"Donald Trump has zero foreign policy experience. Negotiating a hotel deal in another country is not foreign policy experience," Rubio said of the Republican front-runner. | Getty A wounded Rubio goes on the attack against Trump

Marco Rubio has the knives out for Donald Trump.

Rubio — who is trying to regain momentum after a disastrous debate performance and a fifth-place finish in New Hampshire — went after the billionaire with gusto on Thursday.


“Donald Trump has zero foreign policy experience. Negotiating a hotel deal in another country is not foreign policy experience,” Rubio said during a town hall in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

The Florida senator has been ratcheting up his talk on foreign policy and his experience on the Intelligence and Foreign Relations committees ahead of the Feb. 20 primary in the state, where a strong national security posture is highly valued.

“National security is the single greatest obligation of the commander in chief,” Rubio said. "There is no one left in the Republican field who has better experience ... than I have."

Rubio also hit some of the other candidates who have a chance of faring well in South Carolina. “Jeb Bush has no foreign policy experience, period, and I'm an incredible admirer of him and his family,” Rubio said, adding he was thankful George W. Bush had become president but that it didn’t change the fact that the Florida governor doesn’t have credibility on the international stage.

“Ted Cruz has a little bit of foreign policy experience, and it’s different than mine,” Rubio said pointing to Cruz’s vote to cut defense spending and his views on Edward Snowden, who Rubio said has harmed national security. Rubio accused Cruz of supporting the former NSA contractor who leaked a trove of national security secrets.

Rubio continued his attacks on President Barack Obama, after being widely mocked for his robotic repetition of the line “Obama knows exactly what he’s doing” during last Saturday’s debate. On Thursday, Rubio credited Obama with being a great father and husband, but a “terrible president.”

But he directed his most biting criticismat Trump, the leader in the few polls that have been released in South Carolina, implying the real estate mogul does not espouse family values.

You turn on the TV and you “have a leading presidential candidate saying profanity from the stage,” Rubio said.