Bartiromo on Bush, Rubio During Commercial Breaks: 'There Was Ice There'

Cortney O'Brien | November 11, 2015 9:50 AM

Commercial breaks during debates are often opportunities for candidates to share some friendly banter before returning to their podiums for the next round of questions. Fox Business moderator Maria Bartiromo offered Fox News viewers some insight Wednesday morning into what went on behind the scenes during these short intervals. While several of the candidates spoke to each other and came up to the moderators’ table to ask questions, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, she indicated, stayed on opposite sides of the stage and avoided interaction.

“There was ice there,” she said.

That was quite a task, considering they were placed right next to each other during the broadcast.

Case and point.

.@JebBush to @marcorubio at the commercial break: No thanks https://t.co/rdTk0jDhzN https://t.co/0Ea93F5NmC
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) November 11, 2015

At last month’s CNBC debate, the two Florida politicians shared an awkward exchange when Bush turned to Rubio and attempted to criticize him for his missed Senate votes. Rubio easily turned the criticism on Bush by saying someone in his camp is “convincing” him that attacking him is an effective strategy.

Rubio has continued to use Bush’s “phony attacks” to his advantage in recent days. One of his new campaign ads, for instance, reminds voters that the former Florida governor had nothing but praise for him before the 2016 race.

Unfortunately for the two of them, they're going to be seeing a lot more of each other. We still have more than 10 debates to go.