Rubio rejects criticism of his finances

by Ben Kamisar - 10/28/15 9:30 PM ET

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) pushed back against questions from a CNBC debate moderator Wednesday about whether he has the “maturity” to lead America’s economy after his own personal financial woes.

“You just listed a litany of discredited attacks from Democrats and my political opponents, and I’m not going to waste 60 seconds detailing them all,” Rubio shot back at moderator Becky Quick during the GOP presidential debate.

{mosads}Quick mentioned the fact that the lawmaker tapped into his retirement fund early and faced a foreclosure.

“I didn’t inherit any money. My dad was a bartender, my mother was a maid and they worked hard to provide us with a chance for a better life,” Rubio said.

“I had to work my way through school, I had to borrow money to go to school. Try telling my wife, early in my marriage, why someone named Sallie Mae was taking $1,000 out of our bank account every month.”

He added that he doesn’t believe his financial situation is an issue, but he’s “worried about the finances of everyday Americans.”

Rubio’s finances have been called into question before, specifically in a New York Times report from June with the headline: “Marco Rubio’s career bedeviled by financial struggles.”

Rubio allies slammed the piece, specifically noting that the $80,000 “luxury speedboat” noted in the piece was a modest fishing boat.

Tags Marco Rubio