Politics & Government

WATCH: Christie-Rubio 'Glitch' Debate Moment

Gov. Chris Christie attacked Marco Rubio's experience fiercely during the Saturday GOP debate, leading to at least one bizarre exchange.

It could have been Gov. Chris Christie’s defining moment. Sadly, pundits say, it could have been a bad moment for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

Christie attacked Rubio’s experience fiercely during the Saturday GOP debate, inspiring viral videos (see videos below).

Christie’s attack on Rubio’s experience was so talked-about that it even inspired a Twitter account, @RuboGlitch, that, by 9 a.m. Sunday, had more than a 1,000 viewers.

Find out what's happening in Livingstonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

“Having seen these candidates up close over the past six months, I never understood why GOP pundits thought that Rubio was most electable,” Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, said on Twitter.

The exchange started when Christie said Rubio didn’t have the experience to be president, and asked America to not make the same “mistake” it made when it elected President Obama.

Find out what's happening in Livingstonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Rubio first didn’t go after Christie. Instead, he said a line that he repeated four times: “This notion that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing is just not true. He knows exactly what he’s doing.”

Christie called Rubio’s words a “memorized 25-second speech,” prompting Rubio to go on the attack, ripping Christie for presiding over nine New Jersey credit downgrades and how he had to be ”shamed” to leave the campaign trail and return to his home state during the recent blizzard.

Christie, however, turned the attack against Rubio, saying, “there it is” as Rubio launched into his rehearsed Obama attack once again...and again...and again..

Here is the exchange:



Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.