Marco Rubio, R-Fla., accompanied by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, speaks during a Faith and Family Presidential Forum at Bob Jones University, Friday, Feb. 12, 2016.
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Rubio’s poor performance in New Hampshire has created a potential opening for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Ohio Gov. John Kasich to consolidate support among the party establishment and challenge Trump and Cruz.
Donald Trump speaks at the Republican presidential debate sponsored by CBS News and the Republican National Committee in Greenville, South Carolina.
Cruz cast the moment in stark terms, saying allowing another Obama nominee to be approved would amount to Republicans giving up control of the Supreme Court for a generation. “It’s called delay, delay, delay”, he says.
Trump went on to accuse Cruz of running robo-calls in SC informing voters that Trump was not running in this state.
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson is fighting to stay in the mix in SC.
The candidates largely agreed that Scalia’s successor, who could shift the ideological balance of the court, should be nominated by the next president.
The final GOP debate before the SC primary already promised fireworks. “But, on the other hand, they have to be realistic about what lies ahead of them”.
The Republican candidates were unanimous in saying Obama should put off a decision.
“The weakest person on this stage by far on illegal immigration is Jeb Bush”, he said.
After Iowa and New Hampshire, the race has now moved to SC before the 20 February primary. “We’re not going to get healing with President Obama….”
Bless Donald Trump, for he did each of these things in Saturday night’s SC debate and was booed heavily-almost without interruption-for minutes. “And while Donald Trump was building a reality TV show, my brother was building a security apparatus to keep us safe and I’m proud of what he did”.
Bush called President Obama’s strategy to counter ISIS one of containment that is a “complete, unmitigated disaster”, adding that the United States must both destroy the jihadist group and depose Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
“George Bush made a mistake”, Trump thundered. But South Carolina is home to a large number of military personnel and veterans and Trump’s critique of the Iraq War could prove risky here.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump acknowledges photographers after speaking at a campaign rally in Baton Rouge, La., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016.
Braving waves of boos from the audience, Mr. Trump said George W. Bush, brother of current candidate Jeb Bush, held responsibility because he was in office during the attacks on the World Trade Center.
“We should have never been in Iraq”, Mr Trump said.
Bush, who has been among the most aggressive Republican candidates in taking on Trump, said that while he didn’t mind the businessman criticizing him – “It’s blood sport for him” – he was “sick and exhausted of him going after my family”.
“My parents were killed by a drunk driver, but my parents did not die in vain, ” Kasich says in the ad. “I was transformed”. Cruz and fellow Senator Marco Rubio also took pointed jabs at each other over illegal immigration.
Bush then attempted to derail Trump’s attack.
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“Delay, delay, delay”, Trump said. He is hoping that his family name will be a plus in this southern state, and in North Charleston on Monday, Bush will have his brother, George W. Bush, campaigning next to him for the first time. Kasich, who finished a strong second in New Hampshire, has secured new financial support in recent days.
