Sen. Marco Rubio said Friday the nation must play a larger role in confronting bad actors on the world stage, blaming the “Obama-Clinton” foreign policy for making the nation less safe.
The freshman lawmaker told activists at the Conservative Political Action Conference in suburban Washington that the nation is on the “road to decline,” but said voters are “one election away from triggering another American century.”
“Around the world because of the Obama-Clinton foreign policy, our allies no longer trust us and our enemies no longer fear us,” he said.
The Obama administration, Mr. Rubio said, “treats the Ayatollah of Iran with more respect then the prime minister of Israel.”
The Florida Republican is running toward the back in early presidential polls.
He has tried to distance himself from some of his potential GOP rivals, particularly governors, by touting his experience on foreign policy issues.
He also has taken a much more aggressive posture than Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, another likely 2016 candidate, on global issues.
He returned to the message Friday, suggesting President Obama’s approach to defeating Islamic State is to “find them a job” and ripping him for “traveling the world [and] badmouthing America.”
That job, Mr. Rubio quipped, has traditionally been reserved for the United Nations.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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