Presidential hopeful Bobby Jindal opens debate with slam at Trump, Bush

With the first five questions of the debate devoted to Trump, each of the four undercard candidates attempted to paint themselves as the only adult in the field.

He says, “I don’t want to really get into describing who’s a politician and who’s not”.

Graham, capping the program with a pragmatic note, took a closing shot at Donald Trump.

Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina).

The traction-starved Mr. Pataki was just as blunt. The group also sparred over immigration, with Santorum and Jindal taking the most hard-line positions against illegal immigrants, and Pataki and Graham offering what they said was a more practical approach, including a path to legal status for the 11 million people here without proper documentation. Mr. Graham seemed to be vying for the John Kasich medal-a relative moderate hunting for a TV moment to buoy his lagging campaign. During the first undercard primary debate on Fox News, Graham was viewed by commentators and voters alike as withdrawn, even morose during much of the debate.

“That’s the first thing I’m going to do as president: We’re gonna drink more”, he quipped.

“Hispanics are Americans”, Graham said, getting applause. “He’s not an independent”, Jindal said. Mr. Santorum pitched 10,000.

Trump says Putin has “absolutely no respect for President Obama”. All railed against the Islamic theocracy. “That’s a cartoon character”, Graham said. Mr. Pataki said he would have fired Kim Davis, the clerk in Kentucky, while Mr. Santorum held her up as a hero for standing against a “judge’s unconstitutional” ruling. “He will do for America what he did for Atlantic City and that is not someone who we will nominate”. Rick Santorum. The Rhodes scholar also mocked senators with “big bladders” who make long-winded, meaningless speeches in Congress. He expressed concern about the ability of militants to strike targets within the United States.

The debate among four low-polling Republican candidates, derisively dubbed the “kids’ table” debate, didn’t have a lot to do with LGBT issues, but they did come up – specifically, marriage equality and the “religious freedom” of those who oppose it. “So we must take their ground”.

Graham also defended himself for once suggesting that Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic frontrunner, was a good secretary of state.

Mr. Jindal pitched per diems for members of Congress for not traveling to Washington, D.C.

“I don’t have a famous last name, my daddy didn’t run for president, I don’t have a reality TV show” he said. “I’ve done my part”.