This morning, the hosts and panelists on Morning Joe roasted Marco Rubio’s campaign. Throughout the segment, the panelists picked apart Rubio’s terrible record, self-serving political motives for running, and refusal to commit to serving a full term if re-elected. In stark contrast, they concluded that Patrick Murphy has the “wind at [his] back” and looks confident heading into November.  

Watch: Morning Joe calls out Marco Rubio’s self-interest as the driving force in his re-election campaign  

Highlights: 

• “Marco wasn’t there. Everywhere I went around the state, everybody said Marco was always a no-show. You look at his Intel ratings. They’re absolutely horrific.” 

• “He’s never focused on where he is. He is always looking over the next hill. It would be really good for him to finish a term, and be an effective senator.”

• “Rubio feels really vulnerable. Sometimes you can smell a loser in advance. “

• “You look at Murphy up there, and feels like wind at the back, and you look at Rubio, and it feels like wind in his face.”

• “And there’s no law against him running for president again in 2020. And he’s certainly free to do that, if he wants. But he’s already, he’s already done this one time to the people of Florida.”

Transcript:

Willie Geist: Meanwhile, questions are being raised as to whether Senator Rubio still has presidential ambitions. During an interview yesterday he wouldn’t quite commit to serving out a full six-year Senate term.  

Marco Rubio: No one can make that commitment because you don’t know what the future is going to hold in your life personally or politically. I can commit to you this, and that is if I am running to be a U.S. Senator, I am fully prepared to allow the U.S. Senate to be the last political office I ever hold.  

Patrick Murphy: In the Senate, I will fight for you every single day. You compare that to Senator Rubio who just yesterday said ‘no one can make a commitment to a six-year term’. Well guess what, senator, I’ve got two words for you. I can. 

Willie Geist: Alright Joe, so we talked about this a little bit yesterday. Marco Rubio is back in the game now. He’s bought himself six years more years and bought himself a ticket at least into 2020’s campaign potentially.  

[Laughter] 

Mika Brzezinski: Wait, what?  

Joe Scarborough: I mean, he can’t commit. He can’t commit to completing a full term.  

Willie Geist: Well 2020 is only four years away, Joe, you see.  

Joe Scarborough: I understand… And, you know, I — here’s hoping as a guy who loves Florida and has lived in Florida for a very long time, that Marco Rubio actually does his job. And he does his job as a Florida senator. There were always complaints up in northwest Florida that he just never came up there. That after the BP spill, you actually had the Democratic senator who a lot of people didn’t vote for, Bill Nelson, he was up all the time. Asked people what they needed, asked what they wanted. Marco wasn’t there. Everywhere I went around the state, everybody said Marco was always a no show. You look at his intel ratings. They’re absolutely horrific. So, here’s hoping that a young, talented guy will actually focus on where he is, not, where he is now and not where he wants to be. Maybe he needs to look at Yoda jabbing a stick into Luke Skywalker during that scene in the Empire Strikes Back. And actually focus on where he is, for once. Because he’s never focused on where he is. He is always looking over the next hill. It would be really good for him to finish a term, and be an effective senator.  

Donny Deutsch: Joe, to that point, it’s interesting. Sometimes you can just feel candidates and you look at Murphy standing up there and you look at Rubio and I think there’s a three or four-point difference. Rubio feels really vulnerable. Sometimes you can smell a loser in advance. For the very reasons you’re talking about, and the senate, control of the senate really could come down to that race, and one guy just feels, you look at Murphy up there, and feels like wind at the back and you look at Rubio and it feels like wind in his face. 

Joe Scarborough: I think Rubio, though, and it’s a lot like Hillary. And a lot like Trump. I think Rubio’s worst enemy is Rubio. He needs to keep being asked whether he’s going to serve six years. It’s not hard for him to say, ‘yes I will keep my word to the people and serve.’ I mean, there’s no law against him leaving early. And there’s no law against him running for president again in 2020. And he’s certainly free to do that, if he wants. But he’s already, he’s already done this one time to the people of Florida. And, so, it just — all I’m saying is politically, it seems to make good sense for him to say, ‘Hey, I’ve done this to you once. I’m not going to do it to you, again. If you vote for me and make me your Senator, I’m going to serve out your term.’ He’ll certainly politically be in a much stronger position if he does that.  

Willie Geist: I don’t think there’s any question- he’s thinking about running for president, again. I think he thinks this was an aberrational year it was a freak year of Trump where the planets aligned for Trump. He’s still young and still got a shot at it. But he’s got to get through Murphy first though.