A man dressed in a robot costume and holding a sign reading "Robot Rubio" was spotted in New Hampshire on primary day.
The man, who has not been identified but says he is not with a rival campaign, was first spotted in Manchester standing with a crowd of sign-waving Marco Rubio supporters in a photo tweeted by Dee Duncan, the Rubio campaign's advance director.
.@TeamMarco out bright and early this AM in Manchester fired up to see @marcorubio #Marcomentum #EarnIt pic.twitter.com/dKNvIvWPgY— Dee Duncan (@DeeDuncan14) February 9, 2016
He soon surfaced in a number of tweets from various reporters covering the primary.
.@marcorubio's trolls have upgraded their attire from cardboard boxes pic.twitter.com/yCbjKNsAjV— Patricia Mazzei (@PatriciaMazzei) February 9, 2016
Not long after, Americans United for Change, a group that promotes "progressive ideals," posted a video showing the robot being roughed up by supporters of the Florida senator.
When New England Cable News reporter Marc Fortier asked why he was standing out in the cold in a robot costume, the man replied: "It’s all about talking points, my man. I’m programmed just like he is."
"I’m not with another campaign. I’m just myself here having a good time," he said.
"Trolling is fun." My hard-hitting 1-on-1 with #RobotRubio. pic.twitter.com/phvEnw2bS1— Marc Fortier (@MarcNECN) February 9, 2016
The robot even made it within feet of Rubio, who was seen smiling as he walked through a hallway narrowing avoiding his new overlord.
Wait, which one is @marcorubio? #RobotRubio #fitn pic.twitter.com/6JfuB46l6i— Americans United (@AU4Change) February 9, 2016
He's not even the only robot trailing Rubio's campaign appearances on Tuesday. Other robots, whose costumes were made up of nothing more than cardboard boxes, were seen running after the candidate and being knocked to the ground by his supporters. They were with the American Bridge 21st Century political action committee, a Democratic group that tracks the Republican candidates.
Then were seen running after Rubio as his campaign bus arrived at a New Hampshire polling location Tuesday morning.
Reporters and a robot running after Rubio: America, 2016 pic.twitter.com/ZZc7icB1eE— Versha Sharma (@versharma) February 9, 2016
One of them men is live-tweeting the experience on Twitter.
Hitting up next stop with Rubio in Bedford!! pic.twitter.com/3RMrKuWeT4— evale72 (@evale72) February 9, 2016
Another had his costume ripped off by the Rubio crowd.
Kevin after they ripped his costume off pic.twitter.com/vzhOiQXsEV— evale72 (@evale72) February 9, 2016
The robot dig is a direct reference to Rubio's widely mocked glitch during Saturday night's GOP debate, in which the presidential hopefully repeatedly returned to a line about President Obama knowing "exactly what he's doing."
The mistake has raised anxieties inside Rubio's network of supporters that his biggest asset -- his ability to stay eloquently on message -- had become his greatest burden and may ultimately lead to his downfall.
We asked Americans United if its behind the costumed robot and they said yes, "the silvery guy is ours." As for the cardboard colleagues: "Same place, different robots."
Team Rubio, meanwhile, says the trolls are merely scared of the Florida senator's candidacy.