GEORGETOWN, Ohio -- Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum told Ohio voters Friday that President Obama had made the country less secure.

"Ladies and gentleman, we have a president who not only apologizes for America, but consistently makes our country less safe," Santorum told the 750 people gathered here for a Lincoln Day Dinner on Friday.

The comments came just hours after FBI and Capitol police arrested Amine El Khalifi, a Moroccan authorities say was intent on carrying out a suicide bombing inside the U.S. Capitol, in a sting operation.

Would-be suicide bomber at US Capitol arrested in sting operation, authorities say

The former Pennsylvania senator accused the president of alienating U.S. allies and instead embracing countries hostile to the United States.

"Anybody that he treats well is our enemy, anybody he treats poorly is our friend. That's how the president deals with our allies," Santorum said.

France 'fought' US's best interests
He was especially critical of the president's relationship with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, saying the European country has done little help America over the past two decades.

"He actually went to France a year or so ago and was with Nicolas Sarkozy and said that, 'Here I am with the French Prime Minister, our best ally in the world.' Now think about this. Name one time in the last 20 years that the French stood by us with anything," Santorum said.

"But in Barack Obama's eyes, that makes them our best ally, because they fought what was in the best interest of our country."

Sarkozy is actually France's president, not prime minister.

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The latest Republican to surge in the polls did not bring up his rivals competing for the GOP nomination, but was introduced by former Ohio senator Mike DeWine, who earlier in the day announced he would switch his endorsement from Mitt Romney to Santorum.

"While the governor is a nice person, he can't win in the fall," DeWine said, before Santorum took the stage.