Sen. Marco Rubio had a chance at payback Wednesday, when President Donald Trump noticeably sipped from a water bottle multiple times during a speech — a move Trump had mocked Rubio for during the 2016 campaign.
“Similar, but needs work on his form.Has to be done in one single motion & eyes should never leave the camera. But not bad for his 1st time,” Rubio tweeted Wednesday afternoon, linking to a video of Trump stopping mid-speech to look for his water bottle.
Trump’s hits against Rubio’s water-drinking technique stemmed from a 2013 speech, years before Trump had even expressed serious presidential aspirations.
Rubio was giving the GOP response to former President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address and paused in the middle to reach for a water bottle and sneak a sip.
“Next time Marco Rubio should drink his water from a glass as opposed to a bottle—would have much less negative impact,” Trump tweeted in 2013.
Trump ensured that the moment followed Rubio throughout the 2016 campaign, making mention of it several times on the campaign trail.
On November 9, 2015, Trump tweeted: “Marco Rubio couldn’t even respond properly to President Obama’s State of the Union Speech without pouring sweat & chugging water. He choked!”
At an event in Texas, Trump mimed Rubio’s attempts to drink water mid-speech, while spilling some contents of a water bottle onstage.
Trump was speaking Wednesday after getting back from his trip to Asia.