A “Faint” Moment in Rubio’s Campaign Reveals a lot about His Candidacy
On the Sunday before the New Hampshire primary, at a routine Marco Rubio town hall meeting, a shout rings out from the back right corner of the packed gymnasium:
“Help! Help!! Someone fainted!”
“Is there a doctor in the house? A nurse?”
Flash-back to 45 minutes earlier:
Marco Rubio greets the energized crowd with an enthusiastic thank you for the support and a cute story about how his kids thought the protesters outside dressed as Spiderman were real. The speech continues routinely, with the signature bit about Obama “knowing exactly what he was doing,” the part about Clinton being “disqualified as Commander in Chief,” and, of course, the promise to “make America the strongest nation in the world.” But then, during the middle of a New Hampshire resident’s question about education reform, Rubio was interrupted by those unexpected shouts.
What came next could say a lot about Rubio as candidate and perhaps as a future president.
Rubio’s initial reaction to a woman in the room fainting was to stay on stage, But his face showed concern and genuine compassion, something that might be hard to find in the coldness of Cruz or the brashness of Trump. This compassion was echoed through his speech, especially when he talked about creating a country that will be safe and prosperous for his four children.
Next came his wife’s response to the scene, which was as almost as immediate as it could have been, given the suddenness of the situation. Jeanette Rubio’s reaction consisted of running straight to the corner where the woman was, with, of course, a mint in hand. This was an interesting perspective for the audience, (for those who were watching carefully enough,) because it was easy to see Mrs. Rubio’s clear aggressiveness and even possible dominance in her relationship with Marco. The Rubio’s relationship has been in the spotlight before, with New York Times reporters revealing in December that the couple was spotted at a retreat for marriage counseling in Hawaii in 2014. Towards the end of the town hall, Marco even said, “Not everyone is going to agree with me on everything. Actually, (he looks around) where did she go?” (referring to Jeanette jokingly and how they don’t always agree.) Again, this was interesting view on Rubio that became weirdly apparent all because of this woman fainting.
After Jeanette flew to the rescue, Marco turned to the confused and scared crowd and said matter-of-factly, “Let’s take a three or four minute break and let this work itself out.” He then proceeded to greet some supporters in the front rows and took some pictures with them–smiling, laughing, and hugging. This part of the dilemma is hard to decode. Does it display a lack of empathy on Rubio’s part? Not necessarily. However, it is slightly bizarre to see him swap personas so quickly. Maybe this shows Rubio’s ability to adapt and connect with the people regardless of the situation, but at the same time it was concerning because he was letting his staff members take care of the fainter and not him. Could this have a greater meaning? Is it revealing that Rubio depends a lot on others to help him in his campaign? Possibly.
After several anxious minutes, the woman got up. The crowd cheered and Rubio announced firmly, “Everything is all right.” He wrapped up the tense situation shortly and sweetly asking the questioner from earlier, “Now where were we?” It was a smooth way to move into the final questions of the day.
Although this analysis of Rubio’s reaction may not directly correspond with how Rubio is as real human being, it was a completely raw moment captured on the campaign trail and these moments matter. It was a pressured and totally unscripted situation. Even though he maybe didn’t do as much as he could have to actually help the woman, Rubio handled it fairly well by calming the crowd and remaining poised. All that matters now however, is seeing how he handles the real pressure: the New Hampshire primary and the long campaign trail ahead.
