Carson, the retired neurosurgeon, has taken the lead, raising the prospect that he would be the focus of attacks by Trump and other opponents. “And he’s a lot less scary than Rafael (Ted) Cruz”.
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After a few tension with candidates, CNBC agreed to a two-hour debate, including commercial breaks.
Rubio has been taking a beating in the press for missing a number of votes in the Senate while campaigning for the Republican nomination. Literally, what is the Senate, like a French work week? “If you want someone to grab a beer with I may not be that guy, but if you want someone to drive you home, I will get the job done and I will get you home”, he said.
“Let someone else take the job”, Bush said.
But Rubio was ready with his reply, citing the percentage of votes missed by previous senators who ran for president, including President Barack Obama. The detail of his response showed he had been prepared for the attack – and that he knows it could be viewed as a liability.
“I don’t ever remember you complaining about John McCain’s vote record”, Rubio said. As important for Rubio, though, was that his biggest rival in the establishment lane-Jeb Bush-failed to turn in the type of performance that would soothe the fears of his nervous-and-getting-more-so backers inside the Republican Party. After more than 40 minutes of silence, watching the moderators quiz the frontrunners and standing by as other candidates traded barbs, Christie was asked about his plan to scale back Social Security.
“I’m fed up”, Kasich said.
The soft-spoken Mr Carson has been a low-key presence in the first two Republican debates, but is likely to get more attention from moderators and his fellow candidates.
At another point, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie snapped at Harwood during the debate, chiding him and saying that “even in New Jersey that’s considered rude”. He deftly recapped the moderators’ quizzing of his opponents, describing those interactions as antagonistic. This is not a cage match, The Texas senatorsaid when CNBC moderator Carl Quintanilla asked him about his stance on a major budget compromise making its way through Congress.
Said Trump, “no, not a comic book, and it’s not a very nicely asked question the way you say that”.
Rubio responded that the editorial was “evidence of the bias that exists in the American media today”. And we also have a recap of the four candidates who faced off during the undercard debate at 6 p.m. ET.
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During that hearing, Clinton said that while the intelligence later proved the attack was coordinated by terrorists, she believes that the video and the protests it sparked across the Middle East played a role.
