Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave a sweeping speech to fellow conservatives on Friday evening acknowledging that Americans are struggling in the current economy, while also railing against what he called the "weaponization" of international law to constrain the U.S. from acting in its own interests.

His comments to the conservative Federalist Society touched on a core issue of the midterm elections - economic pain - that U.S. voters cited in delivering massive losses to Rubio's Republican Party.

"I think we have to recognize that people are struggling. There's no doubt about it," he said.