Rubio Says Sanders Should 'Run for President of Norway'

“This dude is an avowed socialist,” Rubio said.

ByABC News
January 19, 2016, 4:38 PM

— -- Marco Rubio has a fresh new target: fellow senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

“Bernie Sanders should run for president of Norway,” Rubio said on Monday in Waverly, Iowa.

Rubio repeatedly jabbed at the Democratic candidate over the course of the day.

"I think Bernie loves to talk about the economic policies of some of these other countries,” Rubio told reporters. “We admire these countries, they are nice places and they are allies of ours, but I want us to be America.”

At his last stop of the day in Bettendorf, Iowa, Rubio attacked Sanders again.

“This dude is an avowed socialist,” he said. “Nice guy. Nice socialist.”

The Twittersphere, meanwhile, was quick to point out that Norway has a prime minister and a monarchy, not a president.

This all comes as Sanders is steadily climbing in the polls.

When a voter asked Rubio about a potential match-up with Sanders, the Florida senator said a debate with him would be “pretty straightforward.”

“He wants the government to run the economy. We want you to run the economy. I’m very optimistic about what [the American people] are going to do when they get that choice,” Rubio said.

Sanders campaign spokesperson Michael Briggs hit back, telling ABC News today that "I guess we should be complimented. It says something that he is choosing to talk about us and not someone else."