Last Tuesday was a big night for Senator Marco Rubio. The potential Republican presidential candidate for 2016 was chosen to deliver the official Republican response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, and did just fine— except for one little mistake. He took a sip of water.
Rubio, although appearing a little sweaty, delivered his substance nicely, talking about his experiences as a Cuban-American growing up under middle-class immigrants. But more than halfway through, he reached to his left, far out of the view of the camera, and brought into frame a tiny bottle of Poland Spring water in his hand, taking a water break while millions watched the live TV broadcast.
Perhaps it wouldn’t have been such a big a deal, if it weren’t for the fact that he maintained awkward eye contact with the camera all the while.
This evoked a variety of responses from around the world. Twitter exploded with comments and opinions, and even Donald Trump offered up a suggestion, saying that Senator Rubio might have been better off if he took a drink from a glass, as opposed to a bottle.
Deadspin.com made a slow-motion video of the event, setting it to music. Poland Spring saw a marketing opportunity a posted a picture to its Facebook page of a water bottle standing in front of a mirror along with the caption, ‘Reflecting on our cameo. What a night!’
As for the senator himself, he used self-deprecation. After his little flub, he tweeted a picture of the bottle he grabbed, and laughed the incident off during TV interviews, saying, “I figured I was better off just taking that water and taking the hit for it than being unable to pronounce my words at the end of it.”
Some felt that the incident ruined his career, taking the focus away from his speech and defining him forever as the “water bottle guy.” Others, however, saw it in a more positive light. “There is zero damage to Marco from the water bottle thing. If anything, it’s had a silver lining. It extended the shelf life of the interest in the speech and kept us all talking around the water cooler about his speech,” Republican strategist Ana Navarro said.
Despite all the turmoil, it looks as though Marco Rubio will be getting the last laugh. In just a matter of a week, Rubio raised over $100,000 for the Reclaim America political action committee. The fundraiser offers a branded water bottle for anyone who donates $25 or more. The page notes, “Send the liberal detractors a message that not only does Marco Rubio inspire you…he hydrates you too.”