Republican presidential candidate Marco
Rubio said Sunday that he's been called “a bigot” for his
opposition to marriage equality.
In
a recent 30-second ad, Rubio, also a senator from Florida,
declared that this election is about value voters being branded
“bigots and haters.”
“This election is about the essence
of America. About all of us who feel out of place in our own
country,” Rubio said in the spot, titled About. “A
government incredibly out of touch, and millions with traditional
values branded bigots and haters.”
During an appearance Sunday on CBS'
Face the Nation, Rubio made clear that he was talking about
marriage equality foes in his ad.
“People who hold traditional values
are often described as bigots and haters,” Rubio said, referring to
About.
“Who calls them that?” host John
Dickerson asked.
“Oh my gosh, everybody on the Left
does. For example, if you do not support their definition of
marriage.”
“So, the president?”
“Well, most certainly the president
has on occasion said that people that don't support same-sex marriage
are wrong,” Rubio answered.
“But wrong is different than bigot,”
Dickerson pointed out.
“Well, in the broader Left I've been
called a bigot for not supporting the definition of marriage,”
Rubio
responded.
In a recent interview, Rubio said that
as president he would pack the Supreme Court with justices opposed to
the high court's June ruling which found that gay couples have a
constitutional right to marry.
(Related: Marco
Rubio: Supreme Court found “hidden constitutional right” to
marriage equality.)