Fox Business/screenshotReal-estate mogul Donald Trump and Sen.
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As expected, with the first competitions of the 2016 primary campaign only three weeks away, Thursday night’s Republican debate at times turned mean. Mr. Trump’s lead has grown stronger just as the GOP field has shrank with departures of former candidates like former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana.
“The fact is, there’s a big overhang, there’s a big question mark on your head, and you can’t do that to the party”, he said.
When Cruz was asked to clear up the issue of him being eligible to for the presidency because of his birth in Canada, he argued there was no issue and he would not face any troubles. Trump’s stranglehold on the lead has confounded many of his rivals and forced party leaders to grapple with the prospect of him eventually becoming the GOP nominee.
At the Republican presidential debate yesterday, the first of the year, Cruz alleged that Trump is now raising the issues because his poll numbers are going up. A lot of birthers say both parents have to be born in the United States for the child to be a natural born citizen.
The issue was brought up in tonight’s debate, when Cruz was asked about his eligibility for office.
As he did earlier this week, Trump said “New York values” could be seen in how the city came together and rebuilt itself after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.
“I think most people know what NY values are”, Cruz said, telling Bartiromo, “You’re from NY so you might not, but I promise you they know in SC”. “The smell of death was with us for months”, he said, adding “that was a very insulting statement that Ted made”. The senator was also on the defensive about his failed disclosure on federal election forms of some $1 million in loans from Wall Street banks during his 2012 Senate campaign, saying it was little more than a “paperwork error”.
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson recognized there has been a fight for all the candidates to get equal time on the debate stage. – Governor Chris Christie, slamming Obama’s State of the Union address in the first of many attacks on the president’s national security record.
“I like Chris Christie”, said Senator Marco Rubio of the New Jersey governor, who is competing for the same sort establishment voters he is pursuing.
On national security, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush suggested the country was less safe under Obama and declared Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, would be a “national security disaster”.
Marco Rubio said amid the wrangling between Trump and Cruz.
But as expected the exchanges between Trump and Cruz proved to be the most combative.
But by the end of the night it seemed certain that Thursday’s debate would largely not change the 2016 race. Instead of railing against Haley as he has others who’ve crossed him, Trump on Thursday night said the two are friends and that Haley – who was in the audience on Thursday – was right.
Fox Business Network is hosting the debate, featuring the top six candidates based on the average of six recent national polls. One candidate, Rand Paul, skipped the forum after being barred from the prime-time debate.
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Republicans have one more debate scheduled before voting begins in Iowa.
