuclearization. Next March, a summit will be held between the United States and North Korea in Singapore. And that brings us to my question : according to you, what does a good deal with North Korea look like? Mr. President, you go first.

Marco Rubio : Well first of all, we brought North Korea at the negotiating table by taking the advantage against them, which has been done through increased sanctions on North Korea and on its international firms that were transferring dollars to Kim Jong-un's regime to finance their nuclear program and help them to get nuclear weapons that would have been able to reach the United States and triggered a nuclear war by striking us and our allies in the region. We cut-off North Korea's crude oil supply, which further undermined their military power since every modern military mostly function through oil. As a result, we have weakened their economy as well as their military and their ability to develop nuclear weapons. We also took the upper hand against North Korea by keeping our military and our navy strong, by reinforcing our military presence on the Pacific, by creating, along with our allies, the Pacific Treaty Organization. Another reason of our superiority over North Korea is because of Japan's contribution to increase pressure. Understanding the seriousness of North Korea's nuclear threat, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has launched, two years ago, a referendum on Japan's 9th constitutional amendment that prohibited the use of military force by Japan. The situation was so crucial that the Japanese people decided to grant Shinzo Abe the mandate to modify the 9th article of Japan's Constitution and Japan remilitarized itself in order to counter the North Korean threat. And together with Prime Minister Abe, we created the US-Japan Cybersecurity Unit to counter any North Korean cyber-attack against us and our allies. And because North Korea was impounding China's fishing boats, China decided to increase sanctions against Pyongyang by halting Chinese imports of iron ore from North Korea in addition of reinforcing its military presence on the Yellow Sea. As a result, we got North Korea to dismantle its nuclear test site and to clear a path to negotiation on its denuclearization.

Now, here's what a good deal with North Korea looks like is making sure that North Korea dismantles its nuclear weapons, gives up its enrichment program, shuts down its missile capability, anytime anywhere inspections any place in North Korea verifiable. That's how a good deal looks like but we must back it up with use of military force. There is no way North Korea is ever going to give up their program unless they believe military forces are on the table. That's why we need to tell North Korea that if diplomacy fails we'll authorize the use of military force as a last resort to stop the nuclear threat in North Korea to the American homeland and the world at large. And if we're not willing to do that, we're never going to get a good deal. A good deal also means respect of human rights in all the Korean peninsula. Their uranium should be used to fulfill the North Korean people's economic needs instead of being wasted into a nuclear program to trigger a war they will lose if they don't pursue peace. Another advantage of North Korea's denuclearization for Pyongyang is a restoration of trade ties with China that is none other than their largest trade partner, which will restore their economy thanks to a restoration of peace. That's how we're going to get a good deal with North Korea and restore peace and security in the Pacific.

Wolf Blitzer : Senator Sanders.

Bernie Sanders : In order to get to a good deal with North Korea, we need to ensure that North Korea will respect its promise to denuclearize itself. That's why they need to clear the way to inspectors operating on all the North Korean territory in order to verify the presence of nuclear weapons. I will work with our partners in the region to exercise the necessary pressure on North Korea. If we want a good deal with North Korea, we need to halt our military exercises with South Korea and so we can be sure that there won't be any provocation. In my mind, a good deal requires the restoration and respect of freedom and human rights in North Korea. Their people is already struggling to be socially successful and to have access to education, health care and food. That's why I will make it certain that their nuclear energy will be used for sake of North Korea's economic growth and for the sake of better services for North Koreans. And North Korea is going to understand that if they fail to fulfill pledge to denuclearize and if they are not willing to pursue peace, I will encourage China to send troops into North Korea to overthrow the regime of Kim-Jong Un. We know Xi Jinping wants to avoid American troops on the Yalu River. But I will put diplomacy first and by dealing on common sense, we're going to sign a good deal with Pyongyang and finally restore peace in Korea after over 60 years of conflict.

Wolf Blitzer : Well that leads to the closing statements after this vigorous and terrific debate. I believe you're first, Senator Sanders.

Bernie Sanders : Thank you Wolf for hosting this debate, thank you Mr. President and thank you my fellow Americans for watching us.

These are times of challenges in which we got to ensure that the economic prosperity America is living works for all Americans, including lower income Americans instead of just the top 1 %. That's why I will raise taxes on the wealthy to make sure they will pay their fair part. And by raising the minimum wage to 15 dollars an hour, we can make this economy fair for all Americans. I will work to get us fair trade to make sure our trade policy works for all Americans. I will put fossil energies aside and encourage the production of renewable energies to favor both economic growth and the protection of the environment. And I will provide health care and education for all.

On foreign policy, I will always put the use of military force as the last resort and I will always put diplomacy first in order to avoid any unusual and disastrous confrontations. It is only through collaboration that we can fulfill our national security objective for the sake of our security and global peace.

That's why I ask you to join me in this cause and that way all of us will do our part and all of our allies will do their part. Thank you.

Wolf Blitzer : Mr. President.

Marco Rubio : Thank you Wolf for moderating this debate, thank you Senator Sanders and thank you my fellow Americans for watching this debate.

In three and a half weeks, American voters will be facing a choice. Either we move back, as Senator Sanders wants to do, to the same failed big government policies that gave us the slowest economy in our nation's history through higher taxes on hard working families and businesses and shipped jobs overseas, kept us dependent on foreign energy, kept us from strengthening our competitiveness in the world economy raised our deficit to almost $20 trillion and to the same weak foreign policy that gut our military through cuts in our defense budget and through a deterioration of American leadership, which allowed terrorist attacks against America and its allies and put the world in a chaotic situation or we keep moving forward with proven leadership that has fixed America, strengthened our economy, kept America safe and kept the American people together.

In the last four years, we made strong and real progress. When I came in office, our economy was heading into a recession and so I provided the largest tax cuts in history for all the American people, including the middle class and lower income Americans, which reinforced their purchasing power and their ability to find a job. By reducing taxes on businesses and reducing the cost of doing business in America, we made this country the most opened nation for business. We developed new infrastructures in this country thanks to public-private partnerships. We got America to energy independence by taking advantage of all of our sources of energy, which got us the necessary revenues to invest into the development of renewable energies. We made America the most competitive nation in the world economy by promoting free trade. We improved our education system through the promotion of school choice. We brought the American people together by passing immigration reform through the Opportunity Act that granted U.S. citizenship to immigrants across this country, granted the privilege to find a good-paying job, to have access to higher education and to accomplish the American Dream. Our policies created 12 million new jobs and brought our unemployment rate to 2.5 %, the lowest rate in 50 years.

We kept America and the whole world safe by rebuilding and modernizing our military, by strengthening and expanding our alliances, by restoring American leadership and by going after ISIS through the use of military force and through the provision of all the necessary military, material and intelligence support and all the military training our allies needed to fight terrorism. Our troops and our allies eliminated ISIS and Al Qaida in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Arabian peninsula and North Africa. We won the War in Afghanistan and we eliminated Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Ayman al-Zawahiri. We restored democracy in Syria and are rebuilding this country in order to ensure its stability. These are all accomplishments that are finally leading us to victory in the War on Terror. And thanks to our military and diplomatic efforts, we got North Korea to denuclearize for the sake of global peace and stability.

As we are better off than we were four years ago, here's what I want to do to make sure we'll be better still in the next four years. I want to balance the budget in order to get the necessary surpluses to invest into the development of renewable energies, of new infrastructures, to invest in education and to invest into the modernization of our military. We're going to get America to full employment thanks to the promotion of free enterprise. By keeping America's status as the most powerful military in the world and by keeping our alliances strong, we will totally defeat radical Islamic terrorism and finally win the War on Terror. Thanks to the military and diplomatic efforts we gave in the last four years and to my foreign policy experience, we will get the world to a denuclearized North Korea and to a non-nuclear Iran. That's how we're going to restore peace through strength. As a result, we will make sure that our children and grandchildren will be the most prosperous generation of Americans that ever lived and can grow-up in a safe and peaceful world.

And that's why I'm asking for your vote in order to keep defending our values, to keep our nation prosperous, safe, free, great and united and to keep America strong. Thank you.

Wolf Blitzer : Gentlemen, thank you both so very much. That brings an end to this year's debates. I want to wish both of you good luck for your campaigns. And I want to thank University of New Mexico and its students for this formidable and wonderful hospitality. And I hope you all go to the polls and vote on Election Day. Until then, from University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I'm Wolf Blitzer of CNN and I wish you good night to everyone and I wish you good luck in accomplishing your civic duty.

[APPLAUSE FROM THE AUDIENCE AS MARCO RUBIO AND BERNIE SANDERS SHAKE HANDS]

[UWS]

Who Won the Third Presidential Debate?

CNN/ORC poll :

Marco Rubio : 64 %
Bernie Sanders : 30 %
Tied/Unsure : 6 %

Politico/Morning Consult poll :

Marco Rubio : 62 %
Bernie Sanders : 32 %
Tied/Unsure : 6 %

Reuters/Ipsos poll :

Marco Rubio : 65 %
Bernie Sanders : 31%
Tied/Unsure : 4 %

NBC News/SurveyMonkey poll :

Marco Rubio : 55 %
Bernie Sanders : 36 %
Tied/Unsure : 9 %

Gallup poll :

Marco Rubio : 59 %
Bernie Sanders : 37 %
Tied/Unsure : 4 %

Fox News poll :

Marco Rubio : 70 %
Bernie Sanders : 25 %
Tied/Unsure : 5 %

ABC News/Washington Post poll :

Marco Rubio : 61 %
Bernie Sanders : 34 %
Tied/Unsure : 5 %

[UWS]

2020 Electoral College Map polling

After orchestrating strong debate performances in all the 3 presidential debates and campaigning all across the country on his accomplishments as President of the United States such as a strong economy and a stronger national security, President Rubio increased his lead over his opponent Bernie Sanders. This commanding lead demonstrates that the Rubio coalition (composed notably of whites, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, middle class Americans, moderates, conservatives, Rubio Democrats, young voters and older ones, blue-collar workers, etc.) is very strong. The two presidential candidates still have 3 days to campaign to convince voters before Election Day on November 3 2020.

   
Marco Rubio : 377 great electors
Bernie Sanders : 64 great electors
Undecided : 97 great electors

Nationwide opinion polling
Marco Rubio : 61 %
Bernie Sanders : 37 %
Undecided : 2 %

Statewide opinion polling

Iowa
Marco Rubio : 57 %
Bernie Sanders : 40 %
Undecided : 3 %

Wisconsin
Marco Rubio : 55 %
Bernie Sanders : 41 %
Undecided : 4 %

Minnesota
Marco Rubio : 52 %
Bernie Sanders : 45 %
Undecided : 3 %

Michigan
Marco Rubio : 56 %
Bernie Sanders : 40 %
Undecided : 4 %

Illinois
Marco Rubio : 49 %
Bernie Sanders : 48 %
Undecided : 3 %

Ohio
Marco Rubio : 59 %
Bernie Sanders : 39 %
Undecided : 2 %

Pennsylvania
Marco Rubio : 56 %
Bernie Sanders : 39 %
Undecided : 5 %

New Jersey
Marco Rubio : 49 %
Bernie Sanders : 45 %
Undecided : 6 %

Connecticut
Bernie Sanders : 49 %
Marco Rubio : 48 %
Undecided : 3 %

Delaware
Bernie Sanders : 49 %
Marco Rubio : 46 %
Undecided : 5 %

New Hampshire
Marco Rubio : 54 %
Bernie Sanders : 42 %
Undecided : 4 %

Maine
Marco Rubio : 51 %
Bernie Sanders : 45 %
Undecided : 4 %

Virginia
Marco Rubio : 58 %
Bernie Sanders : 38 %
Undecided : 4 %

North Carolina
Marco Rubio : 61 %
Bernie Sanders : 36 %
Undecided : 3 %

Florida
Marco Rubio : 63 %
Bernie Sanders : 35 %
Undecided : 2 %

Colorado
Marco Rubio : 58 %
Bernie Sanders : 41 %
Undecided : 1 %

New Mexico
Marco Rubio : 55 %
Bernie Sanders : 43 %
Undecided : 2 %

Nevada
Marco Rubio : 59 %
Bernie Sanders : 39 %
Undecided : 2 %

California
Marco Rubio : 49 %
Bernie Sanders : 46 %
Undecided : 5 %

Oregon
Marco Rubio : 49 %
Bernie Sanders : 44 %
Undecided : 7 %

Washington
Marco Rubio : 48 %
Bernie Sanders : 45 %
Undecided : 7 %

[Consciously Unconscious]

50/50 chance of a 50 state sweep

[#CriminalizeSobriety]

Final notice: NO MORE TROLLING on this timeline. Posters who continue to troll on this timeline will receive some form of discipline, as I have issued multiple warnings concerning this topic.

[UWS]

Marco Rubio's Presidency
November 2020, Part 1

November 1

-President Rubio campaigns in San Francisco, California where he praises the effects of his free trade policies that ratified free trade agreements such as the TPP, TTIP, the ACFTA and the U.S.-India Free Trade Agreement, which added over 2 million jobs in the economy thanks to tax cuts on manufacturing businesses, to a reduction of America's corporate tax rate from 40 % to 15 % and to an increase of U.S. exports around the world, thus allowing America to counterbalance China's trade power and to reclaim its status as the number one auto producer in the world as well as its status as the world's first trade power. The President slammed Sanders on his anti free trade agenda that would cost California over 640 000 jobs, including 176,000 in Los Angeles and 60,000 in the Orange County by hurting exports of Silicon Valley computer and electronics products, as well as Central Valley farmers looking to grow their markets overseas.


-President Rubio and Vice-President Haley campaign for Gary Cohn in Akron, in Ohio's 13th congressional district, where they highlighted Cohn's business experience as well as the strong economic prosperity that America is now living thanks to the Rubio tax cuts that made America the best place in the world to do business, thanks to free trade and thanks to America's path to energy independence. They slammed House Minority Leader Tim Ryan on his opposition to free trade and on his big government views and call on voters of Ohio's 13th congressional district to go to the polls on November 3 and vote for Cohn in order to defend the interest of this district's taxpayers and to add another voice in favor of small government and tax reform for the sake of prosperity for all.

November 2

-President Rubio campaigns in Virginia Beach, Virginia along with Republican senatorial candidate Scott Taylor. The President highlighted his foreign policy accomplishments such as a stronger and modernized U.S. military, the liberation of Syria and Iraq from ISIS occupation, the elimination of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the U.S. and allied victory against radical Islamic terrorism in Afghanistan and the eradication of terrorism there thanks to U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan and to India's military intervention in this country (which gave the advantage to the Coalition thanks to the combination of the military strengths of the first and fourth military powers of the world,, which overpowered Al Qaida, ISIS and the Taliban). He declares that thanks to the end of the War in Afghanistan, the U.S. and their allies will have the opportunity to focus all of their attention on Syria, which will accelerate their path to victory against ISIS there by staying on offense against them, striking them through military power, rebuilding Syria and training the Syrian armed forces to ensure their full readiness to handle Syria's security. President Rubio seizes this occasion to call on voters to re-elect him for a second term in order to lead America to total and unconditional victory against radical Islamic terrorism and to permanent peace through strength.


-President Rubio campaigns in Detroit, Michigan where he reminded voters that his free trade policies successfully helped America to reclaim its status as the first auto producer in the world, which benefited America's auto industry, including here in Michigan, the heartland of this industry. After warning about the potential effects of Bernie Sanders' populist and anti free trade agenda, he called on voters to go to the polls tomorrow and re-elect him in order to make sure that Detroit, Michigan and all America's economy will continue to grow thanks to the promotion of free trade, tax reform and small government.

November 3

-Voters across the country go to the polls on Election Day.

-President Rubio's re-election campaign orchestrates its GOTV operation all across the country.


-President Rubio campaigns in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he reminds voters that Pennsylvania is home to 50 Fortune 500 companies such as  U.S. Steel, PPG Industries, H.J. Heinz and GE Transportation Systems and attacked Sanders on his big government socialist agenda that would raise taxes on American people and businesses, which would decrease their purchasing power and make America a harder place to do business and ship American companies overseas. The President reminds voters of the beneficials of his economic policies that cut taxes for all the American people and on businesses, got America to energy independence, made America the most competitive country in the world economy thanks to the promotion of free trade and made Ameria the best place in the world to do business, which created 12 million new jobs and reduced the unemployment at its lowest rate since 50 years.


-On Election Day, President Rubio and his family went to the polls in Miami, Florida. The President casts his vote for himself as well as for Rep. Carlos Curbelo. President Rubio's mother Oriales, his wife Jeanette and his oldest daughter Amanda also casted their votes for the President.

-Vice-President Haley casts her vote for President Rubio in Charleston, South Carolina.


-President Rubio, his family, his team and Vice-President Haley watch the coverage of Election Night 2020 at the Aloft Jacksonville Tapestry Park Hotel in Jacksonville, Florida.

[UWS]

CNN State of the Union Show 1st November 2020

Here are some Transcripts from the CNN State of the Union Show Sunday 1st November 2020 with Jake Tapper

Jake Tapper

Good Morning from CNN in Washington. It’s 9am here, 8am in Chicago, 7am in Denver and 6am in Los Angeles. Where ever you watching us from thank you for joining us this morning. We’re less than 72 Hours from Polls opening in the 2020 Presidential Election. The two Presidential Candidates, President Marco Rubio and Senator Bernie Sanders crisscrossing the Nation for the last 48 Hours of Campaign 2020. We’ve Correspondents in Key States across the Country giving us all the latest Developments. We begin with our White House Travelling Correspondent Michelle Kosinski who is in San Francisco, California, Michelle…

Michelle Kosinski

Good Morning Jake,
I’m here in San Francisco & the Bay Area. Not much happening right now as it is just after 6am in the morning but President Rubio is expected to hold several Campaign Events this AM to wrap up his West Coast Swing before departing for Grand Junction, Colorado and Boulder, Colorado where he will hold Rallys in the afternoon. In the evening he is expected to campaign in Virginia Beach, Virginia alongside the Republican Senate Nominee Scott Taylor. I’m told that Senator Condoleeza Rice as well as former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will be in Attendance. President Rubio views San Francisco very symbolic of the success his Administration has had creating new Jobs especially here in the Bay Area thanks to the promotion of free trade. Today also marks the Final Day the President and the Vice-President hold separate Campaign Events. Tomorrow the Rubios and Haleys will rejoin for Final Campaign Rallys in Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin. With that I’m going to toss it over to my collegue Sara Murray who is with Vice President Haley in Seattle, Washington, Sara…

Sara Murray

Good Morning. We’re in King County, the County with the most Population in the State of Washington. I’m in Seattle where Vice President Nikki Haley is expected to hold a Campaign Event later this morning. She will also campaign in the Capital of Olympia. It’s Counties like King and Cities like Seattle where the Republican Ticket significantly performing better than four years ago shrinking down the Democratic margin making this a Toss Up State. After wrapping up Campaign Events here Vice President Haley will travel to Minnesota where she will campaign in Duluth, Rochester and St. Paul. Back to you Jake.

Jake Tapper

And we go to our Correspondent Jeff Zeleny who is with the Campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders, Jeff…

Jeff Zeleny

We’re in Trenton, New Jersey where Senator Sanders just wrapped up a Campaign Rally before departing for Chicago, Illinois later this morning. It shows you how much the Sanders Campaign playing defense these Days. There are struggling to increase the Turnout of core Democratic constituents especially African-Americans who seem very sour on Sanders the past few weeks mainly because of the treatment his Democratic Rival Senator Cory Booker got from the Democratic Nominee during the Democratic Presidential Primaries. Remember, Booker lost to Senator Sanders only on the 4th Ballot at the Convention and the Booker folks blaming the relentless, often very unfair attacks by the Democratic Nominee why Booker lost the Nomination here in New Jersey and elsewhere. Putting former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick on the Democratic Ticket doesn’t seem to have entirely mend the fences between the Booker and Sanders folks. Meanwhile, the Republicans are united and had a strong and successful Republican National Convention during which they seized the occasion to praise the President's leadership and accomplishments while hammering Sanders. Back to you Jake.

Jake Tapper

Here in the Studio I’m joined by our Senior National Correspondent John King, Senior Political Analyst Gloria Borger, Democratic Strategists David Axelrod, Kirsten Powers and Maria Cardona as well as Republican Strategists Ana Navarro, Alex Castellanos and Rick Santorum. John King is at the Magic Wall so let’s go straight to him. Tell us where things stand two Days before the Election, John…

John King

Let’s start with this: President Rubio is assured to win Reelection barring a complete collapse of his coalition which doesn’t seem to be happening. The Question now is by how much he wins and how big will be his impact down ballot.

The CNN Electoral College Map this morning stands as…

President Marco Rubio with 370 Electoral College Votes (100 more than he needs to be reelected),
Senator Sanders with 64 Electoral College Votes
104 Electoral College Votes as Toss Ups.

This Map differs slightly from the Maps of other Networks. As Toss Ups we have California (55), Washington State (12), Oregon (7), Illinois (20), Delaware (3) and Connecticut (7). We’ve New Jersey as “Lean Republican” as the President seems to have a small lead there. I though spoke with Election Officials and they say it will be razor-tight there with the President potentially winning by a couple of Points. Also, Election Officials in the West Coast States telling us that CA, WA and OR will most likely not be called on Tuesday Night because of late arriving Mail-In Ballots who trend to be more Democratic. The SoS Office in CA saying they expecting either of the Presidential Candidates carrying the State by less than 75K Votes. That is how tight it is there. Back to you Jake.

Jake Tapper

What do make of it Gloria?

Gloria Borger

Jake, the President is looking very, very strong. The last Presidential Debate was about Foreign Policy and that's the stronghold of the President (due to his foreign policy experience and accomplishments such as strong progress by the US and their allies against ISIS, the elimination of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, America's victory in the War in Afghanistan and the start of the process of North Korea's denuclearization). Senator Sanders looked very weak there.

David Axelrod

We’re seeing now Senator Sanders badly hurt because of the rift with Senator Booker during the Primaries and the brokered Democratic Convention. The President won’t win the African-American Vote in these traditional Democratic States but he certainly won’t get blown out like Secretary Clinton blew him out on the West Coast in 2016.

Kirsten Powers

The President will win the Female Vote nationally that looks certain. It might differ in the Toss Up States though. Still this would be an historical Accomplishment because that hasn’t happened for a Republican Presidential Candidate since George H. W. Bush in 1988.

Maria Cardona

The Democratic Party has a lot of rebuilding to do after this one is over. The Hispanic Community has grown very sour on Sanders who didn’t really made an effort to win them back after the devisive primaries. The moreover that President Rubio is noneother than the first Hispanic to occupy the office of President of the United States and has managed to reform America's immigration reform in 2018 through the adoption of the Opportunity Act, something his predecessors have failed to do.

Ana Navarro

Basically nothing has changed since the 2nd Presidential Debate. If anything President Rubios lead has only grown because he looked more Presidential during the last Debate and Senator Sanders didn’t.

Alex Castellanos

I’m interested if the President can really win one of these big blue traditional Democratic States. That would be the icing on the cake of a very successful four years in office.

Rick Santorum

Republicans always dreamed about a Candidate with conservative roots but governing from the Center. President Rubio is that Candidate. We as a Party struggled so much nationally from 2008 to 2016 because we often didn’t keep our word with the American Public. Not this time.

Jake Tapper

Allright! We’re going to a Commercial Break now. When we come back our Congressional Correspondents Dana Bash and Brianna Keilar will break down some of the Hot Senate Races.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Jake Tapper

And we're back. I'm now joined by our Congressional Correspondents Dana Bash and Brianna Keilar as we discuss how much impact President Rubios strong showing will have Down Ballot. Republicans defending more Seats than Democrats on Tuesday but that does seem to be almost nullified by the Presidents strong showing.

Dana Bash

You're absolutely right Jake. Two Seats are held by Democrats, in Virginia Republican Scott Taylor is challenging Incumbent Senator Mark Warner and in New Hampshire Republican Richard Ashooh is challenging Incumbent Senator Jeanne Shaheen. These are the two tightest Races in the Nation. Other Races are:
MT-SEN: Steve Bullock (D) vs Steve Daines (R)
CO-SEN: John Hickenlooper (D) vs Cory Gardner (R)
Races we should keep an eye on but are Likely Republican due to Rubios strong showing are IA-SEN (Joni Ernst), NC-SEN (Thom Tillis) and that's basically it.
I'm also told that Colorado Senator Cory Gardner should he win Reelection will be the presumptive Senate Majority Leader Designate after Mitch McConnells Retirement. The Republican Senate Leadership will be shaken up as it looks likely that Senator John Cornyn of Texas will step down from his Post as Majority Whip being replaced by John Barrasso of Wyoming. Further Sources telling me that Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas will ascend to the Number Three Spot.

Jake Tapper

Let's talk a bit what's happening on the House Side Brianna. The Democrats could lose their Minority Leader.

Brianna Keilar

That's right. There will be a huge Campaign Rally tomorrow in Youngstown, Ohio on behalf of Republican Candidate Gary Cohn who is challenging the Democratic House Minority Leader Tim Ryan with President Rubio, VP Haley, Governor Taylor, Senators Kasich & Portman as well as former House Speaker John A. Boehner in Attendance.
President Rubio will also hold a Campaign Rally in Kenosha, Wisconsin with Governor Scott Walker, Senators Johnson & Green anbd House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Republicans are assured to retain their House Majority and they may even 10-15 Seats or so.

Jake Tapper

That's all from us this Morning. Please make sure to turn in TONIGHT at 8pm ET for a 2-Hour "Countdown to Election Day Special" hosted by our Election Anchors Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper. We'll have LIVE Campaign Rally Coverage with both Presidential Candidates. We're also releasing our FINAL CNN/ORC National Poll at that time.

[UWS]

Marco Rubio Campaign Ad

In an effort to attract voters who selected the economy as the most important issue, President Marco Rubio's re-election campaign broadcasts an ad attacking Bernie Sanders on his big government agenda and reminding that even Democrat John F. Kennedy cut taxes and brought positive results on the U.S. economy just like President Rubio's economic policies did throughout the last four years, thus demonstrating that Rubio's economic plan is better than Sanders'.

The ad titled « Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy » airs in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota New Hampshire, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin

« Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy » advertisement narration :


Narrator : Who can be trusted to manage the economy and ensure the continuation of America's prosperity? Not Bernie Sanders. He seeks to pursue the failed big government policies that gave us the slowest economy in decades, increased taxes and regulations, made us much more dependent on foreign oil, diminished free enterprise, made America a harder place to do business, overshipped American jobs and businesses overseas. He doesn't understand how the economy works. He doesn't understand that it's businesses, free enterprise and free market that create jobs, not the government.


Senator Sanders has forgotten that even President John F. Kennedy, a Democrat, cut taxes in order to encourage economic growth, which brought positive results for the economy. Thanks to Kennedy's tax cuts the economy accelerated and prospered, the GDP expanded by an average of 5.5% from early 1961 to late 1963, inflation was down at around 1 %, the unemployment rate declined from 6.6 % to 5.6 % during Kennedy's two years in the White House, industrial production rose by 15 % and motor vehicle sales rose by 40 %.


Marco Rubio during the first presidential debate : No wonder that Senator Sanders is no Jack Kennedy.


Narrator : Marco Rubio gets it. Unlike Senator Sanders, he knows what it takes to create jobs and get this economy growing. That's how he managed to help create 12 million new jobs during his presidency.


In the last four years, he provided the largest tax cuts and regulations cuts in history for all Americans, including the middle class, which reinforced their purchasing power, he reduced government spending, reduced our corporate tax rate from 40 % to 15 %, which made our trade deals fairer and brought a better business-friendly environment in America, lowered the cost of doing business in our country, promoted free trade, led America to energy independence by encouraging oil drilling and using a part of revenues of oil drilling to invest into the development of renewable energies and our education system is now reformed and fairer for all Americans thanks to school choice.

Marco Rubio, the leader with the experience, knowledge and background to keep America prosperous.

Marco Rubio : I'm Marco Rubio and I approve this message.

[UWS]

Marco Rubio Campaign Ad

In an effort to attract voters who selected foreign policy and terrorism as the most important issue, President Rubio's re-election campaign broadcasts an ad attacking Bernie Sanders on his voting record on Afghanistan and narrating the President's accomplishment to win the War in Afghanistan and to eradicate radical Islamic terrorism in Afghanistan and the effects of the end of this conflict.

The ad titled « Victory » airs in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin

« Victory » advertisement narration :


Narrator : For almost 20 years, we have fought the longest war in which the United States were involved since the Vietnam War. It was caused by 9/11, the deadliest attack America has ever suffered in its history. But we did not surrender. We stood together against terrorism and chose to fight back. We and our allies went after Al Qaida and after any terrorist organization seeking to threat our security and our values.


But despite the seriousness of the situation in Afghanistan, Bernie Sanders voted against funding the operations in Afghanistan, voted against supporting our troops there and against any form of provision of the required arsenal and equipment they need to combat ISIS, the Taliban and Al Qaida. He also opposed the ratification of the US-Indian Military Alliance Treaty that has proven to be critical in winning the War in Afghanistan. And he has even demonstrated his pessimism by calling the War in Afghanistan unwinnable.


But for President Rubio, America's defeat is not an option. That's why he gave all the efforts needed to ensure our success in Afghanistan. By temporarily reducing our annual aid to Pakistan and by convincing Pakistan and India that radical Islamic terrorism is their common enemy, President Rubio managed to ratify the US-Indian Military Alliance Treaty and got India to get involved militarily in Afghanistan and to send ground troops there in exchange of a 25 000 US troop surge, which combined the military strengths of the 1st and 4th military powers in the world, thus taking the upper hand against terrorists in Afghanistan, overpowered them, eradicated radical Islamic terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan and led us to final victory in the War in Afghanistan. And last summer we eliminated Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al Qaida's leader and major perpetrator of 9/11 along with Bin Laden.



We are accomplishing our duty to ensure Afghanistan's stabilization by rebuilding this country and training their army to make them fully prepared to fully take over the responsibility of their country's security. Our troops will be coming home by the end of 2021. We finally restored peace and security in Afghanistan. As a result, we can now focus all of our attention on Syria, which will accelerate our path to victory against ISIS there by staying on offense against them, striking them with our military power, rebuilding Syria and training the Syrian armed forces to ensure their full readiness to handle Syria's security. So this will definitely ensure our success in Syria. As a consequence, by ending the War in Afghanistan, we reinforced America's security and made our victory in the War on Terror imminent.



That's why President Rubio is asking for your vote to make sure that during his second term we will finally win the War on Terror thanks to America's strength and American leadership for the sake of global security and peace through strength.

Marco Rubio : I'm Marco Rubio and I approve this message.

[UWS]

Marco Rubio Campaign Ad

In an effort to attract voters who selected foreign policy and terrorism as the most important issue, President Rubio's re-election campaign broadcasts an ad narrating the President's accomplishment to take the advantage against North Korea, to get North Korea to the negotiating table and to start the process of its denuclearization.

The ad titled « Solid » airs in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin

« Solid » advertisement narration :


We kept our military and our navy strong, reinforced our military presence in the Pacific, created, along with our allies, the Pacific Treaty Organization. Japan modified the 9th article of it's Constitution and remilitarized itself in order to counter the North Korean threat. President Rubio and Prime Minister Abe successfully worked together created the US-Japan Cybersecurity Unit to counter any North Korean cyber-attack against us and our allies. And because North Korea was impounding China's fishing boats, China decided to increase sanctions against Pyongyang by halting Chinese imports of iron ore from North Korea in addition of reinforcing its military presence on the Yellow Sea. As a result, without any war against North Korea, we got Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear test site and to clear a path to negotiation on its denuclearization.


That's why President Rubio has the leadership and experience we need in a Commander-in-Chief to successfully negotiate with North Korea and finally restore peace in the Korean peninsula.

Marco Rubio for peace, strength, stability, freedom and justice.

Marco Rubio : I'm Marco Rubio and I approve this message.

[UWS]

Marco Rubio Campaign Ad

In an effort to get as many people as possible to come out and vote for President Marco Rubio, his re-election campaign broadcasts a GOTV ad narrating Rubio's GOTV speech in Tampa, Florida and narrates his accomplishments during his first term while Lee Greenwood's God Bless the U.S.A. plays.

The ad titled « Fight for your Future » airs in all the 50 states

« Fight for your Future » advertisement narration :



Marco Rubio : This election is about what kind of America we want to be. It's about whether our children, including my four children will be the most prosperous generation of Americans that ever lived or will be the first generation of Americans to inherit a country in decline. Today, the American people has a choice between two paths.


Either the government will get bigger, making our country a harder place to do business through higher taxes and regulations for all Americans, including the middle class, through deeper dependence on foreign energy and through heavier fiscal burden on businesses, shipping businesses and jobs overseas and dismantling free enterprise.



Either we move backwards into the foreign policy that drastically cut in our security measures and in our defense budget, gut our military, withdrew us from the fight against terrorism at the wrong time, gave us ISIS, allowed radical Islamic terrorists attack us in Garland, San Bernardino, Orlando and to attack our allies and got the world closer to a nuclear Iran.

[Lee Greenwood's God Bless the U.S.A. starts playing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q65KZIqay4E


Or we keep moving forward with proven leadership that has fixed America, strengthened our economy, kept America safe and kept the American people together.


In the last four years, we made strong and real progress. When I came in office, we provided the largest tax cuts in history for all the American people, including the middle class and lower income Americans, which reinforced their purchasing power and their ability to find a job. By reducing taxes on businesses and reducing the cost of doing business in America, we made this country the most opened nation for business.


We developed new infrastructures in this country thanks to public-private partnerships, thus facilitating economic activities across this country and encouraging the implementation of new businesses here in the United States. We got America to energy independence by taking advantage of all of our sources of energy, which got us the necessary revenues to invest into the development of renewable energies. We made America the most competitive nation in the world economy by promoting free trade, which counter-balanced China's trade power, made us number one in auto production again and allowed U.S. businesses to make direct investments into foreign economies to produce goods at a lower cost in these environments.



We improved our education system through the promotion of school choice. We brought the American people together by passing immigration reform through the Opportunity Act that granted U.S. citizenship to immigrants across this country, granted the privilege to find a good-paying job, to have access to higher education and to accomplish the American Dream. Our policies created 12 million new jobs and brought our unemployment rate to 2.5 %, the lowest rate in 50 years.



We kept America and the whole world safe by rebuilding and modernizing our military, by strengthening and expanding our alliances, by restoring American leadership and by going after ISIS through the use of military force and through the provision of all the necessary military, material and intelligence support and all the military training our allies needed to fight terrorism. Our troops and our allies eliminated ISIS and Al Qaida in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Arabian peninsula and North Africa. We won the War in Afghanistan and we eliminated Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Ayman al-Zawahiri.



We restored democracy in Syria and are rebuilding this country in order to ensure its stability. These are all accomplishments that are finally leading us to victory in the War on Terror. And thanks to our military and diplomatic efforts, we got North Korea to denuclearize for the sake of global peace and stability.


We are better off than we were four years ago and there are several reasons to be optimistic about the future. Here's what we're going to do to make sure we'll be better still in the next four years. In a second term, I will balance the budget in order to get the necessary surpluses to invest into the development of renewable energies, of new infrastructures, to invest in education and to invest into the modernization of our military.



We're going to get America to full employment thanks to the promotion of free enterprise. By keeping America's status as the most powerful military in the world and by keeping our alliances strong, we will totally defeat radical Islamic terrorism and finally win the War on Terror. Thanks to the military and diplomatic efforts we gave in the last four years and to my foreign policy experience, we will get the world to a denuclearized North Korea and to a non-nuclear Iran. That's how we're going to restore peace through strength. As a result, we will make sure that our children and grandchildren will be the most prosperous generation of Americans that ever lived and can grow-up in a safe and peaceful world.

And that's why I'm asking for your vote in order to keep defending our values, to keep our nation prosperous, safe, free, great and united and to keep America strong. So on November 3, come out and vote in order to fight for your future, to preserve America's status as the hope of the world and to Keep America Strong.

Thank you God bless you all and God bless the United States of America.

Marco Rubio : I'm Marco Rubio and I approve this message.

[Consciously Unconscious]

I hope my earlier comment didn't seem rude.  I'm actually really enjoying this

[UWS]

I hope my earlier comment didn't seem rude.  I'm actually really enjoying this

No your comment was not rude at all, it was just an estimation.

And thank you.

[UWS]

CNN Countdown to Election Day 1st November 2020

Wolf Blitzer

Good Evening, History is about to be made again. In less than 48 Hours Voters all across America will choose if President Marco Rubio, the first Hispanic President gets another four years in the White House or if Senator Bernie Sanders, the Democrat who is running his second campaign after he lost his party's nomination in 2016 will occupy 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for the next four years. Welcome to our "CNN Countdown to Election Day Special". Covering it with me every step of the way is Anderson Cooper, Anderson...

Anderson Cooper

We'll have LIVE Coverage of the Campaign Rallys of President Rubio in Virginia Beach Virginia alongside Republican Senate Nominee Scott Taylor as well as Senator Sanders Campaign Event in Chicago, Illinois. During our Special we hope to speak with a Special Guest who will join us in the Studio, the "Keep America Strong" Marco Rubio Reelection Communications Director Alex Conant. But first right now we are going to release our Final CNN/ORC National Poll of Campaign 2020. For that we go to our Political Director David Chalian. David, tell us what you found out.

David Chalian

Lets get right into it.

Our Final CNN/ORC National Poll shows

Marco Rubio 60%
Bernie Sanders 38%
Undecided/3rd Party 2%

The Presidents Job Approval sits at...

63% Approve
32% Disapprove
5% Unsure

Where we really see a big Difference are the Favorable/Unfavorable Ratings from each of the two Presidential Candidates. Take a look at this:

Marco Rubio

65 % Favorable
33 % Unfavorable

Bernie Sanders

54 % Favorable
44 % Unfavorable

More Numbers will be released during the Hour especially how the Candidates fare on the Issues facing the Nation. With that I throw it back to Wolf.

Wolf Blitzer

I'm joined here in the Studio by two really saavy Analysts with Gloria Borger and Nia-Malika Henderson. What do you make of these Numbers?

Nia-Malika Henderson

Well, I think Republicans successfully portrayed Senator Sanders as an extremist on so many issues facing America like foreign policy, free trade, the economy, you name it. Also the Democratic nominee who has a more contentious Nomination has almost lower favorable/unfavorable numbers. The President's campaign strategists started to define Senator Sanders early almost the same way President Obama defined Mitt Romney in the 2012 Race although Romney was a much stronger candidate back then.

Gloria Borger

The President's numbers seem to me fairly stable. If we look back at the first polls pitting a Rubio vs Sanders race back in 2019 the numbers haven't gone much up or down in this race.

Wolf Blitzer

I see that President Rubio is about to take the stage in Virginia introduced by Republican Senate Nominee Scott Taylor so let's listen in here....

CNN AIRS PRESIDENT RUBIO'S CAMPAIGN EVENT IN VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA.

After the Campaign Event Michelle Kosinski reports from Virginia Beach:

 As you could see the President highlighted and reinforced his Accomplishments  especially on Foreign Policy, ISIS, the War on Terror, the victory in Afghanistan and the elimination of radical Islamic terrorism there. Back to you Wolf.

Wolf Blitzer

We'll take a short Commercial Break. When we come back from more numbers from our national poll as well as an Interview with Rubio's Cummunications Director Alex Conant.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Anderson Cooper
We're back from the CNN Election Center with our Countdown to Election Day Special. We've some more Numbers from our new National Poll so I toss it over to David Chalian again. David...

David Chalian

President Rubio is leading Senator Sanders on every major issue facing the Nation. His biggest lead is among Foreign Policy/ISIS/War on Terror where he leads Sanders by a whopping 80-20 margin. On Domestic Issues such as the Economy/Free Trade his lead goes down somewhat but it still a healthy 65-35 margin.

Wolf Blitzer
Joining us now in the Studio is the Communications Director for the "Keep America Strong" Campaign Alex Conant. Welcome...

Alex Conant

Good to be with you Wolf.

Wolf Blitzer
How do you feel?

Alex Conant

We're in a very strong postition. We're wrapped up campaign events in the past few days on the West Coast and we're very hopeful and cautiously optimistic we can win some of those traditional Democratic states. The President talked about his Accomplishments as well as how out of step Senator Sanders is with the American Public. The Positions he has taken are downright dangerous and would set us back for years.

Wolf Blitzer

Gloria, you seem to have a question for him! Go ahead...

Gloria Borger

Alex, at what point did you think California would be in play?

Alex Conant

Well, we always had some sort of Infrastructure in the state due to the Election of Senator Rice. We made the choice early on to invest in the west coast and see how it goes. It obviously became a real possibility once Senator Sanders wrapped up the Democratic Nomination at the DNC. We're not putting all the eggs in one basket though. I think we also have a decent chance winning some of the traditional Democratic east coast States like New Jersey, Delaware or Connecticut. President Rubio is a President for all Americans. We also feel good in Illinois although we didn't have a lot of campaign events there. Senator Kirk and former Governor Rauner are a great help.

Wolf Blitzer
Thanks for joining us here tonight Alex  and good luck to you and your Team on Tuesday. We'll going into another commercial break. When we come back we'll be LIVE with the Democratic Nominee in Chicago.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Wolf Blitzer
And we're back. Let's go straight to Senator Sanders Campaign Event in Chicago. Let's listen in...

CNN AIRS SENATOR SANDERS CAMPAIGN EVENT IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

After the Campaign Event Jeff Zeleny reports from Chicago:

Not a whole lot enthusiasmn here in the Land of Lincoln for Senator Sanders. Campaign ides telling me that the blame Game already started this weekend. Their goal apparently is now holding the President under 400 Electoral Votes. Back to you.

Wolf Blitzer

And that's a wrap up for our Countdown Special tonight. Join us on Tuesday at 6pm for Election Night in America.