The second half of the debate went on as if Trump had not offered one of the most controversial ideas from a leading presidential candidate in recent memory. Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz clashed over government access to Americans’ communications. He says he’ll pass on running as a third-party or independent candidate. Here’s a look at some of the key takeaways from the last GOP presidential debate of the year.
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The back-and-forth between Cruz and Rubio erupted at several points throughout the evening. Under questioning, he said he was still open to a path to citizenship for those here illegally, “down the road”.
Not if Rand Paul had anything to say about it, delivering a dig on immigration.
Cruz and Rubio have been sparring from afar, particularly over national security.
Last month’s terrorist attacks in Paris made national security, foreign policy and the appropriate US response the top concern among voters.
The debate, held before a crowd of about 1,400 at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas and televised on CNN, focused mostly on how to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and other forms of terrorism.
The two also squared off over Trump being targeted. “I understand that Marco wants to raise confusion”, Cruz charged.
“This is another example of the lack of seriousness”, Bush said about Trump’s proposal to kill the families of terrorists.
Bush: “You’re never going to be president of the United States by insulting your way to the presidency”. Trump also complained that the undercard debate, which featured the bottom four candidates’ also heavily emphasized Trump questions.
“I really am”, he said.
Bush tried again to portray Trump as the one-dimensional know-nothing.
(Trump) “He has failed in this campaign, it’s been a total disaster, nobody cares”.
“Donald, you’re not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency”.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush lashed out at Trump’s plan, calling it and the candidate “dangerous”. “Just two months ago he said that Hillary Clinton would be a great negotiator with Iran”. And in the spin room post-debate, Rubio spokesman Alex Conant painted Cruz as “isolationist” on foreign policy.
As the debate over security continued past the hour mark, each candidate was still being grilled as to whether or not they’d be tough enough, and serious enough to handle the current war on terror.
“We are now at a time when we need more tools, not less tools”, he argued. That can lead our country to safety and security.
“If we’re going to ban all Muslims, how are we going to get them to be part of a coalition to destroy ISIS?” said former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida.
But somehow, the candidates – including Trump – stumbled into a thoughtful discussion about a deep issue: Is it better to overthrow dictators in the hope of spreading democracy, or put up with them for the sake of stability?
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who is emerging as the greatest threat to Trump, disagreed sharply with the Muslim ban, but saved most of his barbs for Sen.
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Meanwhile, Cruz is now threatening Trump’s monthslong front-runner status in Iowa, with polls showing the senator either neck-and-neck with or ahead of Trump in the state.
