Florida Sen. Marco Rubio defended his personal finances at the Republican debate Wednesday night, after a question asking him about foreclosing on a second home and liquidating a retirement fund last year.
The CNBC moderator asked Rubio if his “lack of bookkeeping skills” should call to question if he has the “maturity and wisdom to lead a $17 trillion economy.”
“I didn’t inherit any money,” the Florida Senator replied. “My dad was a bartender, my mother was a maid, they worked hard to provide us the chance at a better life. They didn’t save any money for us to go to school, I had to work my way through school, I had to borrow money through school.”
Get our Politics Newsletter. The headlines out of Washington never seem to slow. Subscribe to The D.C. Brief to make sense of what matters most.
“I know what its like to owe that money, and we’ve worked hard to provide a better life for our family,” he added. “We own a home four blocks from the place I grew up in. My four children have been able to receive a good Christian education. I’ve been able to save for them to go to college so they never have to have the loans that I did.”
When pressed on the fact that he lost about $24,000 liquidating his retirement fund last year, after he had made a substantial amount of money on his book deal, Rubio continued, “We’re raising a family in the 21st century, and its one of the reasons that my tax plan is a pro-family tax plan … I didn’t read about this in a book, I know for a fact how difficult it is to raise children, how expensive it is for these families.”
Read More: Transcript: Read the Full Text of the CNBC Republican Debate in Boulder
- In Photos: How Wildfire Smoke Impacted Cities
- How Antitrust Laws Could Kill the PGA-LIV Golf Merger
- Teens Are Taking Wegovy for Weight Loss
- Prince Harry Breaks Royal Convention to Testify in Court
- Elliot Page: Embracing My Trans Identity Saved Me
- How a Texas High Jumper Has Earned Nearly $1 Million
- The Best TV Shows of 2023 So Far
- 7 Ways to Get Better at Small Talk
