“He knows exactly what he’s doing”. “Do not make the same mistake again”.
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Lines like this one – a sharp indictment of the Democratic incumbent combined with an unabashed expression of American exceptionalism – have earned Rubio a reputation as a gifted orator.
Candidates have attacked Rubio plenty in the past over his lack of experience, missed votes, and shifting positions, but the Florida senator has rebutted them effectively at every turn with disciplined, carefully planned, perfectly delivered responses.
With his 2016 campaign on the ropes, Christie pounced on Rubio as an all-slogan, no-substance US senator who has never been “involved in a consequential decision”.
“I think Chris Christie in many ways was the dominant player in this debate”, Karl said.
Rubio’s argument is about Obama and it is even more about himself. But if I were going to guess, any lost voters for Rubio because of this debate will be scattered among the other candidates in such a way as not to change the pecking order.
He added, tangentially, a request to “dispel once and for all with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing”. Rubio replied with a short list and then pivoted toward a critique of Barack Obama.
“I think that anyone who believes what Barack Obama isn’t doing what he’s doing on goal doesn’t understand what we’re dealing with here”, he said. “That’s what Washington, D.C., does. The memorized 25-second speech”. “It’s a fine job, I’m glad you ran for it but it does not prepare you for president of the United States”. You wouldn’t have schools, you wouldn’t have bridges. And when the worst natural disaster in your state’s history hits you, they expect you to rebuild their state, which is what I’ve done.
“[Rubio] a smart person and a good guy, but he simply does not have the experience to be president of the United States and make these decisions”. But the jab was met with boos from the audience.
Rubio continued his speech, staying on script about the future of the country and trying to stay optimistic.
“Here’s the bottom line”. At one point, Christie interjected, “There it is”.
Christie, observing Rubio’s repetition, then commented in wonderment: “There it is – there it is, the memorized 25-second speech. There it is, everybody”.
Another candidate chafing at Rubio’s rise is Bush, who’s seen his own once front-running campaign overtaken by his one-time protege.
On stage, Cruz apologized to Carson, but did not commit to firing the members of his campaign team who took the actions: “When this transpired, I apologized to him then, and I do so now”, Cruz said.
“We’re going to take care of people that are dying on the street”, he pledged. He knows what he is doing.
Later in the night, during an exchange on the Department of Veterans Affairs, Christie brought the issue back to immigration in an attack on Rubio’s failed Gang of Eight bill in the Senate.
Finally, Christie joked, “Oh, so – wait a second”. Is that one of the skills you get as a United States senator ESP also?
After working all week to build on their momentum coming out of the Iowa caucuses, it took only about 30 minutes on stage for Senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas to squander their gains.
“Let’s dispel with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing”.
“To me, the issue of life is not a political issue”, Rubio said.
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Still, Trump got his usual lines out about building a wall and confronting China over trade and this time its relationship with North Korea, where the field responded to a question about how to handle a reported missile test by the country.
