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GREENVILLE, S.C. (CNN) — Coming soon: Marco Rubio 2.0
The Republican candidate, who lost momentum this week after coming in fifth in New Hampshire, plans to take a more aggressive tone with some of his rivals — especially if they attack him on the debate stage — and is expected to showcase more of his affable personality in order to rebut criticism that he is a scripted candidate.
As one aide put it, "Let Marco be Marco."
In a shift, Rubio had a free-flowing conversation with reporters on his campaign plane en route to Greenville. Relaxed, talkative and reflective, he spoke about his debate gaffe, criticisms of his being too scripted and his path to the nomination. His team hopes to show more of this side of him.
Still, he believes it's better to be consistent than not. Voters don't pay as close attention to things as campaign reporters, he noted.
"Just because it's the 80th time you heard it may be the first time someone else heard it," Rubio said of his speeches.
Rubio doesn't believe he needs to win any of the first four primaries. He just needs to stay in the top tier of candidates into March and then come in first in the winner-take-all states from March 15 on.
"I don't think anyone is going to wrap this up in South Carolina or Nevada," he said. "Once you get to the winner-take-all states, then it's about winning."
When it comes to his rivals, Rubio said front-runner Donald Trump lacks experience and must explain his views more thoroughly. Voters will want to know whether their nominee knows the difference between ISIS and al Qaeda and that Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to assert influence in the Middle East, he said.
"Once the race narrows, the pressure is going to be on him (to detail his views). I don't think you can keep saying 'trust me,' " Rubio said.
As for Jeb Bush, Rubio said the former Florida governor spent a historic amount of money in New Hampshire, but only finished 1,500 votes ahead and won the same number of delegates. He criticized Bush, saying the "party needs to turn the page" and describing himself as more attune to the needs of the 21st century.
"I have more experience in foreign policy and national security than he does," Rubio said. "I just do."
Related:
GOP takes aim at Marco Rubio during debate
Marco Rubio struggled on Saturday to fend off a string of searing attacks from Chris Christie as the Florida senator's establishment rivals tried to halt his campaign surge by branding him as too inexperienced and unaccomplished to be president.Clearly unafraid of John Kasich, Rubio called the Ohio governor "an impressive guy" whom he likes.
And Rubio said he wasn't upset at New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for going after him at Saturday's debate.
"It's part of the process," Rubio said. "You want to have a president who went through adversity in a campaign."
Asked why he didn't attack Christie earlier in the race, Rubio called it a "strategic decision that turned out to be wrong" and that he didn't want to use "valuable" air time to attack the New Jersey governor.
"Obviously, we can't let that happen again," Rubio said.
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