Could Marco Rubio be the man to beat Donald Trump?

AS GLOBAL outrage continues around Donald Trump’s proposed Muslim ban, attention has turned to the man who could beat the frontrunner.

Senator-elect Marco Rubio thanks supporters in Coral Gables, Florida after winning his senate bid 02/11/2010.

AS global outrage continues around Donald Trump over his proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the United States, attention is turning to who could topple the presidential frontrunner.

For months Trump has surprised critics with his success in the polls, partly fuelled by the Republican presidential candidate’s embrace of controversy and the free publicity it creates.

But his latest remarks have seen the White House brand Trump a “carnival barker” who is unfit to lead.

“What Donald Trump said yesterday disqualifies him from serving as president,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

Others on social media described Trump as worse than the Harry Potter villain Voldemort, a sentiment that even writer JK Rowling agreed with on Twitter.

How horrible. Voldemort was nowhere near as bad. https://t.co/hFO0XmOpPH

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 8, 2015

The only way to stop Donald Trump is to destroy his Horcruxes. The wig is definitely one. If you need me I'll be finding the other six.

— TechnicallyRon (@TechnicallyRon) December 7, 2015

My theory is that Trump is Voldemort & if the media stops saying his name, Harry Potter will come destroy him. America will be great again.

— Linds (@lindsaysmetanka) December 7, 2015

The controversy has some wondering whether it’s time to move on from Trump and top Republican party operatives believe Florida senator Marco Rubio is the man to watch. Here’s why:

WHO IS RUBIO?

As the son of Cuban immigrants, Rubio’s rags-to-riches tale is the stuff that American dreams are made of.

Rubio is the youngest of three children whose father supported the family by working as a bartender while his mother was a supermarket clerk and hotel housekeeper.

The 44-year-old Catholic and married father-of-four is seen as the best chance of uniting the Republican party.

With his boyish looks, Rubio appears handsome and charming but he has also been described as an ambitious and politically savvy operator who can hold a grudge.

Marco Rubio after winning his senate bid in 2010.

When major television network Univision reported on Rubio’s connection to a convicted drug smuggler in 2011, his response was fierce.

Rubio reportedly applied considerable pressure on the network to kill the story about Orlando Cicilia, the husband of Rubio’s sister. Cicilia was jailed for 12 years due to his involvement with Mario Tabarue, rumoured to be the inspiration for Al Pacino’s Scarface and the TV show Miami Vice.

The story remained but the GOP eventually decided to shift its 2012 debate to a rival station and Rubio continues to boycott the network to this day.

Meanwhile missing documents from Cicilia’s files, including documents about his parole hearings, such as who testified or sent letters of reference, were never found. Politico said the files had reportedly been destroyed three days before the court acted on a Univision request for them.

PROTEGE SHINES

Rubio has been able to rise in the polls partly because of how badly Jeb Bush, the son and brother of two former presidents, has been performing.

While Rubio delivered solid performances in the Republican debates and a mostly error-free campaign, Bush has been plagued by gaffes and his campaign style has been described by Trump as being “low energy”.

It has been a meteoric rise for the young politician who became a member of the Florida House of Representatives in the same year that Jeb Bush became the state’s Governor.

One exchange in particular highlights how Rubio has managed to leapfrog his former mentor.

During the third GOP debate Bush noted Rubio’s poor attendance in the Senate in an attempt to embarrass him.

But Rubio hit back with a list of other presidential candidates including Barack Obama who had missed time in the Senate. He then accused Bush of a cheap attack motivated by desperation, finishing with: “I will continue to have tremendous admiration and respect for Governor Bush”.

As one article noted: “In the space of a few seconds it displayed Rubio’s formidable political arsenal, featuring self-confidence and precociousness, eloquence and an ability to think on his feet, and — when required — a quite clinical ruthlessness.”

The two politicians live just 10 minutes away from each other in South Florida and seeing Rubio overtake his campaign must be unthinkable for Bush, and humiliating given his special connection to Cubans in Florida.

Jeb Bush (left) speaks as Marco Rubio listens during Republican presidential debate at Milwaukee Theatre on November 10. Picture: AP Photo/Morry Gash

“Jeb was our ombudsman with Washington from early on. People don’t forget that,” Bush supporter Al Cardenas told Politico. “He’s had three decades of continuous service to Cuban-Americans. You could say that anyone in office in Florida today from their 30s to their 60s has a debt to Jeb Bush.”

WHAT DOES HE STAND FOR?

Rubio’s conservative credentials are strong and he initially won his US Senate seat with the backing of the Tea Party.

He has questioned whether human activity plays a major role in global warming, does not support same-sex marriage and opposes abortion even in cases of rape or incest.

Born a Catholic, Rubio converted to Mormonism for six years while living in Nevada with his family before returning to the Catholic Church.

Recently he rejected calls for stricter gun laws after last week’s San Bernardino shooting that killed 14 people.

“Gun control” is not the answer, Rubio told about 180 voters in the small town of Greenland.

“We need bomb control” because the California attackers had possessed pipe bombs, he said. “We need terrorist control.”

Following US President Barack Obama’s Oval Office address on the shootings, Rubio criticised him for spending too much time “talking about discrimination against Muslims”.

“Where is there widespread evidence that we have a problem in America with discrimination against Muslims?” he said on Fox News.

But while Rubio has been careful to acknowledge the anger that many Americans feel in relation to immigration, an issue which Trump seems to have tapped into, he has taken a more even-keeled approach.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump energises the crowd during a campaign rally on December 4. Picture: AP Photo/Ted Richardson

In responding to Trump’s plan to ban all Muslims from entering the US, Rubio said in a statement: “I disagree with Donald Trump’s latest proposal. His habit of making offensive and outlandish statements will not bring Americans together.”

If elected Rubio would become America’s first Hispanic president and his aspirational background has the power to reach the immigrant vote.

While he has been accused of misrepresenting his history by suggesting his family fled Cuba after the rise of Fidel Castro, making them “exiles” (they actually arrived in America before the dictator came to power) he still has the ability to attract Hispanic voters who traditionally vote for the Democrats.

As a member of the “Gang of Eight” in the Senate, Rubio also supported an immigration bill that included a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants (although he now believes legislation should be divided into smaller parts).

In an emotional speech Rubio told The O’Reilly Factor that he disagreed with Trump’s claim that he would “make America great again”.

“I think America is great,” he said. “You know how I know it’s great? You don’t have American refugees winding up on the shores of other countries. You actually have people wanting their children born here.

“America is a great country. The issue is: We could be even greater. We are not fulfilling our potential.”

But immigration is also seen as potential weak spot for Rubio and Trump has described his rival’s position as “weak”.

I watched lightweight Senator Marco Rubio, who is all talk and no action, defend his WEAK position on illegal immigration. Pathetic!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2015

Another weakness is his age. Rubio will be 45 on election day and Bush has already highlighted his inexperience and compared him to US President Barack Obama.

“Look, we had a president who came in and said the same kind of thing — new and improved, hope and change — and he didn’t have the leadership skills to fix things,” Bush said in a September CNN interview.

But Rubio is also playing up to his youthful image, especially when comparing himself to Trump, who will be 70 years old.

If Rubio is to have a chance of winning the GOP nomination, he will have to win over some of those who are favouring Trump.

TRUMP CARD

With the focus on the rise of Islamic State, Rubio’s understanding of foreign policy and national security could be the feature that gets him across the line.

Rubio’s expertise in this area was highlighted during one of the Republican debates when he was asked about US policy in Syria and delivered an uncannily accurate response: “Here’s what you’re going to see in the next few weeks: the Russians will begin to fly combat missions in that region, not just targeting ISIS, but in order to prop up Assad.”

In contrast, gaffes over foreign policy and security have plagued fellow candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who has seen his support fall away in recent weeks.

Gary Marx, a longtime Republican strategist told NBC that it was not yet clear if Rubio had the ground support to win early states, particularly the caucuses in Iowa and Nevada, but he believed Rubio was the best candidate.

“The most likely person is Rubio to be able to coalesce both parts of the party and have a unified Republican base,” Marx said. “I think that’s the very best chance of all the candidates.”

But Rubio’s rise is far from secure.

According to a USA Today/Suffolk survey published Tuesday, Trump is still the frontrunner in the presidential race, supported by 27 per cent of Republican likely voters.

His nearest rival Senator Ted Cruz is on 17 per cent, with Rubio on 16.

Republican officials say there is also considerable support for former businesswoman Carly Fiorina, who has demonstrated her knowledge of policy issues.

Some speculate that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie or Ohio Governor John Kasich could win the state of New Hampshire and use that momentum to seize the nomination, something that Texas Senator Ted Cruz could also do in Iowa.