by the way if i don't make it, i will become your senator reluctantly. if i were a good, strong republican from kentucky, i would run against him in a heartbeat and win because the people of kentucky are being used by rand paul. think of >> i work with a veterans advocacy group. mr. trump: good. did you hear that? it takes over three years to process one veterans claim. i think they have run out of competence. peopleve incompetent running it. it starts with our senators and

congressmen and our president. i run things properly. what i run runs properly. one of the things i will do is take care of our veterans. it is going to be very important. you are a perfect example. three years to process a claim that should take 24 hours? yes, ma'am. >> on a lighter note. marty walsh is a clown. i don't even know who he is. he spends all this time and effort and money on an olympic bid and then he goes out and talks about ice bucket challenges. get a real mayor. he came out and he was strongly against -- when we had the original problem, as you know, when i was totally misquoted. now, everyone has apologized to me. he said i don't like trump's statements. now, everyone is apologizing because i turned out to be right. you had beautiful kate in san francisco and many others, even

a few days ago, a 63-year-old woman -- a 66-year-old woman was raped, sodomized, and tortured by an illegal immigrant and they caught him. it's just disgraceful what is going on. i am so proud of it, i brought up -- and i took a lot of heat that first week, we can do half. now, so many people have apologized to me. it has become a mainstay of everybody's campaign. the problem is, they don't know what to do about it. i do. i know how to solve the problem and its roots with building a wall -- and it starts with building a wall. yes, sir. i don't think he said that. jeb bush said that on women's health issues, he won't fund them. are you ok? [laughter]

jeb bush said that on women's health issues, he won't fund them. whose phone was that? are you ready? jeb bush said that on women's health issues, he won't fund them. then he said, i misspoke, i am so sorry. i cherish women. women will be taken care of president trump then anyone else, republican or democrat. you can look at my company, i have many women executives. they may, in many cases, more money. -- make they are unbelievable executives. i think they are paid more. we are studying it right now. they are phenomenal. they are incredibly talented. years ago, in turgid major construction projects, i have had women in charge.

-- in charge of major should only dream about doing for women what i have done and what i will do. on the women's health issue, there will be nobody that are than donald trump. whatever it takes. yes, ma'am. bernie sanders has gained a lot of traction. for reallooking change. obama said they are looking for change and look what we got. we got change. that they are looking for something different than what they have. bernie sanders is not going to end up being the standard, but certainly he and i are giving -- getting the biggest crowds. we have 2500 people and a thousand people or more than that are standing outside

listening to microphones. and loudspeakers. crowds.had tremendous i had 15,000 in phoenix. every crowd is a record. out. crowd is totally sold he has done the same thing on the other side with a very different philosophy to put it mildly. >> [indiscernible] mr. trump: i built a net worth of more than $10 billion. i have been a world class business man. i have some of the great assets of the world. i don't say that in a braggadocio's way. that is the thinking that our country needs to take our jobs back from china and japan and mexico and clean up the border. speaking of mexico.

that's the kind of thinking we need to take back our jobs, bring back our money, our manufacturing. you take a look at china, what they had done. i have taken our money, jobs, base, manufacturing, and we owed them $1.4 trillion. that's like a magic act. they had taken everything and we owed them money. right now, china, $1.4 trillion. they get everything and we oh -- owe them money because we are led by people who don't have a clue here it i think we are led by stupid people. i don't think they are bad people. i think they are very stupid people. our leaders don't have a clue. they are incompetent. china is a great example. i met with carl icahn and i had dinner with him tonight to go. this, i am, if i do

going to put you in charge of china and i'm going to add in japan. you know what? everything is going to be just fine for us. we have people negotiating for us that have no idea what they are doing. they are not even business people. this, bush and hillary and all these people, they have a lot of money. they raise money from my friends, i used to be one of them. they are always there for me. but that is not good for the country. $114 milliond approximately. everybody that puts money up for , it's like he is a puppet. he is totally controlled by these people. jeb bush is controlled by the people that put up the money. so are the other candidates. i don't want money from people. other than small donations because i have so many people -- one woman sent seven dollars. i love that where they invest in my campaign.

i don't want that for the money, i want that because psychologically i think it's great. jeb bush has $114 million. what is he going to do with it? he will start hitting me with ads i guess. he has to because he is going down the tubes. there is no energy. when jed and hillary and all of these other candidates start spending money, remember this. that money was given by people that have total control over them. those people, many of whom i know very well, they don't care about him, about the color of his hair, they don't care anything about him. and they don't care about the country in many cases. they only want whatever they want and they will get plenty. yes, sir. >> we don't know who they are. mr. trump: they should release the names of the donors. i think we should be much more open.

if somebody contributes a lot of money, we should know who those people are. it's not a great decision for me and they are friends of mine. i am putting up my own money. here you have other people have money into other campaigns where they will have total control. 100%, katie, they will have control of those people that are running for office. one of the reasons i have done so well in the polls is because everyone knows i will not be controlled. i will do what's right for the country. no lobbyists. i know all of the lobbyists. they are very good. but when they give a million dollars or $5 million to jeb bush, they have total control over him. he will do whatever they say. with me, there is none of that. i love the idea of campaign financing. one of the things you should do is everybody should be known. if some but he gives a million or 2 million or 5 million, it

should be known. i will tell you, this nonsense have $100 where they million raised and they don't cordon it with the other people, i mean, bush puts his best friend in there. they are not a lot to talk. do you really believe that doesn't happen? they are not allowed to talk. they play golf on saturday, but they don't talk about the hundred million and where they are going to invest. come on. we are not babies. it is a shame. it is a disgrace. what i would like to see, if you put money up, you can put money into either or both here and do whatever you want. there has to be transparency. you have to know where the money is coming from and that would help. >> [indiscernible] would love to have the concept of a woman running with me is fabulous. it's too soon to say.

there is a lot of pressure on hillary right now. it has been brutal for her. ishink at some point, she perhaps not going to be able to run. she will have to and her campaign. that seems to be the thinking by so many. i was saying that two months ago wasn'tryone thought it right. it looks to me like what they have done -- this is top-secret stuff. petraeus's life was destroyed. with a tiny fraction of what she has done. it's very unfair to him if they are going to destroy him over doing by comparison nothing, i don't see how she can run. i think she has much bigger problems than running for office. yes, ma'am. how much longer? last question. we will do two more questions.

i don't think donations when people don't know who is donating are good. i think the concept that -- concept of donations, people should know who is contribute in. don't forget, while i am prince ,- friends with citizen united and i think the head is a great guy, that doesn't help because i'm spending my own money. on a personal basis, i don't love it. i think there should be better transparency and i think when the money comes in, you should be able to use it to do what you want because that is what they do anyway. everybody does it, unfortunately, not us, because i am not doing it. these candidates are doing it illegally because they are telling the people that are running the packs exactly what to do. if anybody thinks they are not, they are children. duty one doing jury monday morning. can you believe it? i knew you would ask me that question, candy.

in new york city. i don't know. it's one of the courts. i am looking forward to it. i think it's fun. thank you very much. i will see you. ride? iiving helicopter think so. i hope so, to the kids. thank you. >> mr. trump will join us momentarily. norma scrubbednd the facility has ever seen with an overflow capacity, thousands of people inside and out. crowdrmous

please welcome, the next president of the united states, trump.j. [applause] ♪ "try to believe when the going gets rough that you have to hang tough to make it history repeats itself never doubt that you are the one and you can have your dream." ♪ mr. trump: beautiful. so nice. [applause] they say we set a record tonight. [applause] i am going to make the people outside angry. they love me. i love them. we have over 1000 people outside. hundreds in the second auditorium. you people got the good real estate. [applause] this has been an amazing time.

i know it is very early. the polls have been through the roof. every one of them. [applause] because, i don't know if it is me or the message, or a combination, but i brought back a term that hasn't been used in a long time for the silent majority. there is a tremendous silent majority that politicians have taken advantage of. they have taken advantage of the people of this country long enough. largely incompetent except when it comes to getting reelected. that is what they do. i have contributed to everybody. who knows them better than me?

they are great at one thing. don't make waves, surf it out. get reelected again. i have been watching it for so many years. i personally am sick and tired of it. [applause] backstage i met some of the vets. the greatest people we have in this country. [applause] they have been mistreated. they have been treated like third class citizens. it is going to stop. [applause] you look at the senators and the congressmen. they ride around like kings. they think isn't that great? they make speeches. nothing happens. two weeks ago, they had the longest waits in reception rooms and reception areas in the

history of the veterans administration. people waiting three days, four days, five days to see a doctor. we are going to straighten that. it is called management. that is all it is. [applause] the military is going to be so strong in this country. [applause] nobody is going to mess around with the united states. that i can tell you. nobody. [applause] over the last few weeks, jeb bush -- [booing] in favor of common core, week on military.

but the iraq war was a good thing. i'm the most militaristic person in this room but you have to know when to use it. think about it. we spent $2 trillion in iraq. china is taking the oil. isis may have it and iran may have it but china is taking the oil. can you imagine? we never do anything right with china. we spent $2 trillion, thousands of lives of great people, mostly young, beautiful people, wounded warriors who i love all over the place, not treated properly by the way. [applause] and we have nothing. iran is taking over iraq.

the parts they want to give up, they are giving oil to isis. isis has the oil. you remember when i said you shouldn't go in. reuters wrote an article in 2004 that trump, don't go in. you're going to ruin the balance. iran and iraq were the same. twins. they have wars for years. one goes this way, one goes that way. if you take out one, the other is going to take over. we took out one and look at the mess we have. we have destabilized the middle east and it is a mess. [applause] jeb bush couldn't -- he didn't know the difference. he couldn't answer a question, was iraq a good thing or bad thing? finally after going to his pollster, after five days he

said it was a bad thing. that's ok. the other day i'm watching. he is saying we got saddam hussein out, didn't we? i'm not a fan of saddam hussein, but he ran the place, and he had no weapons of mass destruction. now instead of saddam hussein we are far more brutal. we have isis. we will have iran. they are making deals. the leaders of iraq are visiting the leaders of iran. what do we get out of this? we have stupid leadership. [applause] i didn't to want to go in but i was right. it was bad.

at some point we have to go out. we have to rebuild this country. we have to rebuild our country. we have to. our bridges are falling apart. our roads are a mess. our schools, our highways. everything. who is better at infrastructure than trump? [applause] they talked about the surge. bush's brother said the war is over. two days later the was a disaster. obama said that with yemen. he announced yemen was a victory. then three months later it was a disaster. we don't have yemen.

we don't have anything. we send over to our allies, if you call them that, there's no word for them. iraq isn't a country. it is a corrupt people that string something together. it is not a country. we send over to our allies 2500 humvees. so when i heard 2500 i thought it was a typo in the new york times. they mean 25. they mean 2.5. they mean 250, maybe. 2500 humvees, armor plated. when the bombs go off you don't lose your legs and your life in your arms. great vehicles. one shot is fired and these guys run away and the enemy picks up 2500. think of it. we need the right thinking.

i said, what a terrible statement he made because when we had to leave, you can talk about surging but at some point we have to leave, we can't stay there forever. we would loosen up these rules. we have so much oil under our own feet we don't need them for those things because of new technologies. [applause] so, we leave and i say leave but take the oil. did anyone ever hear me say that? take the oil. i watch these guys on television, political people, many of them with the administration. i think they mean well. they don't have a clue. they say isn't that silly? he says take the oil. you know where is the oil now? iran and isis. everybody has it but us.

[laughter] it is hard to believe. we need general douglas macarthur. i thought he was great. the highest academic. i went to a really good school, you had to be smart to get in. that was before i was trump. but you have to be really smart. that is the hardest one. even then, by the way. general douglas macarthur to this day was the greatest

students in the history of west point plus he had the look, he had the whole deal. he was a general. i don't see it now so much. i don't want to knock the generals but i see some of these guys. can we defeat isis? i don't think so. i don't want to use names. [laughter] then you have general george patton. [applause] do you think general patton, when president obama said we were going to attack a certain city and he said in two weeks we are going to attack this city, and we're going to attack from the front, and we want to use drones. the enemy is saying -- it is brutal. it turned out to be a brutal situation. i said that is great. that is camouflage. what a smart thing he is doing. he is probably going to do the opposite. it was the craziest thing i've ever seen.

something that should have taken 24 hours, it was months. i wonder what general macarthur and general patton are doing now in their graves? spinning. saying i don't believe it. i don't believe it. we have such a great country but we have gone down so far. china yesterday, i'm big in the world of financial, cnn did a poll, i was through the roof on the economy.

i have to be accurate because otherwise they will have a front page story that i was false. i was many times over number two. it is a pretty important subject. leadership. i killed everybody on leadership. i did great on the military. i think the military would be just as good as the economic for me personally. these poor people. i would be creating things that nobody would be playing with us. nobody. nobody. [applause] i don't necessarily mean soldiers. we love our soldiers but i mean, we have weaponry that is obsolete. nuclear weapons. 60 minutes does a show, they show how bad a condition our nuclear weapons are in. did anybody see that? can you -- even if it is true, we are putting this for the world to see. the reason they did that is the president wanted the press to

see how weak our nuclear capabilities were. the telephones don't work. they have wires. the wires were rotting. to work the telephones, the silos were rusting and rotting. the kids said we don't know if they work. great. [laughter] they are screaming over the phone because the wires are so damaged and old. this is our nuclear. assuming it is true, who the hell would show that to the enemy? the reason he did was because he wants funding. we have to get smart people, tough people. china. they did the largest devaluation in the history of china.

they think the history but they say only the last two decades. now i feel better. they brought it down to two decades. in other words, 20 years. ok. what that means is, you hear the sucking sound. jobs. that means money. that means all of this coming out. they did a number on us. when they did the last one which wasn't long ago, it was a much more modest devaluation, i said i can't believe obama is allowing this to happen. we have all the cards. i told the press it is the greatest theft in the history of the united states, what china has done. we have rebuilt china. our money has rebuilt china. [applause]

you go over to china, bridges are being built all over the place that make the george washington bridge and other bridges look small. i am not using the george washington bridge for political purposes. i wouldn't do that. it makes it look small time. they are building massive highways, massive roads. i was in dubai. great place, they have an airport, it is like magic. the most incredible thing you have ever seen. you go to qatar, you go to all these places. we land at laguardia or kennedy where they have hangers that are

falling down, rotting and rusting. it is such a shock. we go to kennedy. you get used to things. when your house gets dirty. falling down, rotting and rusting. these airlines are so bad, these airlines are so sad. you look at the age of our infrastructure. look at all of the different things. even the airplanes. qatar -- they like qatar. they asked me to go to a dinner and i said i can't. they said we will pay you a lot of money. it was a lot of money to have a dinner.

like a tremendous amount of money. i said i'll go. [laughter] you have to understand. you can be really rich, but if money. i said i'll go. [laughter] you're going to get hundreds of thousands of dollars to have a dinner two blocks from your house and you don't do it it is time to retire. do you agree? i went. it was so amazing. i said to the head man of the airline, what is the average age of your planes? he said about a year and a half. you're going to get hundreds of the average age of some of our airlines, 32 years. 15 years, 28 years. and you see it. i said, how do you finance your planes? he looked at me like, finance? we don't finance. we pay cash.

saudi arabia. i was impressed. it wasn't a question. when i went to qatar, i went into an airline terminal that was the most beautiful terminal i have ever seen. the most magnificent. they had lounges, they had spas. before you get on the plane, you can get a massage. i'm not into that though. i don't like people touching me. [laughter] it's true. they have these magnificent the average age of some of our spas. i said, this is the most beautiful airline terminal i've ever seen. he said, no. this is temporary. our new one is being built over i said, this is the most

there. there must have been 40 cranes. this was a teardown. we are doing it wrong. saudi arabia, i have good relationships with saudi arabia as i do with mexico, as i do with everybody. they pay millions of dollars. am i supposed to dislike them? china. i sell apartments for $50 million. some of the cheap ones are $10 million. i don't even bother to sign those contracts. i get it from saudi arabia. from japan. from everybody. i love these people. the problem is mexico, i love the mexican people. they have tremendous spirit. when i opened, trump has taken more income than any human being i've ever seen.

the press changed my statement. they used half a sentence. it turned out i was right. i was talking about illegal immigration. it turned out that i was right. when you look at saudi arabia, when you look at mexico -- they are taking over. nabisco is closing a factory in chicago. they are moving to mexico. this big factory. 1200 jobs going to be lost in chicago. no more oreos. i don't like oreos anymore. they announced. they are doing other things.

it is great. mexico. if you can get away with it it is great. i have such respect for the leaders of mexico and their negotiators. i don't dislike them. the biggest bank in the world is a tenant in one of my buildings. it is an incredible bank. citibank is a tiny subsidiaryth. compared to it. i never have to worry about the rent. i love these people. apartments. with mexico, i have hired thousands over the years, thousands from mexico and lots of other places. the problem is, their leaders are smarter and sharper, and more cunning. they are much more cunning. the word cunning is important. they know what is going on. they are whipping us left and right. all of these countries. i could mention 100. we don't make good deals anymore. one of our great dealmakers, carl icahn.

i had dinner with him and said carl, if i do this, and i'm doing well, are we leading in every single poll? [applause] and it is the talk of politics. it is a great honor. we have to get there. doing well, are we leading in i was called by one of the biggest journalists in the world. he said, mr. trump, could i ask you a question? how does it feel? how does what feel? he said you have done something that nobody else has ever done. you have taken over television, the airways. it is the summer of trump. they are calling it the summer of trump. [applause]

this is a highly-respected guy. i said i haven't done anything. i haven't won. it starts with winning the this is a highly-respected guy. primaries then going on and winning. i consider it a waste of time. he said, you are wrong. you have done a great thing. i won't be happy. but we are all doing well. think of this. if you look at saudi arabia, and they make a billion dollars a day. a billion dollars a day. ok. when they have a problem we send over ships and planes. i don't mind doing that. they have to help us out. they have nothing but money. they are wonderful. i love their investing in the they have to help us out.

united states. i love their investing in new york. they have to help us. we are a debtor nation. we owe $19 trillion. we have massive unfunded liabilities. we are a nation that is in serious trouble and it is going up rapidly. obamacare is a disaster. a catastrophe. [applause] united states. it has got to be repealed and replaced. your premiums. they have gone up. your deductibles are through the roof. unless you're hit by a tractor. it is true. the reason i mention tractors, japan has a great leader. they have gone up. your deductibles are through the roof. unless you're hit by a tractor. abe. our negotiator is carolyn kennedy. she got the job by going into the white house and saying i have nothing to do. she's a nice person. my daughter likes her.

my daughter is great. my daughter likes her. she said she is a nice person. abe. we are tired of the nice people. mr. trump, a woman who was a fan, i don't know if you have the personality to get elected. you are not a nice person. actually i am a nice person. i love helping people. you watch. i will help on women's health issues more than anybody, including the democratic side. you watch. you watch. bush said, i don't want to fund women's health issues. that is worse than romney's 47% which is probably why he lost the election. he forgot to go on television for three weeks.

we have to do something, and we have to do it fast. that is worse than romney's 47% if we don't do it fast, we are not going to have a country. speaking of that, speaking of that, i have a great review on a speech the other night. he speaks through his applause. i don't have time to wait for the applause. i want to just do it. he said he's a great speaker. he does beautifully. he is not scripted. supposing i was reading this stuff with the teleprompters. if you're running for president you should not be allowed to use a teleprompter. it is true. [applause] it is so easy. you walk up, ladies and gentlemen, hello. [laughter] [applause] no, no.

you should not be allowed. you don't know what you're going to get. obama is a teleprompter guy. it is true. you don't want a scripted president. it is true. you don't want a politically-correct president. it takes too much. [applause] it takes too much time. it is true. it is true. you don't want this political correctness. there is a certain college. they don't want you to differentiate between a man and a woman. you heard about this one. i'm gone. that is too much. the things that are happening are crazy.

you have probably heard about the debate we just had recently. if i were politically correct during that debate i would have gotten clobbered. we won the debate. after the debate all the poll numbers went up was that a howl of the time? was that incredible? that debate has always had 2 million people. the first debate every four years. 24 million people. probably going to go up higher when the final numbers come in. do you think they were there for jeb bush or rand paul? rand, i've had you up to here. it is funny. rand paul -- sit down.

i will ask you a question. that is ok. i have seen his face before. what am i going to do, not take his question? wait. he has been hitting me because his polls are going down. he is weak on military. can you imagine today being weak on military? now he has become worse than me. he has become this total hawk. that is good. rand paul is weak on the military. he is weak on immigration. he has no numbers. all of a sudden i see him. he called me up and said -- he wants to play a round of golf. don't tell me. i'm a good golfer. i killed him. if i didn't i wouldn't say it.

he said to you think you could do me a favor. could you contribute to my eye center? i said what do you do. i just gave him a lot of money. all of a sudden i see him chirping on the stage. who is that over there, that person? who is he? now he is going around saying bad things. whatever. the beauty is this. nobody ever attacked me like senator lindsey graham. he went from 1% to nothing. [applause] he called me up and said -- he it is true.

nobody ever attacked me like

we will make great trade deals. we will save social security without cuts. we will come up with health care plans that will be phenomenal, phenomenal. that will be less expensive. we have to get rid of the artificial circles.

i call them the insurance company circles. you know what i mean. we have to get rid of the artificial circles wrapping around the states all paid for by your local insurance companies. because what he is going to do is if i win and when one of his companies has a problem, i'm going to do what is right for the people of the country. [applause] i'm not going to do what is right for him and his people. so you have the special interest people and you have the donors. i will tell you nobody is going to control us.

we are going to work this together and make it so strong and so great. i use the concept of the ford plant built in mexico. we want it built in michigan. we want it built in new hampshire. we want it built in iowa. how does it help us? how does it help us? you go to the great business schools and you do really well and then you come home and say, let's figure this out. they're going to spend $2.5 billion building a plant in mexico. they're going to make cars, trucks and parts and ship it back to the united states. how does that help us? we get no tax. so, when jeb becomes president, if that ever happens, or when hillary, if that ever happens, or when -- [crowd booing] hey, it can happen, folks. you go to the great business schools and you do really well i think it is unlikely but if jeb became president, when they say mr. president, it is very bad that ford is building in mexico.

ok, we will do something. let me go to sleep first. we will do something about it. as soon as he says we will do something, he is not stupid. the lobbyists will call him. they gave them some of this $114 million. and the special interest. we have stock in ford. we want ford to do what they want. and the lobbyists will go up to him and say, mr. president, you cannot do this. these people gave you $2.5 million. that's right. and they will build happily and they will have a nice plant and we will lose thousands of jobs. terrible. what i say is different. they will call me too, but i would not even take their call. some of them are actually nice guys. i'll say no. by the way, i hope the press calls carl icahn. he's wealthy. they all want to do it.

a guy like carl icahn is worth many billions of dollars. he wants to do it. it's more important to him -- he does not know -- how many deals can you do? the great deal is this country. we have to make this country rich. and then we have got to make it great. [applause] and i said the same thing to others. they come up to trump, i would not call any of these guys because they are too easy. many billions of dollars. he wants to do it. it's more important to him -- he does not know -- how many deals can you do? the great deal is this country. he calls me up, mr. president, we really want to build this plant to mexico. i said, congratulations but you're not going to do it. that's ok. that we are going to charge you a 35% tax on every car and truck and part that comes into our country. every single one. 35%. he says, you cannot do that.

trust me. i can do it. what happens is probably they fold before 5:00. it could be they will play tough and wait until the next day. i say they fold before 5:00. the reason i would not waste the time of the killers i told you about, the great negotiators, because this is too easy. this is a couple of phone calls. so, what happens now is the next day they will call up. and they will say, please. i say, no, i want you building in the united states. that is the way it is. and they will say, mr. president, we are building our plant in the united states. it's that simple. it's that simple. who would let nabisco -- nabisco -- let nabisco go to mexico? who would let these car companies -- in tennessee, they were expecting a great deal with a major foreign car company. built in tennessee. -- let nabisco go to mexico? who would let these car

going to be built in tennessee. going to be a great deal. at the last moment, they announced they are not going to do it in tennessee. they will do it in mexico. who would allow that to happen? >> obama. mr. trump: you are right about that. it will not happen with trump. believe me. with trump, it won't happen. this guy -- i hope this question is worth it. this guy has been standing up going to be built in tennessee. for the entire thing. i hope it will be a good question. go ahead. >> 30 years, i've had threats on my life -- and fox hasn't touched this. i have been in touch with kelly, too. mr. trump: come on. got to go. go ahead. >> there's counterfeit substandard parts and most of the nuclear plants -- mr. trump: in nuclear plants in the united states. i'm not surprised to hear that. >> and some of them have come from china.

when i brought this out the nrc, nuclear regulatory commission, accused me of conspiring to topple their agency, had me in federal court for six years. now, right now you could do something for the state of massachusetts and new hampshire. i just got back from chattanooga, too. for the entire thing. marines there. the security -- mr. trump: did i do the right thing? by the way, he happens to be right. you do not even have to tell me. i guarantee you that they have substandard parts in nuclear and airplanes, because they get them from china. what you get from china, you do not know what the hell you are getting. finish your question fast.

>> the security booth at the seabrook nuclear plant is empty now and the nrc said it is not required. ok? now, i got involved because i am in the nursing home profession. mr. trump: i got to go. >> wait a minute. let me finish this. mr. trump: i think your question is great. he is talking about counterfeit parts, to cut to the chase. we do not have to know that you are in the nursing home business. are you trying to talk to some of us about joining your home? we think your point is good. give it to him. good. i'll read it tonight around 1:00 in the morning instead of sleeping. it's good. go, sit. come on, come on. let's go. what a nice guy, right? hey, he means well. honestly, he means well. you do. stand up. you stand up. this guy i love. tell me, how bad are the vets being treated? >> you understand. way worse than we understand. over 8000 veterans a year that cannot get access to care.

let me put this in context. 8000 veterans are committing suicide because of the incompetence and the corruption going on in the v.a. system. those are just the ones committing suicide. put this in context, that is the equivalent of a world war ii baton death march every year. mr. trump: thank you so much. this is unbelievable. >> 47,000 veterans -- for all kinds of other reasons. no one is being indicted. no one is going to jail. they have been proven to cover it up. the head of it just lost his job recently. when you are president, can i have your word that you will bring in the fbi and start investigating this v.a.? [applause] mr. trump: it can't be. great question. it cannot be just incompetence.

because it is so bad what is happening to the vets and the v.a. it is so bad that it cannot be just incompetence. it is got to be theft and a lot more than what we are hearing about. so i would do that. thank you. [applause] go ahead. come on. >> i have to fight for this because my son is an active duty gunny sergeant in the marine corps. i will not let him walk into this nightmare like i did. mr. trump: ok. i love it. thank you. [applause] go ahead. let's take. who wants to leave? does anybody want to leave? >> no! mr. trump: i have all night. let's take a couple of questions. >> do you think you can fire some of these federal employees at the v.a.? mr. trump: ok. mr. trump: how about the epa? how about our common core folks in washington? how about common core in

washington? right. good question. yes, sir. here. >> i'm a nasa space technology research fellow at the massachusetts institute of technology. mr. trump: my uncle was a professor at mit. >> and harvard medical school. and i am a graduate of winnacunnet -- mr. trump: he is a smart guy. go ahead. >> when you announced you were going to run for president you said that america needs the trees again. -- victories again. mr. trump: we have no victories. when did we beat somebody in trade? we do not beat anybody. >> in my industry -- mr. trump: we are going to have so many victories -- you watch. go ahead. >> in my industry, one of my biggest victories was putting a

man on the moon. what do you think about putting humans on mars? mr. trump: honestly, i think it is wonderful. i want to rebuild our infrastructure first. i think it is wonderful. go ahead. yeah? go ahead. wait for that mic. go ahead. just shout. >> i have been a caregiver for 10 years. my husband has alzheimer's. my mother has alzheimer's disease. my husband has alzheimer's disease. it receives $600 million from nih, while we are spending $153 billion in medicare and medicaid. what will you do to ensure that this devastating disease is a top priority? mr. trump: i have so many friends whose family is

devastated by alzheimer's. we can get an answer. there are some answers. we've made less progress the with hope. yes, ma'am. yes? >> [indiscernible] i wondered you might speak from the heart and tell us what is your stance? mr. trump: the people. honestly, i have had such a great response. somebody, one of my friends, thank you. one of my friends was asking me what was it like? i have been here a lot. we have done so many town halls and so different meetings. we are having so many people we need -- which worked out well.

i am going to go see the other auditory where they did not have the great real estate. i'm going to see the people outside that are waiting to see us. [applause] but the people of new hampshire are amazing. they're like the people that built this country. they work hard. they are smart, industrious, and they love this country. they want to see it happen. they are great people. i was so honored, because recently everybody said that a walker would win iowa. and bush, who's falling like a stone, because he's -- kennebunkport? tell me is that really so -- that is from a different planet, right? i do not get it. but they said bush he's being down big. and walker, you have to remember i was so honored, because recently everybody said that a walker would win iowa. and bush, who's falling like a walker grew up a little in iowa. became the governor of the adjoining state. they have massive deficits. they have very poor employment,

new jobs. they have a lot of dissension. a lot of problems in wisconsin which is a state i love. but they have a lot of promise with her education. and with their debt. they are putting up tremendous debt. i was very nice to walker. i gave him money for his campaign. i get to anybody. i give a lot of money. he came up to see me six month ago. he gave me a plaque. you need some money? [laughter] but he gave me a plaque. it was very nice. and then i was very nice to him. i cannot be mean to someone -- there are couple of guys running that have been so nice to me. i want to. one of his underlings said walker grew up a little in iowa. something nasty about me. i said, finally i can talk about wisconsin. it was so good. he plunged in iowa. and i am leading iowa big. we are leading new hampshire big. you know, we are leading nevada big. what i loved about nevada. they did a second part at the poll.

it came out last week. everybody was in shock. i was not because i will bring jobs back into this country. i was leading all candidates in the hispanic vote. everybody was surprised. why? i employ thousands and thousands of hispanics. they are amazing people but people were surprised to see that. north carolina we are leading by massive numbers. south carolina. we are leading everywhere. something nasty about me. a poll came out 32% nationwide. another one 24%, fox. people are tired of what is happening to our country. they are tired of being ripped off by everybody in the world. they are tired of it. you know -- [applause] the american dream, we talk about it. and i use the expression a lot -- the american dream. look at all those cameras blazing back there. this is live all over the place. on fox, on cnn. i get up and i speak from the heart.

i really do. look, there is nothing. i speak from the heart. but -- but a big portion, not all of it, but a big portion of the media, the political media is so dishonest. they are really dishonest people. you probably heard me say i always say i like to say the american dream is dead but i'm going to make it bigger and better and stronger than ever before, ok? i say it all the time. the american dream is dead but i'm going to make a bigger, better, stronger. so i go home a month ago. my wife saw me speaking on television. and she said, darling, that was such a horrible thing you said. it was so nasty. i said, what did i say? you said the american dream is dead. i said it is dead, but we are going to make it great. so i turn on television. i turn on television and i see it. it says, the american dream is dead.

period. i said, that is terrible. it is dishonest. but the fact is, a lot of people think it is dead. and it has got a lot of problems, no question about it. but we are going to make our country great again. we are going to do things with our country -- [applause] that are going to be so good and so smart and so spectacular. and we going to be respected by the world again and not laughed at like we are all a bunch of stupid people. it is not going to go on any longer. we are not going to take it any longer. we are going to make america great again. thank you, and i love you, people. i love you people. thank you. thank you very much. thank you, thank you. thank you. ♪ >> ♪ we're not gonna take it no, we ain't gonna take it we're not gonna take it anymore

♪ ♪ we're not gonna take it it is not going to go on any no, we ain't gonna take it we're not gonna take it anymore ♪ [inaudible conversations] ♪

mr. trump: was that good? >> think about the unions. mr. trump: i will. >> thank you. >> you're great. mr. trump: thank you. ♪ >> good luck. [inaudible conversations] ♪ mr. trump: i love you! >> thank you. >> love you. mr. trump: i love you. >> five years of the clinton

white house, i worked there. ♪ mr. trump: i will. [inaudible] ♪ >> former minnesota governor and 2012 presidential candidate tim pawlenty is our guest. he is the ceo of the financial

services roundtable. he talked about key issues facing the banking and credit card industry. 2016so discusses this presidential debate. watch the interview sunday on c-span. night, institute for policy studies fellow and mennis activist phillip on the war on terrorism. >> who is isis? why are they so violent? all those questions are important and i address it in the book. what is more important, is something we can do something about, is what is the u.s. policy regarding isis? why is it not working? can we really go to war against terrorism?/ ar we doing the war wrong or is

it wrong to say there is a war at all? those are the kinds of questions that would be the most important and useful. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern and pacific on c-span's q&a. senator and republican presidential marco rubio spoke today about national security and foreign affairs at an event hosted by the foreign-policy initiative in new york city. topics included the iran nuclear agreement and u.s. relations with cuba. this comes as part of c-span's road to the white house coverage . it is 50 minutes. [background noise]

>> good morning. my name is chris griffin. i am the executive director of the foreign-policy initiative. team, it of the entire tomy pleasure to welcome you our event -- restoring american leadership, a conversation with senator marco rubio. i ask you at this time to make sure your phones are turned off or muted so we can get our event started. the foreign-policy initiative was established in 2009 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan to our event -- restoring american leadership, a conversation organization committed to educating policymakers, opinion leaders, and the public about the importance of continued american engagement and leadership in world affairs. the importance of standing up for democratic allies, standing

up against world regimes that threaten them. from owning human rights for those oppressed by their government, and maintaining a strong defense and open economy. it's an honor to be joined this morning by senator rubio for a conversation about these ideas and how to effectively promote them. before we get started, i want to take a moment and thank the many members of our leadership network. these are the alumni. [applause] these are the alumni from our programs in washington, d.c. and new york. i invite you to chat with me and members of that network or any member of our staff. on october 1, we have a forum where we will be continuing this kind of conversation with other national security leaders. senator marco rubio is well known to this audience. elected in 2010 to represent the state of florida in the u.s. senate, his duties in that body

include service on the senate committee on foreign relations and the select committee on intelligence. he is chairman of the subcommittee of the western hemisphere foreign relations committee. before his election to the senate, he served the state of organization committed to florida and from 2005 to 2009 was the speaker of that body. after his remarks, he will be joined on stage by kathleen mcfarland. she will hold a conversation with the senator before moderating your questions for him. you should find on your tables index cards and pens. we will ask as we look forward to that portion of the conversation that you write any questions you may have on those cards. if you could put a one word or two word topic at the top to get them sorted. ms. mcfarland is fox news national security analyst.

[applause] she is also the anchor of "defcon 3" on foxnews.com. her service in government spanned three administrations. she was awarded the defense department's highest award for her service in the reagan administration. i thank her for serving as our moderator today and ask all of you to please join me in welcoming senator rubio. [applause] mr. rubio: thank you very much. i am honored to be here at the foreign-policy initiative again. thank you very much for this opportunity. as we gather here today, there are two historic events in progress. the first is the arrival of john kerry in cuba. the second is president obama's continued campaign to secure congressional approval for his deal with iran.

numerous crises around the globe will require the attention of america's next president, i would like to focus my remarks today on these two dangerous developments with iran and cuba, because i believe they represent the convergence of nearly every flawed strategic moral that has driven president obama's foreign policy and as such, are emblematic of so many crises around the world during his time in office. these deals demonstrate how this administration has failed to anticipate impending crises, ignore the realities of the globalized economy, and stopped to make america liked rather than respected. the way it has placed politics before policy and adversaries before allies and political legacy before leadership. the way it has confused weakness for restraint, concessions for compromise, and most simply of

all, wrong for right. before policy and adversaries [applause] to fully understand what we are dealing with, we have to understand who we are dealing with. in iran, we are facing a radical shia cleric who wish to one day unite the world under islam. their version of islam. and believe it will only happen after a cataclysmic showdown with the west. leaders who have been directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of americans in the last decade. we face a proudly anti-america leadership in cuba. who harbor fugitives from american justice, and who stand in opposition to nearly every

value our nation holds dear. by violating the basic human rights of their own people, by preventing democratic elections, and by depriving their nation's economy of freedom and opportunity. the world has missed having an american president who speaks honestly about the world in which we live. in the eyes of barack obama and hillary clinton, the cuban people are suffering because not enough americans visit the country. they are suffering because they live under a tyrannical leadership. they are silent about the fact that minor offenses in iran and cuba are punishable by indefinite detention, torture, or even death, and these offenses also include nothing more than speaking out with the wrong political opinion.

instead of focusing his criticism on these illegitimate governments, the president has chosen to attack opponents of his policies here at home, going so far as to demonize critics of the iran policy as "lobbyists with money and warmongers." he has criticized those who are opposed to his cuba policy as "practictioner." this is derogatory rhetoric and it should have no place in our democracy, especially from our president. [applause] centuries of global affairs tell us that the best way to affect an outcome with volatile leaders is through strength and for example. while the worst is the weakness and concession. yet, weakness and concession are the preferred tools of this administration. president obama has not only permitted iran to retain its entire existing nuclear

infrastructure, he has also endorsed the construction of a full-scale industrial sized nuclear program within 15 years. he has conceded a vast enrichment capacity, preserved iran's fortified underground facilities, and failed to secure anytime, anywhere inspection. he has virtually guaranteed iran becomes a regional power with the ability to build long-range missiles capable of hitting the united states homeland. on top of all of this, he wants to hand iran $100 billion in sanctions relief which will be used in part to fund hamas and hezbollah, promote instability in bahrain and yemen, and prop up syria. he has given all of this away without any commitment that iran will end its support for terrorism, except israel's right to exist or return a single american hostage. in short, the deal with iran isn't a deal at all.

it is a string of concessions to a sworn adversary of the united states. the negotiations with cuba have proven equally one-sided. president obama has rewarded the castro regime for its oppressive tactics and its persistent opposition to american interests. he has unilaterally given up on a half-century worth of policy towards the castro regime that was agreed upon by presidents of both parties. he has ensured the regime will receive international legitimacy and a substantial economic boost to benefit its repression of the cuban people, which has only increased since the new policy was announced. as a symbol of just how backwards this policy has turned out to be, not a single cuban dissident has been invited to today's official flag raising backwards this policy has turned cuban dissidents have fought for

decades for the very democratic principles president obama claims to be advancing through these concessions. their exclusion from this event has ensured it will be little ceremony at the new u.s. embassy in havana. more than a propaganda rally for the castro regime. i will make this pledge here now. as president, as a symbol of our solidarity between my administration and those who strive for freedom around the world, i will invite cuban dissidents, iranian dissidents, chinese dissidents, and freedom fighters from all around the world to be honored guests at my inauguration. [applause] our current president has made no such effort to stand on the side of freedom. he has been quick to deal with the oppressors, but slow to deal with the oppressed. and his excuses are paper thin. he has made the argument that if

the embargo hasn't worked for 50 years, why shouldn't we try something new? my question is, why hasn't he made a similar argument for the castro regime? for over 50 years, they have tried tyranny and communism and it has worked either. the cuban people have a standard of living well below that of virtually every other nation in the hemisphere. he has also made the claim that the people of cuba do not have access to 21st-century technology because of the u.s. embargo. this is patently false. they don't have access because the castro regime has made this technology illegal. the notion that the cuban people will be allowed freedom of speech and freedom of information now that president obama has made concessions to the very government denying them these rights is complete fiction. the concessions to iran and cuba both endanger our nation. [applause] here is how.

the deal with cuba threatens america's moral standing in our hemisphere and around the world. it brings legitimacy to a state-sponsor of terror and further empowers an ally of china and russia that sits just 90 miles from our shores. if the effort to stop the iran deal in the senate fails, the threat posed will truly be historic. a nuclear arms race will likely overtake the middle east, and the national security stakes of the election before us will become higher than any election since the end of the cold war. it is important to note that hillary clinton not only supports these two deals, but she now brags about her instrumental role in bringing them to fruition. the fact of the matter is, hillary clinton will not overturn these deals as president. i will. [applause] beginning on day one, i will undertake a three-part plan to

roll back president obama's deal with iran and repair the damage done to america's standing in the middle east. first, i will quickly reimpose sanctions on iran. i will give them a choice, either you have an economy, or you have a nuclear enrichment program, but you cannot have both. i will also ask congress to pass new measures that target human rights abusers and iran's leaders involved in financing and overseeing iran's sponsorship of terrorism. [applause] second, i will ensure our forces in the middle east have position to signal readiness. this will be bolstered by my administration's efforts to rebuild our military by ending the sequestration once and for all. [applause] third, after imposing crippling sanctions on iran, i will link any talk to iran's

insist aonduct, i will deal must terminate their nuclear program. iran will never be allowed to build a nuclear weapon not now, not decades from now. [applause] that would be my policy for iran. no room for manipulation a note -- and no room for cheating. some would say there would be no room for negotiation. but history proves otherwise. iran may not return to the table immediately, but it will return. when its national interests require it to do so. i will also undertake an equally bold plan to roll back president obama's concessions to the castro regime. first, -- thank you very much. first, on day one, i will give

the castros a choice. either continue repressing their people and lose the democratic stipulations or received increased u.s. investment and support. second, i will restore cuba on the list of state-sponsored terrorism. helping north korea a date -- evade sanctions and harboring fugitives. third, i will do everything in our power to provide support both direct and moral to cuba's pro-democracy movement, provide access to uncensored information for the people, and deprive the castro regime of the funding for its suppressed security state. [applause] these are the actions required to restore the safety and security president obama has cost us through his diplomacy of

you must prevent iran from getting a nuclear weapon. and we must guarantee that the united states stands on the side of the cuban people, not the side of their oppressors. but we also know that the straightforward, is not based in for easy. confronting these challenges and the many challenges we face around the world will require what has always been required. leadership. principal leadership. based on strategy and security, not politics or legacy. that is what i intend to offer our nation and the world in the years ahead. thank you for having me today and i look forward to answering your questions. [applause]

>> i am the mother and grandmother of five. i will give senator rubio his water. thank you. now the hard part. you have talked very eloquently about what you would do now. let's fast-forward to win you are president, if you become president, we have already established relations with the american flag flying over havana and you have said you would roll back the relationship. how realistic is that? 18 months from now, the u.s. will have business interest, contracts, major american companies that will have already started building hotels and tourist trade and investments.

how do you undo all that? >> i don't think that is what's going to happen. there is no such thing as the cuban economy. when we talk about the economy, we talk about our own. there is the gaesa. it is run by the cuban military. telecommunications, rent cars, gas stations. every major industry is owned or operated by a company held within this larger company. when you open up to the cuban economy, you open up to this holding company run by raul castro's son-in-law. so what american companies will find it cuba, they will find a government that says we will let you fly a flag in a hotel under your name but it belongs to us. the workers work for us and you have no real ownership stake other than 20%.

and there are no contract second -- contract rights. i don't think it will be as quick as people think. the initial bump his travel and remittances. some minor investments but not major investments. i am in favor of any policy that brings about change in cuba. i will tell you today that what the president had done had been in exchange for concrete promises by the cuban government. we will begin to do this and that. i would be uncomfortable with elements of the deal but it would be harder to argue against. understand this arrangement. we are going to do all these things with cuba. we will open up all these things we're willing to do with cuba. cuba says, thank you very much. we still want you to pay reparations and we're not going to change a single thing. they have said that to their own people. they have rounded up over 90 dissidents, some of them wearing

barack obama masks. if they want to continue down this path, there had better be some action on the part of the cuban government. or will we not -- or we will not have an american flag flying at that embassy. now we have given them the diplomatic recognition. and it is an illegitimate government. >> the only time we have ever come close to having a nuclear war was over the cuban missile crisis and the soviet union trying to put nuclear missiles in cuba. how are you going to prevent the chinese that are interested in the region, and the russians with the castro government and using those ports where they would put their own military naval vessels. >> we would not allow that.

>> even secretary kerry said the monroe doctrine is dead. rubio: secretary kerry will not be my secretary of state. so -- [applause] that is not going to happen. first of all, the threat posed, they particularly target the southern command. also central command and nasa, all in florida. the harbor fugitives of american justice. there are also two cuban generals, they were indicted for the murder of unarmed civilian americans. this was over international airspace.

it happened in 1996. these are the sort of things that is the threat they cuba -- threat cuba poses. they were caught last year helping north korea. these are the kinds of threats that cuba legitimately basis. not unless they ramp up spending today have the capability to be threatening or target is. >> for the final question, talk about, you said that he would support a pro-democracy movement. i assume that means covert activities. rubio: i would were quickly to -- work quickly to transition tv from off of cuban broadcasting. i want it to become an access provider.

for example, they're now exist the capability of providing through satellite access to the internet. they have had unfettered access to the internet. it would allow them to join social media and download candy crash, but it would also let them receive news from around the world. the blackout that exists is extraordinary. they will have no idea that this happened here today. they do not know about the debate in america. they have no idea. they don't get cnn or fox news or msnbc. well -- their loss, right? they also don't get -- all of the information that they get is from cuban government sources. breaking the news blockade will be a big part of that government transition. we have democracy programs now.

we will fund those and try to give them a stronger standing. and show that we are firmly on the side of those looking for positive change. you are not just -- you are looking to empower the next generation of cuban leadership. people who are capable of functioning in a democratic society when that day comes. >> let's move to iran. let's assume, as you have predicted, that the print -- the president vetoes the iran deal and it is not overridden. so that the president iran deal goes through. you said that when you become president you would unwind a lot about. the other countries and the world, those that are on the iran deal, they see an economic opportunity that they will not walk away from. europeans want to sell them cars, how effective would u.s. sanctions be ?they don't care --

sanctions be? >> well, let's discount the russians. they have never cooperated to begin with. anything we are for, vladimir putin has decided he is against. the chinese have their own agenda. they have never been a critical linchpin of our efforts. they don't realize they need to be. the other countries, when our sanctions are reimposed, the banking sector in germany. they have access to the u.s. economy through which 50% of global capital flows happen. they can choose to have access to the iranian economy. i think that they would choose the u.s. economy. given a choice, these companies are going to choose the american economy. the second point i want to make,

we do not have to think hard to imagine what is going to be in place for about 10 years. look at north korea today. north korea today possesses multiple nuclear warheads. also long-range rockets. the good news is, they are not very good at aiming. we don't know if they will hit san francisco or san diego. the bad news is they can hit something. what does that mean? we don't have an incredible threat of force against their nuclear program. the cost of it will be an attack on seoul, tokyo, guam, hawaii. that is where we will be with iran and 10 years. it will not have a credible force against them, because they would have expanded capabilities. we will also know that any sort

of military action against them would result in an attack on paris, london, washington, new york. that is where i know we will be in 10 years because of this deal. >> what is iran develops a nuclear state in 1.5 years? >> again, that's why it's important. the combination of two things. crippling sanctions on their economy and on individuals which is what force them to the negotiating table to begin with. despite the fact that this administration fought against those sanctions. now they say, we have put the sanctions in place and forced iran to the table. the obama administration argued against the sanctions, using the same argument that they use now. basically, as long as you are enriching uranium, we will hit your facilities with a credible threat of military force. it is the only thing that reigns in the protest. -- the program.

>> when you say that the russians and chinese have never been with us, howdy prevent the russians and chinese from establishing a closer relationship with iran, especially if we are not in the deal? >> we can't prevent them from pursuing this route. it is an eye-opener. that actually answers my question. we put a lot of stake in the security council, of which both of these countries have a veto power in. we are putting faith in the enforcement of this mechanism. two of the main countries involved have this sort of relationship that you outlined. i still think and i believe that ultimately, the economy has been impacted by u.s. sanctions. you would have too sanctioned

countries interacting with one another. neither one having access to the modern developments in economy in the world. it will not be able to really do any commerce. they will not be able to fund operations that they are seeking to fund. >> i want to turn to isis. you talk about a joint air force. >> a joint sunni air force. >> but it has not materialized. >> no it hasn't. i think that there is a willingness for it. it requires american leadership to convene it. elements would be nationstates like egypt and jordan and many of the gulf kingdoms. saudi arabia. it would involve empowering local forces in iraq. the sunni tribes involves kurds as well. think it also involves the christian community, asking for them to defend themselves from these attacks may have experienced. it is accommodation of all these years.

it would require u.s. leadership to bring it together. it will require u.s. involvement. technical, logistical, intelligent support. embedding special operations forces to help with training. and with strategic advice. ultimately, this is not just because we don't want to be in the fight directly but i believe the fastest and most endearing -- enduring way to defeat this movement is for sunnis themselves to defeat it. it has to happen that way. otherwise, the elements that made it possible are still in place. the resentment between sunnis and shiites. it's one of the reasons why isis was greeted as the liberator initially. when they reentered iraq, they were viewed as liberators. that was the view of many in the sunni community. they don't think that way anymore. they now see the reality of this

group. it is critical they play a linchpin role in defeating this radical sunni movement. >> so you would not have cooperation with the shiite militias? rubio: they are basically extensions of the iranian government. they are nothing -- they are part of this web of surrogates used by iran to further their influence in the world. they are involved not for the purposes of defeating isis but for decreasing the influence and leverage on iraq. they want to become the dominant power. and the shiite militias are part of that effort. >> one of the audience questions is, you previewed it, the middle east christians. the obama administration seems to not put that front and center. how would you change this? rubio: i think it is critical to talk about it. not enough has been said about groups like this and what is happening. this was the ritual slaughter of thousands of people of any other denomination and i think there would be an outrage people

driven from ancestral homelands, there are not masses being celebrated. were christian services on sunday. it is important these communities be empowered. they need assistance in the short term. they are displaced in many places. i also believe that they need the ability to defend themselves. these communities will argue that we have no capability of defending ourselves. we are at the mercy of kurds and the sunni tribes. we count on others to provide for our defense. the iraqi government is not a huge fan of this notion, arming them. in the case of christians, they deserve the right to self-defense. [applause] i believe that is the key part of it. ultimately i think that they deserve the right to return to historic cities that hosted them for thousands of years. it should be part of any effort

to ensure that any successor government in iraq is one of horseback, one that respects christians and kurds and those that live side in some level of -- side-by-side in some level of unity government. it has to be part of the long-term strategic lands. -- plans. we will be right back in three or four years. >> you talked about iran having nuclear weapons and north korea. it is the notion of nuclear proliferation. if iran is a threat, other countries have said that they will, too. what do you do as president when you are faced with a middle east where a number of countries are where iran is, on the threshold of a nuclear state. rubio: you prevent iran from having it and then you face a cascade. put yourself in the position of the saudis. i have had quarrels with many in the saudi government, domestically and around the world. but put yourself in their position.

they view themselves of allies of the united dates and as a strategic ally of the united states. they view themselves as a nation in conflict with the ambitions of a persian shia government in tehran that wants to become the regional power. they see themselves being encircled with activities in yemen. and with with the bahrain. they turned to the u.s. and the u.s. is cutting a deal with saudi arabia's rival in the region. it ensures they will have an industrial capacity nuclear program. it will continue to develop long-range rockets. the saudis are saying, i know that we live in this neighborhood, we know what these guys are going to do eventually. they will break out the weapons. and they say, i promise you, if there is a shia bomb, there will be a sunni bomb. saudi arabia has already taken steps or will soon begin to take steps to match anything iran has. in essence, i am confident, in

15 years, iran possesses a nuclear weapons capability, they will not be alone in the region. at least saudi arabia will have the same capability. and you will have a situation like what you see today between india and pakistan but in a much more unstable part of the world where you can have three or four nuclear armed nations. this is the most unstable region on the planet. >> one of the first things you would do is increase defense spending. how would you deal with missile-defense? rubio: it is a critical component because one of the technologies to be able to access is intercontinental missiles. although the designs are widely available. north korea basically has no economy. if you want to do it, even a poor country can. it is a nation governed by a criminal syndicate and is capable of producing nuclear weapons. missiles are even easier to acquire.

and nations like north korea are proliferating that technology. you could easily foresee a situation in the next 10-15 years, where 12 or 15 countries could produce intercontinental capabilities or other potential threats. missile-defense becomes a critical part of our notion. both in europe, but also in the east and west coast of the united states. it requires investment. the gates commission that looked at all of this and said the baseline funding anticipated all of these threats. that is why i believe we must return to the baseline number. the number one obligation of the federal government is to provide for national security. there are a lot of other things and that the national government wants to do -- [applause] there are lots of other things the federal government wants to do or has decided to do but national security is the one thing the federal government must do.

so my view of budgeting is this, before you pay for anything else, fully fund the defense and pay for everything else with the money that remains. we are treating it the same as every other program. and it is not. >> israel, longtime u.s. ally and a more dangerous neighborhood. hezbollah -- hamas, hezbollah, and radical extremists. how would you repair relations with israel? rubio: sinai, they are using libya as a base of operations. i predict eventually they will target europe. from the libyan port city, they are just across the mediterranean right into europe. it is a great transit point for that sort of activity. by the way, don't take your eyes off of isis in afghanistan. isis is beginning to fill that void. the question of israel, i think

that this is the most significant erosion we have seen since the founding of the jewish state. what does israel ask of the u.s.? it hasn't asked for soldiers or for operations in their place. they have asked that we use our veto power at the security council to prevent international sanctions for actions against israel. the second thing that they have asked, if they run out of weapons, bullets, or rockets. that we help supply them. for the first time in a long time, there are significant doubts on both of these things. the obama administration has telegraphed a threat. or the condemnation of israel. they are intimating that if israel does anything against iran now, they will be an international pariah. and the u.s. won't be there to support them.

and we saw a year and a half ago, the administration hesitated for a significant time because they were concerned about the way israel was conducting operations. if i am president, they don't have to worry about either one. so i think that has eroded the relationship. the u.s. will do whatever it takes to ensure the only pro-american free enterprise democracy in the middle east. that will be the state of israel and it will survive and prosper as a jewish state. [applause] >> we have several audience questions about china. how would you deal with our maritime presence in the region and china's expansion? rubio: goes back to defense spending. many times during the year we do

not have naval resins -- naval presence there. all of our aircraft carriers in the region were not present. we have to have the capability. i agree with a pivot to asia but we need to have something to pivot with. the japanese are willing to do more. they have allowed the opportunity to provide self-defense. that is an important, because the japanese military and self-defense forces are quite capable. the japanese military is a critical effort in that region as well. we should not accept these artificial islands and the claims china makes around them. we need to challenge them.

we need to send ships to the south china sea without asking for permission. we shouldn't admit these exclusive air zones, we should continue to challenge them repeatedly. to make sure we can back that up. when we talk about the capability to be in the region, understand that china does not want a direct war with the u.s. here is why they do it. they will not build 12 aircraft carriers, they will build a lot of cheaper rockets that will destroy expensive aircraft carriers. once they can do that, they know it forces are fleet further and further away. and they can turn to countries and say, you've got these american security agreements you're relying on, but they can't really live up to it anymore. you might as well fold into the order we have created. it is almost like a reverse monroe doctrine. the chinese version of the monroe doctrine and they must be the dominant military.

and we can't be around. we should not accept that. our economy is deeply dependent and in no way should we seek ground on that to china or any nation. [applause] >> the countries that you have identified as a threat, north korea, russia, they all have one thing in common which you alluded to. they don't let their people have access to the world wide web or have access to social media. what proactive foreign-policy initiatives would you take the time that turned on those cyber walls. rubio: look all over the world. the problems are being created by totalitarian states. there are not -- there is not a single free enterprise democracy on the planet threatening people and creating instability and violating the rules.

all the problems are created by tyrants. and so, in some ways, there are fundamental truths that are always there. the battle between liberty, freedom, tyranny, and oppression. what we can do about it, look, we need to firmly be on the side of those who want to change society. i and president and there is a revolution in iran, my first statement isn't going to be that i'm not going to interfere in the sovereignty of iran. i will say, we stand in solidarity and support. we're protesting against them. it is why i helped pass human rights violations policy in venezuela. we need to be firmly on the side of those seeking political change in china, russia, iran, everywhere in the world where tyranny is being confronted by people standing up for it. i think sometimes unfortunately this administration has look the other way on pro-democracy

movements, human rights, things of this nature. when you do that, you demoralize the movement. the moral authority should not be underestimated. it is the key role in providing the moral sustenance and international attention for those who have sought freedom during the cold war. we can play the same role now. how can we break the cyber blockade? it is harder in large countries like russia and china but i can tell you how we don't allow it to accelerate. turning the internet over to the world government organization that now regulates the internet and finds that these practices are legitimate. [applause] >> you have compared with your optimism and america's future with mainstream media and a lot of polls have said americans think the future is going to be less good than the past has been. they look ahead and say the nation is in decline.

you have talked a number of times about restoring america's leadership role and america's sense of self. and confidence in its morals. it is a shining city on a hill to borrow ronald reagan's phrase. rubio: i am optimistic about america because, despite our challenges, i wake up every morning with a believe that i -- belief that i would not trade places with any other country in the world. [applause] i encourage everyone here to ask yourself the same question. despite our challenges, who would you rather be, would you put -- trade places with russia? china? i don't think anybody would, and neither would i. every generation faces challenges. some are domestic, some international, some both. we have always faced great challenge. we always will. the question is not whether we face challenges, it's whether we solve them and move on.

i think that the 21st century holds extraordinary promise. economically, we live in a world where hundreds of millions of people by the things we make and the services we offer. they are prepared to invest with us and partner with us. we have never had a global economy with so many people that buy things and invest. we can be a big winner. it is not a zero-sum game. i am optimistic about that and all over the world people are aspiring towards liberty and freedom. for example, the ability to radicalize americans, imposes threats, but also provides opportunity. these are positive developments. our choices, do we harness of them and lead, or are we overwhelmed americans are insecure about tomorrow. the world is changing. the economy is undergoing a transformation, not a downturn. it is like the industrial revolution happening every five years.