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The U.S.-India partnership is vital to countering influences from Communist China. In order to strengthen this partnership, it is essential to enhance our strategic diplomatic, economic, and military relationship with New Delhi. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)...
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio joined the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss TikTok’s relationship with the Chinese Communist Party, the next round of small business relief, and more. See below for highlights and listen to the full interview here.
On TikTok as a national security threat:
“The problem with TikTok is it is owned by a company that is owned by a Chinese company, it’s called ByteDance. And these companies can be compelled to turn over data. When you go on this app and you post a video and you watch a video and register an account and all these other things, you are dumping all kinds of personal data about yourself, all kinds of stuff. They can then track your phone for the things you buy, where you go, etc, etc. And all of this can be controlled by a foreign government. That’s the biggest problem with TikTok– it’s relationship with the Chinese Communist Party, and that has to end.
“We have entered an era in which the personal data of [Americans], the places you go, the things you look at, the things you buy, the things you spend money on, all these things, that personal data is the most valuable commodity on earth and will be for the next hundred years. It’s what medicine is going to be based on, it’s what commerce is going to be based on, it’s what politics is going to be based on, it’s how you influence society, so this is a massive threat to our national security.”
On what comes next with the Paycheck Protection Program:
“Right now we’re caught in a vice between some who want to do all sorts of things that aren’t related to the pandemic, and others who feel we need to stop spending any money and just let the free market fix it. Here’s the problem: What we’re facing now is a national emergency, and in times of a national emergency the government has to play a greater role than it would in normal times. … [I]f we don’t act now there is going to be long-term structural damage to the economy that will make it almost impossible to get the debt under control.”
On the media’s coverage of President Trump:
“It’s become increasingly hard for many in the mainstream media to report on President Trump as a news item as opposed to activists. … All you need to do is turn on the cable television for five minutes and you’ll see it right away. … It’s all outrage media and then there is a personal tinge to it that has gone way over the top.”
On the Democratic Party’s agenda:
“Their reaction to the Trump Administration is far far left overreach in a number of directions. I think the filibuster is gone, most certainly. On the Supreme Court, they’ll look for efforts to add more justices to get the outcome they want. And I think there are some of these policy items … that without a filibuster these things could become reality very quickly.”
On Democrat’s policy toward China:
“The good news is that China is a bipartisan issue right now, but there are elements within the Democratic Party that will view anything that Trump has done [as] “we have to do the opposite,” which will naturally lead to retreat on a lot of these issues. It’s why I believe with all my heart that China wants to see Donald Trump lose the election.”
On Democrat’s policy toward Iran:
“They’ll return to the Iran nuclear deal, which is the number one item on the Iranian agenda … which provided them not just a way out of economic crisis, but billions of dollars that Iran wants to use to build conventional forces, continue to improve its long range missiles that will one day be able to threaten the United States.”
On Senator Susan Collins:
“I didn’t know Susan Collins before I came to the U.S. Senate and she is among the most serious, hard working people I’ve ever been around in any setting. She goes deep into every single issue. She spends the time on it. She’s never winging it. She knows a lot about a lot of different things. Maine is always on her mind. She knows every nook and cranny of the state, every issue, every small business interest there. Everything you can imagine, ferocious fighter for that. But I just don’t know anyone that works harder… If more senators took the time and spent time and focus the way she does, the country would have much better debates and much better public policy.”