Republicans focus on terror at party’s final debate of 2015

Ted Cruz at the CNN debate in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 15, 2015.

Instead, Cruz and Paul went after Rubio who “lost his cool” and revealed “a competition between these two young rising stars” in Cruz and Rubio.

“It gives me a chance to really think through and talk about what I think I’ve heard and compare candidates”, said Sandra Bankes of Colorado Springs.

And Trump, by the way, promised anew he’d stick with the GOP.

Thirteen Republican presidential candidates are participating in the fifth set of Republican presidential debates.

It’s clear that Cruz and Rubio view themselves as the only candidates in the field who can appeal to several factions of the GOP base, including tea party activists, social conservatives and even establishment voters looking for a victor.

With only 47 days to go before the first nominating contest – the February 1 Iowa caucuses – Trump remains the frontrunner, according to a slew of recent polls.

When Rubio responded by calling the program a necessary tool to protect the country, Kentucky Sen.

Not if Rand Paul had anything to say about it, delivering a dig on immigration.

Cruz called for using “overwhelming air power” to destroy the Islamic State, while Rubio said airstrikes would have to be supplemented by ground troops, including American special operations forces.

The pair fought again when Trump defended his plan to target the family members of ISIS fighters. “I understand that Marco wants to raise confusion”, Cruz charged.

Around the 11:18 p.m. Eastern mark, Jones began by stating that “this is the first time I saw Marco Rubio rattled” and was surprised that there wasn’t as much “firepower directed at Trump” following all the “shocking things” he said about Muslims.

The two candidates later ended up in a tense exchange that wandered far from the foreign policy questions at issue.

“I’ve been making executive decisions for 13 years and been held accountable for them”, Christie said in an interview with The Associated Press.

“I am totally committed to the Republican Party and I am proud to be the front-runner”, Trump said, promising he won’t launch a third-party candidacy. You know, you started off over here, Jeb.

It is an enviable problem for a party that will likely take on Hillary Clinton, who is helplessly associated with questionable foreign policies that have left Americans feeling vulnerable.

Bush leaned into that message Wednesday, saying during interviews on “Fox and Friends” and CNN’s “New Day” that the celebrity businessman now leading the GOP pack is “not a serious candidate”. “We need a serious leader to deal with this, and I believe I’m that guy”. “That can lead our country to safety and security”. “We have a president who is unwilling to utter its name”, said Cruz. Cruz said he supports a wall along the Mexican border, adding jokingly that “I’ll get Donald Trump to pay for it”. He promoted his own legislation as more appropriate and narrowly focused.

The senators – both Cuban-Americans in their 40s – also displayed differences in their strategies for targeting the Islamic State.

“They can kill us, but we can’t kill them?” asked Trump, getting cheers from the audience in las Vegas’ Venetian hotel.

But Cruz stepped gingerly when it came to criticizing Trump.