SC voter to Rubio: California elected ‘The Terminator’

A voter in South Carolina on Thursday gave Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) a novel defense against critics who say he was “robotic” during the last GOP presidential debate.

“As far as the robot stuff, you never brought that up, but just keep in mind that ‘The Terminator’ was elected twice in California,” the man told Rubio during a campaign event in the Palmetto State that morning, according to ABC News.

{mosads}The voter’s suggestion references Arnold Schwarzenegger, star of “The Terminator” film franchise.

The titular character is a robot assassin sent from the future to kill humanity’s leader against a sinister artificial intelligence called Skynet.

Schwarzenegger served as the 38th governor of California from 2003 to 2011 despite lacking political experience and his extensive background in Hollywood.

Rubio, meanwhile, has faced withering scorn for his performance in the GOP’s eight presidential debate last Saturday. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who dropped out of the GOP race after a poor showing Tuesday in the New Hampshire primary, mocked the Florida lawmaker’s speaking style as overscripted and forced.

Detractors seized on the moment, lampooning Rubio as robotic days before the New Hampshire contest. Rubio finished in an underwhelming fifth place there.

He has since rejected critiques of his rhetoric as “silly,” adding he restates points that are especially crucial for voters to hear.

“Of course you say the same thing in a lot of places, because you have a message that you’re trying to drive,” he said late Wednesday on Fox News’s “Hannity.”

“It may be the 100th time that a member of the press corps hears it, but it may be the first and only time that a voter gets to hear it.”