Cruz, who was born in Calgary, Alberta, to a citizen mother and a Cuban father, accused Trump of bringing up his birth place simply because Cruz was leading some polls in Iowa, where on February 1 it will be the first state to hold a contest. “And you can’t do that to the party….you have to have certainty”.
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“Conservatives actually do come out of Manhattan”, Trump said, citing William F. Buckley and adding that Cruz had “insulted a lot of people”.
Cruz was also on the defensive about his failure to disclose on federal election forms some $1 million in loans from Wall Street banks during his 2012 Senate campaign.
When asked about his hit earlier this week on Trump’s “New York values”, Cruz clarified that they are “socially liberal or pro-abortion or pro-gay marriage”. “Headline, ‘Trump way up, Cruz going down, ‘” Trump said, prompting boos from the audience.
The real problem is Marco Rubio, who yet again easily eclipsed Bush on a debate stage. He avoided being drawn into spats with his rivals, even as moderators tried to get him to clash with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Rubio likened Christie’s policies to President Obama’s, particularly on guns, Planned Parenthood and education reform – an attack Christie declared false.
Republican presidential candidates take the stage before the Fox Business Network Republican presidential debate on Thursday night in North Charleston, S.C. “And I recognize that Donald is dismayed that his poll numbers are dropping in Iowa, but the facts and the law here are really clear”.
Rubio entered the debate as the top target for most of the other establishment-minded candidates. “So, my views are a little bit different than if I lived in Iowa, perhaps”, Trump told Russert.
Rubio was the most articulate candidate, and he projected himself as the voice of a new generation of Republicans.
Party leaders are anxiously looking on, hoping that someone will be able to dampen Trump’s and Cruz’ momentum.
Thursday night’s debate came at the end of a week that has highlighted anew the deep rifts in the Republican Party.
At the moment, national polls show Trump way out in front in the race for the nomination, with 35% support, according to a RealClearPolitics average of the latest surveys.
Trump said he wasn’t offended by Haley’s speech and argued his anger is justified.
Cruz shrugged off the question as trivial, quipping, “I’m glad we’re focusing on the important topics of the evening”.
Trump defended his call for blocking Muslims from the United States because of terror concerns emanating from overseas. His poll numbers are low and don’t seem to be changing.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush pivoted to Clinton, saying she would be a “national security mess” if elected.
“What kind of signal does that send to the rest of the world?” he asked.
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Trump called for the ban in December in the wake of the Paris attacks and the mass shooting at the San Bernardino shootings, which authorities are investigating as a terrorist attack because the Muslim suspects appeared to have ties to terrorist group the Islamic State, or ISIS.
