Rubio: Putin Won’t Test NATO; He ‘Is a Gangster and a Criminal’

Rubio: Putin Won't Test NATO On Fighter Jet Attack (Newsmax)

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not test NATO by making a strike against Turkey for shooting down one of Russia's fighter jets, GOP presidential candidate Marco Rubio predicted Tuesday.

"At the end of the day, although Vladimir Putin is a gangster and a criminal, he's also a geopolitical actor who makes decisions on a cost benefit analysis," the Florida Republican senator told Fox News' "Happening Now" program. "He will have to save face, but ultimately he won't test the alliance if the alliance stands up for him, because he would lose in that confrontation, and that would be a bigger setback for him."