The Florida senator went into Saturday night’s GOP debate with momentum. He ended it as a viral glitch sensation.
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Marco Rubio knew exactly what he was doing on Saturday night.
Marco Rubio knew exactly what he was doing on Saturday night.
Marco Rubio knew exactly what he was doing on Saturday night.
The problem was he flubbed it.
Rubio awkwardly pivoted four times to a well-rehearsed line that President Barack Obama “knows exactly what he’s doing” as he tried to drill home the idea that he’s the inevitable general election candidate – an unforced error that his rivals pounced on and that quickly went viral.
“There it is. There it is. The memorized 25-second speech. There it is, everybody,” Chris Christie charged.
It was a defining moment as Rubio’s opponents successfully turned two of his greatest strengths — his eloquence and message discipline — against him in the final debate before the New Hampshire primary, casting the Florida senator as a lightweight leader who has been lifted by little more than lofty and canned rhetoric.
Christie led the charge on stage, and rival campaigns joined in, gleefully tweeted out a new “Marco Rubio Glitch” Twitter account that captured the robotic repeats and gained more than 1,000 followers quickly after the debate wrapped up.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was representing Jeb Bush in the spin room, told reporters that Rubio only reinforced the doubts about his readiness for the White House. “He’s really good at talking points and sound bites but he was off his game tonight,” he said. “I think the case for Marco being ready to be commander in chief took a hit tonight.”
The debate’s sustained attacks forced Rubio into a defensive crouch most of the night, as the third-place Iowa finisher turned in his shakiest performance on the national stage. By the evening’s end, sweat was visible on his brow.
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It’ll be amazing if Bush’s and Christie’s legacy from all this was enabling a Trump/Cruz two-man race
— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) February 7, 2016
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