Marco Rubio: Obama most 'divisive' political figure in U.S. history

Potential Republican vice presidential candidate Marco Rubio on Saturday blasted President Barack Obama, claiming he was the most “divisive” political figure in modern American history.

"They get frustrated," he Rubio said at a Republican fundraising dinner in South Carolina. "They can’t win on their record. And so they have chosen to go down a different road, one that I think is destructive, counterproductive and very unfortunate."

"For all the policy disagreements that we have with our president, it is hard to understate how much he inspired people across this country four years ago with his promises to unite American and lift it up," Rubio continued. "The man who currently runs the White House today and is running for president is a very different person. We have not seen such a divisive figure in modern American history as we have over the last three years."

Over the past months, the Republican Party has tried to paint Obama as the "divider-in-chief." Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has claimed Obama was trying to incite class warfare by demonizing the wealthy and accused Obama of dividing the country by using the killing of Osama bin Laden in a campaign ad.

Rubio described Obama's presidential campaign as pitting "Americans against Americans."

"Rich versus poor, men versus women. Never have we seen such an effort to divide the American people in an effort to win an election as we have today," he said.

Watch video, uploaded to YouTube on May 19, below:

[Image via Gage Skidmore]