As one aide put it, “Let Marco be Marco”.
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Eventually, Rubio exited the conversation. “That debate, plus getting around to the town halls, will make a difference for him”.
And above all else, he vowed to bounce back.
“I don’t. You can live any way you want”, Rubio shot back. “I’ll pay for it myself if I have to”, he said.
However, the support lost by Rubio didn’t seem to translate into a rise in support for Christie, who won just 7.5% in the state where he spent more time than any other GOP candidate. Ted Cruz and real estate mogul Donald Trump, two candidates reviled by party elders.
Rubio: I think that’s what the law should be.
Asked what his first stop would be after leaving the campaign trail, Christie said, “I want to reconnect with my family, hug my kids, and tell them what a douche Marco is”.
“In the end it’s what I believe, every word I say in my campaign are things I believe”, he said. “So I think there could be four or five tickets out of New Hampshire because the race is so unsettled now”.
‘Here’s what I find outrageous, ‘ Rubio said.
And it was yet another chance for Rubio to stake a claim as the GOP’s strongest candidate on foreign policy, which Republicans believe will become a defining issue in the primary and general elections. Jindal took on an entrenched corruption in state government, led by Democrats for decades, and made Louisiana a magnet for business while introducing a very successful program of education reform.
And it’s that eloquence, then said Florida GOP strategist Rick Wilson, who now works for a pro-Rubio super PAC, that would help Rubio overcome the “static” in the field.
During Saturday’s debate in New Hampshire, Rubio’s gaffe could be a significant misstep in a year dominated by candidates wielding their outside-the-beltway credentials with an electorate fed up with the political establishment. This time he was talking about child rearing in the 21st century.
Republicans facing off in Saturday night’s presidential debate sparred over whose anti-choice stances were the most draconian.
All of the governors – Bush, Christie and Kasich – had a good night.
Kierstead told Rubio that gay marriage is legal, to which Rubio said, “I respect your view”.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie chimed in that he, too, has a long history of attacking reproductive health in his home state.
Aboard his flight, Rubio spoke with reporters until they ran out of questions. The media has not asked them a single question on abortion, and on abortion, the Democrats are extremists. This time, it was casual – and he wasn’t afraid to offer some self-deprecating humor.
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But then the knives came out for the presidential candidate, and many of his rivals started pounding him.
