“Donald Trump has done the one single thing you can’t do: Declare war on Islam itself” said Graham and added that it is going to be the biggest tool in the hands of Daesh or ISIL to spread anti-West propaganda.
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A Tuesday night debate among the Republican candidates vying for the highest office in the land dealt primarily with issues of national security, leaving agricultural and trade topics out of the discussion.
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.
Right away, frontrunner Donald Trump – challenged about his plan to ban non-American Muslims from the country to keep out possible terrorists.
“He’s a very careful candidate”, said Brandon Rottinghaus.
The candidates on the main stage were Florida Sen.
Bush’s team sent out a news release on “Jeb!” letterhead following the debate that read, “Jeb took on Donald Trump and his irresponsible policies that would be detrimental to our national security”. He continues to make controversial comments that might disqualify more traditional candidates, including his recent call for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S. Marco Rubio, his fellow Floridian.
And former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said he would rather Trump be president than Democrat Hillary Clinton “any day”. “I mean, I think when you think about the judgment of someone who might want World War III, we might think about someone who might shut down a bridge because they don’t like their friends”.
Most of Trump’s Republican rivals, as well as officials and leaders in the United States and around the globe, have criticised Trump’s proposal although many of his supporters have stood by him. Trump is also calling out members of the media to stop calling IS fighters “masterminds” because, in reality, they are thugs and awful people. “I am leading by so much he must”.
Cruz called for using “overwhelming air power” to destroy the Islamic State, while Rubio said airstrikes would have to be supplemented by ground troops, including American special operations forces.
“He was fighting to grant amnesty and not to secure the border”.
Cruz and Rubio have been sparring from afar, particularly over national security.
Struggling former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush found his footing in trying to discredit Trump’s qualifications for the White House, chiding the brash billionaire for trying to “insult your way to the presidency”. “I think if we ban certain religions, if we censor the Internet, I think that at that point, the terrorists will have won”, he said.
Cruz’s vote to end the kind of bulk phone data collection that some believe could make the fight against terror easier, had Marco Rubio on the attack.
In one of the more heated periods of the debate, Rubio defended his support for a 2013 bill that would have provided undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship.
Still, there have been some signs of movement in early voting states since Republicans last took the debate stage.
When asked by a debate moderator Tuesday whether he is ready to commit to not running as an independent if he does not win the Republican nomination, Trump replied: “I’ll be honest”.
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“Oh, you’re a tough guy, Jeb”, Trump shot back mockingly.
