Behind the Scenes: Rubio Meets Maids, Cruz Dances with His Daughter

Amid the craziness of the Fox News debate in Detroit, Michigan, and the hustle-bustle of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last weekend, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz showed their humanity behind the scenes. Rubio went out of his way to meet the maids and wait staff at CPAC, and Cruz put his daughters first in the commercial breaks during the debate.

Benny Johnson, creative director at Independent Journal-Review, captured a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the real Marco Rubio at CPAC:

Extremely late for his CPAC speech, Marco Rubio marched down the service hallway of the Gaylord Convention Center [yes, it’s called that], blowing past glad-handing donors & congressmen. He was being briefed by an aide when he abruptly stopped his sprinters pace & said “Hold on a minute.” He diverted over to a corner hallway full of dirty dish tubs & linens, where a working waitstaff had stopped cleaning for a moment & were silently standing at attention to get a glimpse of the candidate. Rubio shook every hand in that waitstaff. He leaned in & said to one, “My dad used to do this,” pointing at the waiter’s dish towel, “This is real work, not running for President.” They laughed & Rubio was gone.

Johnson emphasized that “this was not an open press zone. There was no other media around.” This behind-the-scenes moment showed Rubio’s humanity and authenticity, in the midst of a very tough race.

Independent Journal-Review also caught footage of Ted Cruz during a commercial break at the debate in Detroit. Rather than preparing for his next remarks or schmoozing with members of the audience, the Texas senator spun his daughter around, with a smile on his face.

Here is @tedcruz dancing with his daughter onstage. One. Last. Time. pic.twitter.com/9e7S86QOZv

— Independent Journal (@INJO) March 4, 2016

Both Rubio and Cruz have been criticized as being robotic and dishonest, respectively. Rubio valuing wait staff over donors and Cruz putting his family first may not disprove these attacks, but these moments offer a glimpse into the man behind the political facade. It seems that both men are more genuine than many detractors think.