The Florida senator brought his A-game to the third Republican presidential debate of the campaign season, sharply attacking his rivals and the media, swatting away criticisms about his candidacy, and bringing a personal narrative to the prime-time event sponsored by CNBC.
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Establishment Republican candidates, who are left far behind in the dust, are attacking Trump and Carson ahead of Wednesday’s debate. Trump told CNN that while he was “really surprised” by the results and said they meant he needed “to work a little bit harder in Iowa”. Eighty percent of his supporters said it’s too early to say for sure whether they’d actually vote for him – compared to 55 percent of Trump supporters who claim they’ve made up their minds, according to the Times poll. A poll released this week by CBS News and The New York Times also showed Carson catching up to Trump nationally.
While Trump’s taunts have rattled opponents, he has yet to land on an insult for Carson, who is the most well-liked GOP contender.
The jumbled GOP field is a stark contrast to the Democratic contest, where Hillary Rodham Clinton is strengthening her front-runner status over Vermont Sen. Lindsey Graham, who are in the preliminary debate before Wednesday’s main event, it’s make an impression or make for the door.
CNBC says its debate, titled “Your Money, Your Vote”, will focus on economic issues including tax policy, federal spending and job growth.
Bush “has to distinguish himself from Rubio and explain why his experience is so important” for a presidential candidate, she said. “Donald Trump thrives on the media attention”.
While Carson is unknown to many Americans, he’s built a loyal following with tea party-aligned voters and religious conservatives. Carson has raised eyebrows with incendiary comments about Muslims and references to Nazis and slavery on the campaign trail.
Carson’s biggest weakness may be his glaring lack of specific policy proposals. The issues listed on his campaign website are vague, including a tax plan that calls for a “fairer, simpler, and more equitable” system.
Carson said it was absurd to allege he’s connected to the company.
The feud between Bush and Rubio has been simmering for months, driven by the former Florida governor’s concern that his talented protege could eclipse him.
“People got exhausted of Trump’s style and bombast”, Iowa Republican strategist Doug Gross, a former Mitt Romney campaign chairman, said of Trump’s Hawkeye State slide. With a well-funded super PAC standing by, Bush doesn’t appear to be on the brink of a campaign collapse. Whether his strong performance and strong adulation of Tom Brady will shift his poll numbers in the Granite State remains to be seen. Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, is aiming for a breakthrough in the New Hampshire primary, a week after the Iowa caucuses, while Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, seeks a similar opening in Iowa.
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From his perch at the top of the Republican field, Trump had largely declined to go after Ben Carson, training his fire instead on other more seasoned politicians like Bush, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul.
