On Monday evening, Florida Senator Marco Rubio announced his 2016 presidential campaign and delivered a speech outlining his platform. The event took place at the Freedom Tower in downtown Miami, which is significant for its symbolism to Cuban refugees.
Here is the full video of Rubio’s announcement speech:
Report from the AP:
Hoping to turn his youth into a benefit, Sen. Marco Rubio entered the presidential race Monday with a promise to move the nation beyond the politics of the past, a jab at both Democratic favorite Hillary Rodham Clinton and his one-time Republican mentor, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
Standing in front of a banner that proclaimed “A New American Century,” the 43-year-old Cuban-American used his first speech as a presidential candidate to take on two of America’s political dynasties. In doing so, he bet heavily on the electorate’s frustrations with Washington and his ability to change how his party is seen by voters.
“This election is not just about what laws we will pass,” he said Monday evening. “It is a generational choice about what kind of country we will be.”
He said it’s also a choice between the haves and have-nots, nodding to his own upbringing by working-class parents. “I live in an exceptional country where even the son of a bartender and a maid can have the same dreams and the same future as those who come from power and privilege.”
Rubio’s entrance now marks three major announced candidates on the Republican side.
