Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is a “first-rate asset” to the Republican Party, former Vice President Dick Cheney said on Sean Hannity's radio show Wednesday.
“I'm a big fan of his,” Cheney told the conservative host. “Marco's great.”
Rubio, who delivered the Republican response to the State of the Union address on Tuesday night in both English and Spanish, is frequently touted as a 2016 presidential candidate.
Liberals criticized his speech for sounding familiar GOP themes and offering nothing new in the way of concrete proposals.
Cheney, however, said Rubio made strong arguments attacking President Barack Obama's policies.
“He’s a first-rate asset,” the former vice president said, according to the conservative
Daily Caller. “We’ll be hearing a lot from him down the road. And the one bright note, I think, from the last election is we do have a good crop of folks coming along who have enormous talent and I think are dedicated to the principles most Americans believe in.”
Cheney also commented on a mini-controversy Rubio created during his speech by awkwardly dropping out of sight for a second to take a sip of water.
“For what it’s worth, about four nights ago I gave a speech in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and I had two of those water incidents in the midst of my speech,” Cheney told Hannity. “He handled it well, too. I mean, he tweeted out a picture of whatever it was — a water bottle. He’s got a good sense of humor about him.”
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