Marco Rubio: Obama not a bad president because he was one-term senator
Watch more of Major Garrett's interview with Marco Rubio on"CBS Evening News"
Attempting to tamp down fears about his inexperience, Sen. Marco Rubio on Tuesday said that President Obama was not a bad president because he was a one-term senator.
In an interview with CBS News' Major Garrett, Rubio addressed concerns from other Republicans about how his inexperience and his position as a one-term senator reflect Mr. Obama's position in 2008.
"The problem is Barack Obama is not a bad president because he was a one-term senator. He has seven years of presidential experience. He's as bad today as he was on day one. In fact, he's worse."
"It's clear that it wasn't experience that was his problem. It was his ideology and his ideas that has set America back," Rubio added. "We're going to reverse all of that."
Rubio, also a one-term senator, has served in the Senate for the last five years. When Mr. Obama launched his first presidential bid, he was only about two years into his first term as senator representing Illinois.
During the interview, Rubio was also asked whether Donald Trump can beat Hillary Clinton in a general election.
"I don't believe he will. I believe I will," he said.
Rubio's comments come less than a week before the Iowa caucuses next Monday. New Hampshire will hold the first-in-the-nation primary on Feb. 9.
A CBS News battleground tracker survey released Sunday found the Florida senator ranked third in all three early-voting states: Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.