--- title: Republican Debate: Watch Rubio Clash With Trump on Cuba description: Florida Sen. Marco Rubio lectured billionaire Donald Trump on relations with Cuba at Thursday's Democratic Debate. canonical: https://time.com/4255131/gop-debate-rubio-trump-cuba/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-11T04:12:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:49:40.848Z article:section: Politics og:title: Watch Rubio Clash With Trump on Cuba at the GOP Debate og:description: President Obama will soon visit the island nation og:url: https://time.com/4255131/gop-debate-rubio-trump-cuba/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda0b83d3bbbad7cf/69888a955f570ff793b1ffd5/republican_debate_a.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4199 og:image:height: 2362 og:image:alt: Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, John Kasich, Ted Cruz og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Rubio Clash With Trump on Cuba at the GOP Debate twitter:description: President Obama will soon visit the island nation twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda0b83d3bbbad7cf/69888a955f570ff793b1ffd5/republican_debate_a.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch Rubio Clash With Trump on Cuba at the GOP Debate > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=c1d77f52-9253-4d1e-8d1c-cfc57547cba1&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: CNN Republican Debate: Watch Rubio Explain Cuba To Trump [Watch (HLS stream): CNN Republican Debate: Watch Rubio Explain Cuba To Trump](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/LPiuWTe5.m3u8) (0:36)  _Published 2016-03-11_ by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Mar 11, 2016 4:12 AM UTC by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Mar 11, 2016 4:12 AM UTC Florida Sen. Marco Rubio clashed with Donald Trump on Cuba at the Republican debate Thursday. Rubio—who is of Cuban heritage from Miami—found fault in Trump’s answer to a question about the country and proceeded to rattle off reasons closing an “embassy” there would be a faulty strategy. The billionaire said that he would close the embassy until America made better deal in Cuba, which Rubio remarked would have little effect. “On the issue of a good deal, I know what the good deal is,” Rubio said. “I’ll tell you what the good deal now, it’s already codified. Here’s the good deal: Cuba has free elections, Cuba stops putting people in jail for speaking out.” Diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba were reestablished in late 2014, ending more than 50 years of isolation for the island nation some 90 miles south of Florida. In March, President Obama will become the first President to visit the country in almost 90 years. ## Transcript I would probably have the embassy closed until such time as a really good deal was made and struck by the United States. All right, first of all, the embassy is the former consulate. It's the same building. So, it could just go back to being called the consulate. We don't have to close it that way. Second of all, I don't know where Cuba is gonna sue us, but if they sue us in a court in Miami, they're gonna lose. Third. [ LAUGH ] [ APPLAUSE ] Third on the issue of a good deal, I know what the good deal is. I'll tell you what the good deal now it's already codified. Here's a good deal. Cuba has free elections. Cuba stops putting people in jail for speaking out. [ APPLAUSE ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4255131/gop-debate-rubio-trump-cuba/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4255131/gop-debate-rubio-trump-cuba/"},"headline":"Watch Rubio Clash With Trump on Cuba at the GOP Debate","datePublished":"2016-03-11T04:12:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-05T08:49:40.848Z","description":"President Obama will soon visit the island nation","url":"https://time.com/4255131/gop-debate-rubio-trump-cuba/","keywords":["Debates","2016 Election","Sen. 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