Senator Marco Rubio obliterated NBC hack Kristen Welker on the issue of mass deportations.

The outgoing Florida Senator, who was formerly in favor of comprehensive immigration reform and will now serve as Secretary of State, appeared on NBC’s Meet The Press to discuss the issue of Donald Trump’s plan to deport millions of illegal aliens.

Here is a transcript of the exchange:

WALKER: Donald Trump has said willing to build migrant detention camps and deploy the U.S. military to deport the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country. It would be the largest deportation operation in American history. Do you support that plan?

RUBIO: 11 million? That’s an outdate. That was the number 10 years ago. We’re talking upwards of 20, 25, maybe 30 million. There’s been almost 10 million people in this country in the last three years. The number varies big time. I mean, it’s another 9 to 10 million people just in the last three years.

The answer to your question is yes. We cannot absorb 25, 30 million people who entered this country illegally. They are here illegally. What country on earth would tolerate that? We don’t even know who some of these, most of these people are. They talk about vetting. Vetting them with what?

They’re coming from nations that don’t even have document systems in many cases. Yes, we are going to have to do something.

Unfortunately, we’re going to have to do something dramatic to remove people from this country that are here illegally, especially people we know nothing about. But 10 million, 11 million, that was the number 15 years ago. Today, it’s upwards of probably 25 to 30 million, maybe more.

Walker went on to try and undermine Rubio by showing footage of him stating his opposition to Trump’s plans mass deportation during the 2016 presidential campaign.

The exchange continues:

WALKER: So why have you changed your mind now?

RUBIO: Because the issue has completely changed. When I said that back in 2013 when I was involved in immigration reform, we had 11, 12 million people that had been here for longer than a decade.

Now we’ve had almost that number in the last three years alone from all over the world, including people that I believe are terrorists, people that I believe are going to conduct terrorist attacks in this country if given the opportunity, certainly people that were criminals in their home country.

This is a completely different, this is not immigration. You asked me about immigration. This is mass migration. Mass migration. This is an invasion of the country.

And it needs to be dealt with dramatically. And by the way, I’m a big poll follower, but polls show most Americans agree with us on this. And of course, that was an issue under former President Trump as well.

WALKER: There was just a bipartisan proposal that was put on the table that would put more funding into border enforcement as well as limiting asylum. Republicans walked away from that. But let me move on to my next question.

RUBIO: No, no, no. We can’t move on because that’s not what that bill did. That bill also created asylum officers who, right on the border, will be able to give people asylum. And you give someone asylum right on the border without any appeal. No judge, nothing. Just an asylum officer. They are on a path to citizenship. That’s why I oppose that bill.

WALKER: Your fellow Republicans said it was the best deal that they had seen in a long, long time. But Senator, let me look ahead. Which fellow Republican? Senator Lindsey Graham.

RUBIO: Which fellow Republican said that?

WALKER: Senator Lindsey Graham.

RUBIO: Okay, well then I disagree with Lindsey if that’s what he said. But I’m not in favor of asylum officers at the border.

Watch the full clip below:

Marco Rubio destroys Kristen Walker in his defense of mass deportations. Absolutely brilliant answer.

Seriously this is how absolutely every single Republican must talk about deportations because this is the truth and this is where we are as a country because of the last four… pic.twitter.com/oyDK8MHJdl

— Insurrection Barbie (@DefiyantlyFree) January 17, 2025

Rubio is widely expected to be confirmed as U.S. Secretary of State within the coming weeks.