The rest of the debate touched on everything from the economy to ISIS to the current administration, with the debate coming just a few days after the President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address. The candidates warned of dire risks to national security and challenged claims of recent economic gains for the middle class.
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According to data collected by the InsideGov team, those two candidates – plus New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who also had a strong showing on Thursday – spoke the most during the debate.
“You can’t do that to the party”, Trump declared.
Trump, the bombastic billionaire, remains atop the polls nationally but locked in a tight race with Cruz in Iowa. The senator 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, saying it was little more than a “paperwork error”.
While Cruz seemed to have parried the attack for now, he was stung by Trump on another issue: Whether people who live in New York City have the same values as other Americans.
“When the World Trade Center came down, I saw something that no place on Earth could have handled more beautifully, more humanly than New York”, Trump said.
“I’ve spent my entire life defending the Constitution before the US Supreme court, and I’ll tell you, I’m not going to be taking legal advice from Donald Trump”, Cruz quipped as the audience roared in approval.
Donald Trump and Ted Cruz speak during a commercial break at the January 14, 2016, GOP debate in SC.
The Christie-Rubio dynamic stood out at times, particularly when Rubio refused to condemn an ad from a super PAC supporting him that portrays Christie as similar to President Barack Obama. Seeking to undermine Rubio’s qualifications for president, Christie suggested that senators “talk and talk and talk” while governors such as himself are “held accountable for everything you do”.
“Ted Cruz, you used to say you supported doubling the number of green cards”.
Rubio fired back by accusing Cruz of switching positions on issues, preferring for the most part to stick to his trademark rapid fire, policy-focused answers. While the latest Bush Dynasty hopeful and Rubio might have brought something close to substance to the debates, they were like actors who’d prepared for a production of Mr. Smith Goes To Washington only to find that everyone else on stage was suited out for an episode of Game of Thrones.
But by so doing, Cruz eluded the real question of whether he needed to have been born in the actual United States in order to be legally elected president. “I appreciate you throwing your oppo research folder on the debate stage”, said Cruz. “And I will gladly accept the mantle of anger”. He said he had no regrets about the proposal and noted his poll numbers rose after he announced the plan.
The former Florida governor was clear and concise in his delivery – something that escaped Bush in the campaign’s early debates – but his adult-in-the-room persona often seemed starkly at odds with the direction of the primary conversation.
“I’ve been for pausing the Syrian refugees”, Kasich said. “It’s not constitutional. And we are going to kick your rear end out of the White House come this fall”, he added.
Bush pivoted to Clinton, saying she would be a “national security mess” if elected.
“I don’t think Americans are going to have a good reaction”. (2) Ted Cruz: The Texas Senator dominated the opening portion of the evening, running circles around Trump on the “natural born citizen’ eligibility non-issue”. He also accused her of telling “lies” to the families of victims in the attack on the US outpost in Benghazi.
Ben Carson, who has fallen behind his rivals despite being well-liked among Republican voters, generated laughs after joking about having to wait almost 15 minutes to get his first question.
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The field was slightly smaller than previous showdowns as Carly Fiorina and Kentucky Sen.
