Enlarge Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Voters in New Hampshire mocking "Robot Rubio".
Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders don't either, but Trump says only he would be able to "do something about it". But on the eve of the nation's first primary, it's not clear which of them will rise to the challenge. And at least two candidates, Govs.
If anything, his weaker showing gave new hope to Christie, Jeb Bush and John Kasich, all of whom need strong finishes in New Hampshire to keep their White House bids afloat.
But the field is still crowded, and the electorates that await the candidates in SC and Nevada are markedly more diverse.
It's notoriously hard to gauge a candidate's ground game.
And while some Republicans in the state minimize Trump's ground game, others say they're seeing signs of life from the Trump campaign, and believe his operational deficit is being overstated.
Rubio apparently liked this line so much that he used a version of it again in the same debate: "in 2008, we elected as president someone who wasn't interested in fixing America". His victim Saturday night was Florida Senator Marco Rubio, whom Christie accused not just of being an unready, callow youth, but of giving the same canned speech over and over again.
He and the other potential candidates were all given 15 minutes to speak.
Nashua, New Hampshire (CNN)A very fired up Jeb Bush brought a New Hampshire crowd to its feet Sunday, when he called Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump a "loser". It explains Bush and Christie's unofficial, temporary détente, too.
Here was the exchange between Rubio and Christie that has earned Rubio much criticism.
In several appearances Sunday, Kasich avoided direct attacks on his fellow governors.
Christie: I'll take the rest of the day. "And no one else is taking him on?"
The governor needs a strong last-minute push in the Granite State's crucial first-test primary: a Monmouth University poll released Sunday showed Trump leading the pack with 30 percent support while Christie sits outside a tight clump of candidates vying for second that includes Rubio, Kasich, Bush and Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Ted Cruz, the champion college debater who shared a deeply personal moment during an otherwise forgettable night while trying to build on his victory in the Iowa caucuses. Christie unleashed withering attacks against Rubio in Saturday's debate, and the New Jersey governor tripped up Rubio by calling him out in real-time for his reliance on rehearsed talking points.
Rubio and Christie tried to turn the issue against the Democratic Party both saying that Democrats are "extremists" on the issue, not Republicans. "You just simply haven't".
As seconds ticked off, Rubio looked younger, smaller, and less appealing, and after each response from Christie, he repeated his same line.
Rubio said earlier on ABC's "This Week" that his belief about Obama's job performance is "one of the main reasons why I am running".
It also came at a awful time for Rubio's campaign - after finishing third in the Iowa caucus, he planned to carve himself out as a serious challenger heading into the New Hampshire primary.
"He wants to be a tough guy, and it doesn't work very well", Mr Trump said of Mr Bush, telling the son and brother of former presidents to be quiet.
On NBC's "Meet The Press" Sunday, Trump stood by his promise in Saturday's debate to reinstitute waterboarding as an interrogation method for foreign prisoners of the U.S.
The practice, accepted as torture internationally and now forbidden by USA law, is "peanuts" compared to what Islamic State group members practice, Trump said. "I'm going to do the right thing for the American public", he said.
Saturday's GOP candidates' debate was the most potentially damaging for Rubio, whose performance was widely considered his worst of the campaign.
Hillary Clinton is detouring from New Hampshire to Flint, Michigan, on Sunday for a quick visit. "What happened in Flint is immoral", Clinton said.
It is time to take away the shoelaces and belt buckles from the staff at Fox News because these people are clinically depressed over the demise of Marco Rubio.
Zika Sexual Transmission in US Prompts Health Warning
And Brazilian health officials said on Thursday they had confirmed two cases of transmission through blood transfusions. When symptoms do appear, they usually are in the form of a mild fever, rash and eye redness.
