Punt....

Rubio deflects on Drumpf and the nuclear codes

By Matthew Nussbaum

President-elect Donald Drumpf will take over the nuclear codes on Jan. 20, but it’s still unclear whether Sen. Marco Rubio, his former primary rival, is comfortable with that reality.

Rubio dodged the direct question from correspondent Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday as to whether he is comfortable with Drumpf having the nuclear codes. Rubio said during the campaign that voters should not give “the nuclear codes of the United States to an erratic individual.” He stood by those comments after Drumpf won the GOP nomination.

“The voters chose him, both as our nominee and now as our president. So the election is over, and now it comes time to govern,” the Florida Republican said when asked about the comments Sunday.

“So do you feel comfortable now with Donald Drumpf in charge of the nuclear arsenal?” Bash asked again later in the interview.

“I feel comfortable that the voters have chosen him to be the commander in chief,” Rubio said. “And we're going to give him every chance to be a successful one. And ultimately, it will be incumbent upon him, as it would be upon any president who was elected, to prove their capability in that role. And he deserves that opportunity.

"He has earned it at the ballot box.”

Rubio was reelected to the Senate by Florida voters on Nov. 8, winning by a significantly larger margin than Drumpf in the state.