Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in a New Hampshire campaign appearance Monday assailed several of his GOP presidential rivals as "isolationists" and portrayed himself as the only candidate able to protect America's national security,
NBC News reports.
Rubio mentioned rivals Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul in particular.
"Words and political stunts cannot ensure our security. ISIS cannot be filibustered," Rubio told supporters at the American Legion in Hooksett, New Hampshire.
The "isolationists" are "more passionate about weakening our military and intelligence capabilities than about destroying our enemies," he said.
Trump has expressed a preference for staying out of the fight against the Islamic State and letting Russia handle it in cooperation with Syrian President Basher Assad, while Cruz has warned against going after Assad. Cruz points to previous instances where ousted Middle East dictators has created a vacuum filled by terrorists.
Rubio disagrees, saying Assad should be overthrown before the West can eradicate ISIS.
"If ISIS had lobbyists in Washington, they would have spent millions to support the anti-Intelligence law that was just passed with the help of some Republicans now running for president," Rubio said.
Both Cruz and Paul supported the USA Freedom Act, which limited surveillance programs.
Rubio took a swipe at Trump when he criticized "Republican candidates who propose that rulers like Assad and Putin should be partners of the United States." Trump has said he would "get along fine" with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"The job is not described in the Constitution as 'entertainer in chief' or 'commentator in chief' or even, frankly, 'economist in chief.' It is described as commander in chief," Rubio said. "If you can't be bothered to offer specifics on how you will perform that job, then you don't deserve that job."
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