Screenshot/CSPAN
Marco Rubio.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) repeated a line from his stump speech during a Monday-night event in New Hampshire - even after spending the past few days as the focus of attacks over his notable bit of repetition during Saturday night's Republican presidential debate.
This time, Rubio seemed to catch himself repeating the talking point.
Rubio said the following two lines back-to-back within 30 seconds:
We are taking our message to families that are struggling to raise their children in the 21st century because, as you saw, Jeanette [Rubio's wife] and I are raising our four children in the 21st century, and we know how hard it's become to instill our values in our kids instead of the values they try to ram down our throats.
In the 21st century, it's becoming harder than ever to instill in your children the values they teach in our homes and in our church instead of the values that they try to ram down our throats in the movies, in music, in popular culture.
As he was nearing the end of that second line, Rubio paused when he said "throats," seeming to realize he had said the same thing.
The latest bout of repetition was widely noticed on social media, and it came after a testy exchange with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) during Saturday night's debate.
Here was that exchange:
"Let's dispel with his fiction that Barack Obama doesn't know what he's doing," Rubio said. "He knows exactly what he's doing. He is trying to change this country."
"You see everybody, I want the people at home to think about this," Christie said. "That's what Washington, D.C., does: The drive-by shot at the beginning with incorrect and incomplete information [a reference to an earlier attack from Rubio on New Jersey's credit rating]. And then the memorized, 25-second speech that is exactly what his advisers gave him."
"Here's the bottom line: This notion that Barack Obama doesn't know what he's doing is just not true," Rubio said. "He knows exactly what he's doing."
"There it is!" Christie said. "There it is! The memorized 25-second speech."
Rubio said a near identical version of that line about Obama on four occasions Saturday. He said Sunday that the bit was core to his message.
"Actually, I would pay them to keep running that clip, because that's what I believe - passionately," he told ABC's George Stephanopoulos. "It's one of the reasons why I'm not running for reelection to the Senate and I'm running for president."
Rubio entered the New Hampshire primary ranking second, according to a Real Clear
Rubio's competition is close behind. He is locked in a four-way heat with Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).