Following a question by the moderators, Rubio and Cruz called on Trump to release the audio tape of an off-the-record conversation he had with the New York Times editorial board, during which he allegedly expressed flexibility when it came to his immigration policy. The candidate embodies the “very brand of anger that has led other nations into the abyss”, Romney said.
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Cruz, a US senator from Texas, suggested Trump would be the wrong candidate to send into battle against Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton because he has supported her financially in the past.
It was a new level of nasty in a Republican campaign that’s become increasingly coarse in the past few weeks, as Trump has begun to emerge as the clear front-runner. The loss, Trump charged, was “an embarrassment”.
Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures towards rivals Marco Rubio (L) and Ted Cruz (R) at the U.S. Republican presidential candidates debate in Detroit, Michigan, March 3, 2016. The party’s most recent nominee strongly criticized Trump in a speech Thursday, calling him a “con man” and a “phony” who is “playing the members of the American public for suckers”. He praised Rubio’s past willingness to embrace compromise on immigration, even though Rubio’s position has been widely condemned by conservatives.
He acknowledged changing his own mind to support admitting more highly skilled workers from overseas, saying matter-of-factly, “I’m changing”. We need highly skilled people in this country.
“I’ll support Donald as the Republican nominee and let me tell you why.” He went on to berate Bernie Sanders as a “socialist”, and accuse Hillary Clinton of lying to “the family of victims who lost their lives in the service of our country”, concluding that “We must defeat Hillary Clinton”.
And he hammered Trump on lawsuits filed by students who said they’d been defrauded by his now-defunct Trump University.
The bad blood among the candidates flowed freely, a steady stream of insults interspersed with the policy debate.
Rubio and Trump had the first confrontation of the evening when Ruibo asked Trump to say he would stop manufacturing his clothing brands in Mexico and China, bringing those jobs to the United States. “People say everywhere I go, you seem to be the adult on the stage”, he said.
It was a jaw-dropping moment in a campaign that’s been full of surprises from the beginning.
But Trump kept his cool when questioned on changing stances by moderator Megyn Kelly, who had gotten under his skin in an August debate. “I find him a very fascinating person to cover”. When the OH governor meets with voters, he said, “you know what they really want to know? I guarantee.” Donald Trump on Rubio remark.
Rubio chimed in, “When they’re done with the yoga, can I answer a question?” “I’m the only candidate who has the delegate count, who has the state wins, who is in a position to beat Donald Trump”.
The front-runner in the race to be the party’s nominee took to the stage in Detroit with rivals Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz keen to make their mark. With a winnowed Republican field – retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson wasn’t on the stage – Kasich got one of his earliest chances to date to weigh in.
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Mr Trump, a billionaire with no experience of political office, has won 10 of the 15 states that have voted so far, with his promise to “make America great again”.
