Marco Rubio attacked Donald Trump on a report that he hired foreign workers over Americans at Thursday’s CNN debate, prompting Trump to bark back, “You’ve hired nobody.”
With the candidates picking apart each other’s stances on immigration, Rubio pivoted from a question about his involvement in the failed 2013 immigration overhaul bill to criticize Trump’s hiring record as a businessman.
“The truth is, though, a lot of these positions that he’s now taking new to him,” Rubio said. “In 2011, he talked about the need for a pathway to citizenship. In 2012, Donald criticized Mitt Romney, saying that Mitt lost his election because of self-deportation.”
Rubio then referenced a New York Times report on Trump’s hiring practices at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, where the report said foreign workers were hired for jobs like waiters and housekeepers at a greater volume than Americans.
“My mom was a maid at a hotel, and instead of hiring an American like her, you have brought in over a thousand people from all over the world to fill those jobs instead,” Rubio said.
Trump defended his deportation comments, as well as his hiring practices, claiming it was necessary due to high demand in Florida’s peak “season.” Rubio attempted to turn the debate back to his hiring of immigrants.
“I’ve hired tens of thousands of people,” Trump shot back. “You’ve hired nobody. You’ve had nothing but problems with your credit cards, et cetera.”
