At a CNN-hosted debate at the University of Houston, Trump’s rivals will have one of their last best chances to try to derail the blunt-spoken political outsider before the Super Tuesday contests.
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Neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who at one point was so desperate for talk time he asked to be attacked, said he showed voters he would be a leader who is “not a politician, is a member of we the people”.
Donald Trump now is not spending a penny on advertising ahead of the Super Tuesday votes where he is favored to win next Tuesday, as groups supporting Ted Cruz gear up to spend more. He did eventually spend nearly $10 million in the first four primary and caucus states, however.
The showdown came just days before the March 1 Super Tuesday 11-state round of mega-voting that could all but lock up the Republican nomination.
Ted Cruz: This was his home turf and you could tell with the audience.
In response, Trump trumpeted his businessman attributes by attacking Rubio for never hiring anyone. Trump dismissed the episode as something that happened decades ago.
Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio found common ground on Thursday: They say Donald Trump isn’t fit to be president. But Rubio correctly notes that Trump’s success would not have been possible without his family’s financial support.
Trump hit back: “Here’s a guy that buys a house for a $179,000 – he sells it to a lobbyist who’s probably here for $380,000”.
The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment about its advertising plans.
The Donald Trump juggernaut rolls into Florida where the GOP front-runner leads native son Sen. Rubio said while grinning, to loud applause.
Mr. Trump called fellow candidate Sen. But even as he said he was “totally pro-Israel”, he also said he didn’t believe there was any reason for labeling Israel and the Palestinians as the “good guy” and the “bad guy”.
“My mom was a maid at a hotel, and instead of hiring an American like her, you have brought in over a thousand people from all over the world to fill those jobs instead”, Rubio said. He said Rubio had collaborated with Democrats on immigration policy changes that Congress ultimately abandoned, while Trump has made campaign donations to Democrats in past elections and at times supported their policies. He said Trump should ignore his opponents and focus on the key planks in his platform – a border wall to keep out illegal immigrants, a stronger military, defeating Islamic State and fair trade. Rubio repeatedly pressed his rival for more details.
As for Cruz, Trump took a more personal tack, touting his own ability to get along with others and adding: “You get along with nobody….”
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For his part, the NY billionaire predicted the relative civility until now between Rubio and himself won’t last.
