Trump told more than 3,000 supporters at a rally at the Nugget hotel-casino in Sparks, Nevada, that he was pleased with his lower-key performance during the third GOP debate in Boulder, Colorado, even if the “crooked people in the press” won’t give him credit. Marco Rubio to take the spotlight.
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Cruz contrasted that approach with the recent Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas hosted by CNN, “where every fawning question from the media was, ‘which of you is more handsome and why?'”
The Texas senator also set the tone for the debate, breaking the ice on attacking “the mainstream media”. Cruz challenged the moderators, before being drowned out by cheers from the audience. John McCain ran, after whom Bush recently said he’s modeling his campaign, Bush wasn’t complaining about his voting record. And Carson claimed he was the victim of the media’s “total propaganda”. Marco Rubio in the Republican presidential primary debate Wednesday called Rubio a “Jedi Master”, who the Bush campaign should have known not to mess with. “Well, he’s a smart man”, Carson told MSNBC.
Dr Carson, in fact, has pulled ahead in the latest New York Times/CBS News poll released on Tuesday, with 26 per cent of support, pushing Mr Trump into second place with 22 per cent – only the second time this has happened in a national poll since July. Rand Paul of Kentucky and 15.5 percent saying Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
Kasich attacked Carson over his Medicare plans, Trump over immigration, and both over their lack of experience in public office. An early-on spat between Rubio and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush – where the two went head to head on Rubio’s tenure in the Senate – marked a departure from their previous interactions in the campaign.
“CNBC should be ashamed of how this debate was handled”, Priebus said in a statement, pledging that he would “fight to ensure future debates allow for a more robust exchange”.
“I’ve become immune to it”, he said. “He’s my fiend”, Rubio said on ABC’s Good Morning America. “I’m not running against him”.
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Cooper further criticized the debate as “poorly produced”, and pointed to moderators not having relevant quotations to back up their questions. A few candidates accused the debate moderators of asking non-substantive questions – including one about fantasy football betting markets – created to get the Republicans to attack each other.
