His startling declaration left his onstage rivals scrambling to compete for attention the rest of the night.
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And if the press was going to tear him apart for his comments?
In the age of selfies and social media, the chattering classes and people who parrot them love to throw around the word “narcissist” with abandon. The question infuriated Mr Trump.
“People are frustrated”, Rubio said.
Less clear was how Trump fared in the debate itself, drawing boos from the audience at points. He said Thursday border patrol agents agreed with his comments about Mexicans, and he took credit for immigration being an issue in the 2016 campaign.
Minutes after the debate wrapped up, the syndicated conservative columnist and Fox News contributor said Trump ‘collapsed’ in the debate – an opinion he said was reinforced during a focus group led by Republican strategist Frank Luntz after the prime-time political event.
Trump’s campaign responded: “This is just another example of weakness through being politically correct”.
Thursday’s debate easily outdrew Fox’s previous record of 11.8 million viewers during a debate from the 2012 race, the Wall Street Journal reported. Seven candidates were relegated to an earlier debate, dubbed the “happy-hour debate” by its participants but derided by critics as the “kiddie table”.
The only candidate who seemed to come alive in an interesting way, aside from Rubio, was Ohio Gov. John Kasich. I’m certain that will really impress women about their place in the Republican Party. Neither of the surveys had a margin of error and readers outside of the United States could vote.
“Hillary Clinton lies about Benghazi, she lies about emails, she is still defending Planned Parenthood, and is still her party’s frontrunner”, Fiorina said before pivoting – without naming him – to Bush.
Immigration and counterterrorism dominated the early stages of the debate, two issues that highlight the deep divisions within the Republican Party.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie flashed his tell-it-like-it-is style in a blunt exchange with Paul, but also disappeared for long stretches of the night. He said he wanted to collect more information from terrorists, not law-abiding Americans.
“I’ve been very nice to you, although I could probably not be based on the way you’ve treated me“, Trump told Kelly. Kelly was the first to ask Trump about controversial remarks he’d made towards women during Thursday’s debate.
“What God calls us to do is follow his will”, he said.
There were other pass-the-popcorn moments that didn’t feature Trump, however.
“This election better be about the future, not the past”.
Rounding out the field was Texas Sen.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, considered a top contender, did well but had a hard time distinguishing himself from the pack, as did the others on stage: retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. “They don’t look relieved”, she said, answering her own question. “Little @MacMiller, I’m now going to teach you a big boy lesson about lawsuits and finance”. A spokesman for Trump retorted that the campaign would hold an event elsewhere, capping the roller-coaster day of fallout from his verbal assaults on Kelly.
Afterwards, Trump was relentless on Twitter, aiming fire at Kelly for a question that could have spurred a genuine conversation about equality, but ascended to farcical heights. “What are the principles by which he would govern?” she asked.
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In polls of likely Republican voters, Walker consistently ranks in the top three of the 17 GOP primary candidates and has recently experienced a surge. “She had no choice”, he said. He added that he may skip the next debate that will be hosted by Fox News, which is scheduled for January.
