“he must be getting something out of it”
yeah, it gives him something to say to help fill up the void of his debate time. He put a LOT of effort into memorizing that phrase, and a few others like “As governor of Ohio ...”, so he uses them a lot. Plus by using memorized phrases he’s slightly less likely to look so crazed.
It’s funny how politicians get so bent out of shape when the media go diggin’ into their past, but politician are constantly using their past to make them look like they are like everyone else.