Marco Rubio Calls Obama Faith and Citizenship Questions a 'Waste of Time'
"It's time to start talking about the future," Florida senator says.
— -- Questions about whether President Obama was born in the United States and about whether he is a Christian or a Muslim are "a big waste of time," Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio said.
"Barrack Obama will not be president in a year and a half. It's time to start talking about the future of America," Rubio said today on ABC News' "This Week."
Earlier this week, Donald Trump made headlines for failing to react to an audience member who said Obama is a Muslim and not a U.S. citizen.
"He's born in the U.S., he's a Christian, he's president of the United States for the next year and a half, and we're going to move on. This country is going to turn the page, and this election needs to be about what comes next," Rubio said, when pressed for an answer.
Rubio also expressed some frustration with issues that came up in the recent CNN debate.
"We had a three-hour debate, no discussion about the national debt, very little about the economy. It was a constant 'he said, she said, what do you say, because so-and-so called you this name or that name.' Quite frankly, it might be entertaining for a few minutes, but there are people out there living paycheck to paycheck," he said.
"I think it's disappointing to people that while they are struggling, the political class, Washington, the media and everyone else is focused on some of these other things," he added.
In the first national post-debate poll released on Sunday by CNN/ORC, Rubio surged to 11 percent, in fourth place behind Trump, Carly Fiorina, and Ben Carson.