GOP Debate Liveblog: National Security Takes Center Stage

The debate hosted by CNN, which lasted more than two hours at the Venetian in Las Vegas, focused nearly exclusively on foreign policy. National security issues dominated the dialogue, including Donald Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban, ISIS and surveillance. “We’re talking about security”, he said. “I really am”, he said. “I have a lot of respect for him”.

Trump once again defended his proposal to keep Muslims from entering the U.S.

Word had gotten out that the Texas senator, who had previously refused to criticize the billionaire, had raised questions about Trump’s “judgment” at a fundraiser.

CNN political commentator Michael Smerconish said after the debate that Bush “turned in a strong performance” with his ability to repeatedly needle Trump.

“Donald is great at the one-liners, but he is a chaos candidate and he would be a chaos president”, said Bush, the former governor of Florida who has been lagging in opinion polls.

Meantime, Donald Trump and Jeb Bush traded insults in several sharp exchanges.

Bush told him, “You’re never going to be President of the United States by insulting your way to the presidency”.

“Oh, I know. You’re a tough guy Jeb! Our country is out of control”, Trump said.

After the debate, Trump had kind words for both Cruz and Bush in the spin room.

Bush said his delivery of one-liners when challenged by Trump isn’t motivated by a desire to get “zingers”.

Trump: I know you’re trying to build up your energy. Numerous polls also show Donald Trump, who calls for building a wall along the border with Mexico and banning Muslims from traveling to the USA, is the party’s runaway presidential front-runner.

Criticism largely surrounded cuts to funding during the Obama administration.

Democrats who watched the debate denounced all of the Republicans.

“There is nothing we are allowed to do under this bill that we were not allowed to do before”, Rubio said. “We would shoot down the planes of Russian pilots if, in fact, they were stupid enough to think that this president was the same feckless weakling that the president we have in the Oval Office is right now”. “And that tool we lost, the metadata program, was a valuable tool that we no longer have at our disposal”.

After the debate, Cruz campaign chairman Chad Sweet dismissed the idea that Cruz’s language left him wiggle room to eventually support legalization.

Trump lost a legal bid yesterday to stop a planned wind farm near his golf resort in Scotland, with his company calling the ruling “small-minded and parochial”.

The anticipated face-off between Mr Trump and Mr Cruz, the conservative alternate to the brash businessman, failed to materialise, despite the Texas senator’s recent surge into second place and overtaking Mr Trump in some polls in the first-nominating state Iowa. Rubio came in third with 15 percent.

All five appeared in the main debate along with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Ohio Governor John Kasich, U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and former corporate executive Carly Fiorina.