Marco Rubio, in a tale about plumbers and philosophers, undersold the value of a college education.
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THE FACTS: Trump and Fiorina seemed to be contesting who knows Putin better – Fiorina from a chance meeting in a holding room before she and Putin addressed a Beijing conference in 2001, or Trump from having appeared on the same “60 Minutes” program as Putin in September.
After a back and forth between Trump and Kasich, Bush tried to get a word in asking the moderators, “What happened to my time?”.
As he has in other recent debates, Trump seemed to fade from the spotlight at times.
Here are a few other takeaways from the Milwaukee matchup.
GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump defended his plan Wednesday to deport millions living here illegally, saying it could be done “humanely”.
TRUMP: President Dwight Eisenhower “moved 1.5 million illegal immigrants out of this country….”
(Trump) “We will have a wall, the wall will be built, the wall will be successful and if you think walls don’t work all you have to do is ask Israel, the wall works”.
“We have got to do something to compete with the rest of the world”, Trump said. “But we need smart people making the deals”.
While a popular position with a few of the most conservative Republican primary voters, Kasich and Bush argued that’s not a practical position for the GOP nominee to take into the general election next November.
“We all know you can’t pick them up and ship them across, back across the border”. “They’re doing high-fives in the Clinton campaign right now”, he pointed out in response to anti-immigration reform recitations from Trump and Sen.
Christie opted to set his sights on Hillary Rodham Clinton, calling the Democratic front runner the “real adversary”. Candidates sparred over tax plans, immigration, and negotiating skills…
Bush avoided tangling with fellow Floridian Marco Rubio, a shift in strategy after his poor performance in the last debate. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul vowed to reign in defense spending.
But Rand Paul inserted himself into the conversation to make a point. This allowed the true divides between the candidates – especially on issues of immigration and foreign policy – to be on display.
“No, I know, I know”, he said.
Cruz interjected that there’s a way to “split the difference”.
“I would say the politics of it would be very, very, different if a bunch of lawyers or bankers were crossing the Rio Grande – or if a bunch of people with journalism degrees were coming over and driving down the wages in the press”, Cruz said.
But Cruz said he would offset any increase in military spending by cutting in other areas, offering up the federal subsidy for the sugar industry as a specific example.
Just days later, Cruz went out of his way with radio host Hugh Hewitt to note that Rubio voted with the White House on granting the administration Trade Promotion Authority.
Kasich elbowed his way into the debate again and again, saying at one point, “Look, I hate to crash the party”.
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The former Florida governor said of Rubio, once his political protegé: “We’re good friends – I admire him”.
