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Londonderry, N.H. • Sen. Marco Rubio took heat for repeating the same talking points about President Barack Obama, almost word for word, during Saturday night's debate.
At his first rally Sunday morning, the senator from Florida defiantly doubled down, reiterating the same points in the face of negative commentary across the conservative and mainstream press.
"People are tuned in because you know the truth: All of the things that made this country special are in trouble," Rubio told a crowd of about 800 packed into a high school cafeteria. "After last night's debate, people are saying,'Oh, you said the same thing three or four times.' Well, I'm going to say it again. The reason why these things are in trouble is because Barack Obama is the first president, at least in my lifetime, [who] wants to change the country. ... Not fix its problems; he wants to make it a different kind of country."
On ABC's "This Week," Rubio said "absolutely not" when asked whether he will make any changes as a result of his debate performance.
Rubio campaign officials are equally adamant that there will be no recalibration as a result of his performance, which was widely described as robotic. They say they raised more money during the debate than any of the previous ones.
A fiery Rubio took the stage 35 minutes behind schedule. Rubio explained that Obama, like himself, a first-term senator when he ran for president, was never incompetent but instead a liberal ideologue who intentionally pushed through programs that are deeply unpopular among conservatives.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ripped Rubio for giving what he called the same "25-second canned speeches."
"This Week" host George Stephanopoulos told Rubio it didn't seem like a good moment and noted that Democrats are circulating videos mocking him.
"Well, actually, I would pay them to keep running that clip because that's what I believe passionately," Rubio replied. "It's what I believe. And it's what I'm going to continue to say because it happens to be one of the main reasons why I am running."
At his rally here just outside Manchester, Rubio explained that Obamacare and the Iran nuclear agreement were not accidents but strategic priorities.
"Everything that makes us special is under attack," he said. "If the next four years are anything like the last seven, we are in big-time trouble."
Rubio has found himself on the upswing after his surprisingly strong third-place finish in Iowa last week. The main question now is whether, or to what degree, perceptions of the debate will dent his momentum.
Rubio took the stage to harsh coverage. The front page of the right-leaning Boston Herald tabloid declared that he "wilted" under attacks from Christie. The banner headline: "CHOKE!"