Cruz says he was standing up to Washington before Trump

But Bush, a former Florida governor, leaped to question Trump’s understanding of the conflict, saying the billionaire was “wrong on this”.

Eight Republican candidates faced off, hoping to be nominated to represent their party in the 2016 presidential election: Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Sen.

Trump repeated his call for mass deportations of people here illegally. Afterward, Trump said he hadn’t heard the criticism and told a reporter the boos were “only in your mind”. Cruz, businesswoman Carly Fiorina and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush tied with 6 percent.

Bush suggested allowing undocumented immigrants to pay a fine and create a path to citizenship.

Two of the other stars of the evening were Kentucky Sen. She smirked and commented and asked Trump about his “calling women names” in the distant past.

“While Carson chuckled, Cavuto grinned, and then said, I will forget that follow-up”.

Carson, however, had the most-liked social media post of all candidates: An image of himself and his granddaughter having “pre-debate time” that got more than 171,300 likes on Facebook, according to technology data company Engagement Labs. Ben Carson’s decision to address the media of being vetted and over his West Point scholarship resulted in the second number of mentions with 2,700.

Fiery exchanges between Trump and Kasich, Paul and Kasich, Cruz and Kasich and Rubio and Paul were among the memorable highlights.

The 4th prime time GOP debate was far superior to the 3rd one, thanks to better moderators and fewer people on the stage.

“From this point on, I get to determine what the hook is”, Carson told reporters.

It remains to be seen how the polls – and Bush’s donors – will view the performance long-term.

America’s TV viewers seem to be losing interest in the Republican Party’s presidential debates. Late Tuesday night, Priebus was in a more cheerful mood. The event was hosted by Fox Business and the Wall Street Journal. “Not patty cake, but good questions, tough questions”. The night was supposed to put moderators on the spot, demonstrating whether they could host a serious and policy-oriented debate (They did). Paul said. “Can you be a conservative and liberal on military spending?” Rubio battled with Rand Paul on military spending, as Paul criticized his opponent as “not very conservative” for his plan to increase Pentagon spending by $1 trillion. “We’re fine.” Bush’s campaign has been more aggressive in attacking Rubio, his one-time protégé, while Rubio’s campaign has been working to counter that, in part by citing Bush’s praise of him over the years.

In the undercard debate, candidates fought for relevancy. And Governor Chris Christie made his mark in the undercard debate.

After a debate, the question is asked: “Who won the debate?” “Why would I be here (otherwise)?”

The Democrats will face off in their next debate Saturday in Des Moines, the Republicans will meet again December 15 in Nevada.