Cameras captured Carson awkwardly standing in the wings as he waited to be called to the stage on Saturday night.
Dr. Ben Carson tried to explain his strange entrance during Saturday night's GOP debate, claiming he couldn't hear his name being called.
Read: Donald Trump Goes After Ted Cruz, Accuses Him of 'Fraud' in Iowa
“We couldn’t hear very well backstage, so I was just waiting to hear my name," he said in the spin room after the uncomfortable incident.
Cameras captured Carson awkwardly standing in the wings as he waited to be called. A stage manager even signaled to him to go on stage but he hesitated.
When Donald Trump's name was called, he held back too. But Marco Rubio breezed by both of them and Jeb Bush even slapped Trump on the arm as he pushed past.
During the debate, Rubio appeared to repeat himself.
“Let's dispel once and for all this this fiction that Barack Obama doesn't know what he's doing. He knows exactly what he's doing," he said - before repeating similar sentiments later in the evening.
Trump told CBS This Morning on Monday: “I heard it again, and then I heard it a third time, a fourth time, and I think even a fifth time. And I said, wow, that's really strange."
Chris Christie also called Rubio out as he appeared on Good Morning America on Monday, saying: “He is a first term United States senator and the fact is, he hasn’t accomplished anything of note in the United States Senate.”
Read: Controversial, Anti-Immigration Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio Endorses Donald Trump for President
But Rubio says he was just staying on message, telling ABC News: “I'm gonna keep saying that, because not only is it the truth, it is part of our campaign.”
The latest CNN poll puts Trump in the lead in New Hampshire with 31 percent and four candidates battling for second place.
Watch: Ben Carson's Step-Sister Says She is Not Going to Vote For Him
