Downplays....

Rubio downplays his CNN poll bounce

By Ben Schreckinger

Marco Rubio does not believe this is his breakout moment in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, he said on Sunday.

Citing a new CNN/ORC poll that found the Florida senator bouncing into fourth place with 11 percent support, ABC’s "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos asked Rubio if his breakout moment has arrived.

“No,” Rubio said. “These polls don't really mean anything at this stage, George. You're a veteran of campaigns, and I'm not sure the mid-September winners are where you want to be."

"Obviously, you want to do well, and they're relevant because they're deciding who gets on the stage," Rubio added. "But they're not going to decide this election. And I've always said that."

"Obviously, everyone is happy when they see a poll that shows there's some movement," he went on, "but it doesn't really mean anything, and it won't alter the course of what we're doing.”

Ahead of Pope Francis’ visit to Washington this week, Rubio, a Catholic who also attends an evangelical church, continued to pay respect to the pope’s doctrinal authority while maintaining that he can depart from his church’s leader on political matters.

“For me, the pope is the successor of [St.] Peter. He's the spiritual head of the church, who has authority to speak on matters, doctrinal matters and a — and theological matters. And I follow him 100 percent on those issues," Rubio said. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be a Roman Catholic."

“The pope, as an individual, an important figure in the world, also has political opinions," Rubio added. "And those, of course, we are free to disagree with. He obviously opines" about his views of "the church's role or the — what we should be doing with the climate or things of this nature, on the economics."

He added: “On the economic issues, the geopolitical issues, the pope is just trying to bring people together. That's his role as a spiritual leader. And I respect that very much. I have a job as a United States senator to act in the best interests of the United States and of our people. And from time to time, they -- that may lead to different opinions about different things.”

Rubio added that he believes the pope should meet with dissidents during his nine-day visit to Cuba and the United States, which began on Saturday.

Rubio also said that President Barack Obama is a Christian born in the United States.