Asked if he disagreed with Trump because he was too broad, Cruz quipped amid laughter: “Well, you know, I’m reminded of what FDR’s grandfather said”.
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But apart from such aberrations, the ultra-confident Trump touted his poll numbers as virtues and his past business exploits as qualifications for high office. He was on for about 13 1/2 minutes, roughly as long as Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.
Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio criticized each other on several topics ranging from immigration to collection of meta-data.
Yet even when Trump was not speaking, the CNN camera often returned to capture Trump’s reactions – which were often expressive.
“I think he probably did what he needed to do”, Axelrod said, adding that it didn’t hurt that few of the candidates to Trump’s right and left were “eager to tangle” with the front-runner. Lindsey Graham took four separate shots at Cruz, all by name, calling him an “isolationist”. And Cruz said it’s up to voters to decide if Trump is capable to serve. That prompted speculation of a possible intelligence probe into whether Cruz’s comments revealed sensitive or classified information about the National Security Agency’s phone surveillance program. “He’s just fine. Don’t worry about it”.
Trump said Bush has a failed campaign.
“He’s just fine. Don’t worry about it”, Trump said when asked whether Cruz had the temperament to be president. “From our perspective, we wanted to highlight the difference between the candidates: one who is prepared, one who has a depth of knowledge for the job and one whose erratic behaviour and reckless rhetoric raises real questions”. If Rubio turns out not to have staying power – it’s hard to imagine which of the early states he is likely to win – and if Jeb Bush’s sparkless candidacy fails to ignite, then maybe Cruz becomes the designated Trump-slayer by default. Note the extent to which Trump went in the debate Tuesday to repeatedly rail against the “waste” of $4 trillion on USA military involvement since the invasion of Iraq that could have been put better to domestic uses, such as infrastructure renovations.
“Jeb does not really believe I am unhinged”. The Cruz campaign says it is complementing that approach with intense state-by-state organizing – somewhat mimicking President Barack Obama’s neighborhood-based approach to campaigning eight years ago – with local tea party leaders playing a pivotal role. “It’s been a total disaster”. “I’m at 42, and you’re at 3”. He got a good laugh from the crowd for that one. I think it’s going to go from a football team to a baseball team to a basketball team in January which is probably five or six people on stage.
And not the only ones, surely.
Cruz and Rubio, the sons of Cuban immigrants, faced off on immigration..
With seven weeks to go before the first nominating contest in Iowa, Trump has held or expanded his lead in national polls in the Republican race for the election.
The medium-sized man with a huge head had a good and bad night. On the rise in New Hampshire, Chris Christie on Tuesday ably mixed his lack of exposure to Washington with his experience as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He also talked about getting tougher with the Russians and shooting down their planes if they violated a no-fly zone in Syria.
“I did think the debate was great”. Mr. Trump claimed credit for attracting national attention on an issue that he said was being overlooked – Islamic radicalism.
Former Mitt Romney aide and current CNN political commentator Kevin Madden said Cruz’s strategy of avoiding confrontation on the debate stage was effective.
Cruz was second at 15 percent, followed by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 12 percent. “Let’s talk about how we do this, not about which bill, which one these guys like more”.
In the end, the evening seemed to do little to scramble the standings ahead of the holidays, a traditional time of hiatus for voters if not for the campaigns.
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Carly Fiorina still looked and sounded like a top debater on stage Tuesday night, but a closer look shows that the former Hewlett-Packard CEO is offering little to voters that they haven’t already heard.
