Rubio Repeats Himself

2016

Date: 6 February 2016 · Place: Saint Anselm College, Manchester, New Hampshire · ABC News Republican primary debate · Figures: Marco Rubio, U.S. Senator (Florida) · Chris Christie, Governor (New Jersey) · Tags: Debate, GOP Primary, Glitch 01. The Loop Three days before the New Hampshire primary, Marco Rubio delivers the same 25-second talking point about Barack Obama four times in eight minutes. Chris Christie, standing two podiums away, calls it live: 'There it is. The memorized 25-second speech.' Rubio repeats the line again. Christie smiles. The clip is the entire debate by morning. 02. Marcobot Within hours the nickname Marcobot is on Twitter, paired with looping six-second Vines of the same sentence. Rubio finishes fifth in New Hampshire three days later and is out of the race by 15 March. Christie endorses Trump two weeks after the debate and his own campaign never recovers either. The moment becomes shorthand for any politician caught running a script. Rubio later jokes about it on the Senate floor. Sources • Karen Tumulty, 'Rubio robotically repeats line in attack on Obama, drawing rebuke from Christie,' Washington Post, 7 February 2016 • ABC News Republican Debate transcript, 6 February 2016 • Know Your Meme, 'Marcobot'