Fox News Channel’s attempts to lure Donald Trump back into the latest Republican Presidential debate on Thursday night to foster continued high viewership didn’t work.
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One train of thought is that if Trump can’t deal with Megyn Kelly, how is he going to take on Vladimir Putin?
“I’m a maniac, and everyone on this stage is stupid, fat and ugly”, joked Cruz, in an effort to, as he put it, get “the Donald Trump portion” of the program out of the way. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks during a interview with The Associated Press, Friday, Jan. 29, 2016, in Burlington, Iowa.
And for some candidates – former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in particular – Trump’s absence from the debate stage Thursday night appeared to ease some of the tension created by his sharply personal attacks.
And with Trump’s manic energy miles away, the rest of the GOP field settled down to serious, sober and sometimes sleepy discourse over policy that left his biggest threat, Texas Sen.
‘He was a little teddy bear to me.
Bush and Rubio are competing with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Ohio Gov. John Kasich to win over the GOP’s centrist wing.
Fox News says Chairman Roger Ailes, in conversations with Trump, “acknowledged his concerns” about a statement the network had made in the days leading up to the debate.
DOWD: I think we’ll have a very good indication on Saturday.
Ramsay Trix says he’d seen the Texas senator three times before the Friday stop in Ringsted, Iowa, but he’s still not sure whether he will vote for him or Donald Trump.
“I wanted to fight for myself just like I’ll fight for the country”, Trump said. Trump said if he is elected President “we’re going to stick up for the rights of the country”. Ted Cruz at the Fox News debate.
In the first of multiple soundbites, ABC News political analyst and establishment GOP strategist Matthew Dowd hyped that “the biggest winner” of the evening was Trump with Rand Paul having done “the best” of those at the debate. But Fox Business is harder-to-find and typically much-lower-rated than Fox News. We have accomplished those two goals and we are pleased with the outcome. “We’re very proud to have her on stage as a debate moderator alongside Bret Baier & Chris Wallace”.
Fox’s rivals at CNN and MSNBC covered Trump’s fundraiser, where the candidate made a brief speech. Each of the candidates are now trying to position themselves as the Trump alternative, with an implicit recognition that he remains the dominant figure in the race.
Rubio, who co-sponsored the so-called “Gang of Eight” bipartisan immigration reform bill, was on the defensive on one of his most vulnerable issues.
“We’ve been pointing out his record for all January, really”, Roe said of Rubio.
Bush turned to his fellow Floridian and said he was “confused” to hear Rubio say this, before accusing the senator of changing his position for political expediency. Rubio was challenged to defend his past statements as a candidate for Senate where he opposed “blanket amnesty”, but then went on to lead a bipartisan Senate group that would have allowed people to seek citizenship after a series of other requirements.
Rubio was quick to join in.
“The lie that Ted’s campaign is built on…is that he’s the most conservative guy and everyone else is a (Republican in-name-only, )” he said.
Christie, however, delivered one of the strongest performances of the immigration exchange, casting Cruz and Rubio and products of Washington making procedural arguments that don’t resonate with voters. Data shows Trump was the number-one candidate searched in all 50 states during the debate, even though he was not there. Santorum quickly expressed deep frustration with the drama surrounding Trump. “The people of Iowa… care a lot about the issues”.
“He was being set up and he knew he was being set up”, said Norm Pawlewski, 81, a Korean War veteran, who, along with his family, plans to caucus for Trump on Monday.
Perhaps a more fair comparison would be CNN’s December 15 debate, which had a 12.2 household rating and 18 million total viewers.
“When we announced, we talked about a long process in earning the nomination”, Danny Diaz, Bush’s campaign manager, said when asked if the former Florida governor could sustain losses in Iowa and New Hampshire.
He appeared to relish his time in the spotlight, taking issue on several occasions with how many questions he was being asked by the moderators. “Did you skip me?”
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When it ended, Huckabee sauntered into the filing room to answer reporters’ questions, giving it the distinct feel of the post-debate spin room just down the road.
