GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum tried to paint President Barack Obama as haughty, out-of-touch royalty at a campaign event in Florida on Tuesday, comparing him to King George III.
"That's Barack Obama's view of America: the elites ruling on high, King George reincarnated," Santorum said, according to Talking Points Memo.
King George III was the king of Britain during the American Revolutionary War.
It's not a new line of attack for Santorum, who used the same line on Obama at the Fox News/Google GOP debate in September. "I think that's what's the problem right now, is we have a president who doesn't understand what America is all about," he said. "President Obama is the new King George III, who believes in things being dictated from on high. We need to replace him with someone who believes in the American people again."
Santorum has slammed Obama for his "hubris" in the past. At an event in New Hampshire earlier this month, he accused Obama of snobbery for proclaiming that all U.S. children should get a college education.
I was so outraged by the president of the United States for standing up and saying every child in America should go to college. Well who are you? Who are you to say that every child in America should [go to college]? I mean, the hubris of this president to think that he knows what's best.
While former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney duke it out for frontrunner status, Santorum is struggling to remain relevant. After belatedly being certified the Iowa caucus winner, the former Pennsylvania senator is continuing to pitch himself to voters as the sole true conservative left in the race.
According to a Gallup poll released Tuesday, Santorum is at 11 percent nationally. Romney and Gingrich are almost tied, at 29 and 28 percent respectively.
Santorum has set low expectations for the Florida primary on Jan. 31, telling MSNBC's "Morning Joe" he does not predict a win. "I don't have the money now to be able to do that,” he said, adding however that he might pull off a surprise, "depending on the amount of carnage that goes on between the other two."