Rubio was not sold and, after laying out his plan, told Trump it’s “not a game where you draw maps”.
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Republican presidential candidate, businessman Donald Trump, pauses… “You haven’t hired anybody”.
“Now he’s repeating himself”, Rubio responded.
Watching it all from the audience was former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, whose era of politics seems long gone in today’s Republican Party.
Trump appeared rattled at times as he faced the most sustained, face-to-face attacks of the campaign. The real estate mogul replied that he would “get rid of the lines around the states” which block competition between health care companies.
“Cruz said Hillary Clinton would say to him, “‘Gosh, Donald you gave $100,000 to the Clinton Foundation. This timing of this debate is critical, considering that it is happening so close to Super Tuesday when states like Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia will be casting their votes for both Republican and Democratic primaries or caucuses.
Speaking to CNN’s Chris Cuomo after the debate, Trump mused about why he’s been audited so often: “Maybe because of religion, maybe because of something else, maybe because I’m doing this, although this is just recently”.
Cruz, citing his win over Trump in Iowa, told the Fox News forum that “the only campaign that can beat Donald and the only that has beaten Donald is our campaign”. Both Trump and Rubio are signaling they’re unwilling to cede Texas, the crown jewel of Super Tuesday, to the home state senator, Cruz. An outside group backing Rubio is beginning Florida ads on Friday, though it is unclear how much it plans to spend.
Trump said Romney lost in 2012 because he was a awful candidate.
“I want to release my tax returns”, he said, “but I can’t release them while I’m under an audit”.
Trump went into the debate facing calls to release his tax returns.
He said Trump may talk tough on illegal immigration now, but previously said Romney lost his race against Obama by promoting the idea that illegal immigrants should self-deport.
After Trump mocked Rubio for his “meltdown” in a previous debate when the Florida senator repeated rote talking points, Rubio swatted back in kind, scolding Trump for spouting the same phrases over and over: “Everyone’s dumb”.
That’s exactly what happened when Rubio accused Trump of using illegal workers from Poland on a project that ” a significant number of people from other countries to take jobs that Americans could have filled”.
Rubio fired back, “I just watched you repeat yourself five times five seconds ago”.
It was a rare night where the bombastic Trump, standing between the two senators, found himself on the defensive. It’s the nation’s biggest swing state, with a mix of Republican and Democrats and a diverse population, like “five states in one”, Heffley said.
Trump on Rubio and Cruz: “This guy’s a choke artist and this guy’s a liar”.
Trump shot back: “I’m the only one on the stage that’s hired people”. Then, after being pressed to explain: “Well, maybe because of the fact that I’m a strong Christian and I feel strongly about it. Maybe there’s a bias”.
Graham singled out Trump’s assertion that illegal immigration from Mexico brings rapists and drug dealers into the U.S.
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Even with his bombast, Trump turned in a more measured performance than usual, defending his moderate positions on Planned Parenthood and retaining popular parts of the Obamacare law, perhaps mindful that he is closing in on a victory in the Republican race.
