Did Donald Trump Win the CNN Republican Debate?

The latest Republican Party debate has come and gone.

Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio belong on the winners’ stand with shared Bronzes, though they pummeled each other in a preview of coming attractions. We have dozens of global allies and an worldwide system that we largely created – one that also happens to be closely aligned with our national security interests.

Bush, who called Trump a “chaos candidate” during the debate, said he doesn’t exactly love exchanging zingers but knows “you have to do it”.

For the most part, the frontrunner maintained an unusually low-profile – at least compared to earlier debates, where he seemed to be the main focus. “As someone who has done it, I will make sure it gets done again”. Make a decision about how to proceed forward with an investigation or how to pull back. And yet they continue to debate about this bill and that bill in the subcommittee and whatnot.

Increased fears of terrorism also play into the hands of arch-xenophobe Donald Trump, who has called for Muslims to be tracked, mosque to be closed and the murder and torture of terror suspects’ families. Many more Americans are killed in a single day by guns than have been killed by terrorists in the past several years. “It’s not a war on a faith; it’s a war on a political and theocratic ideology that seeks to murder us”.

CNN – I did get exasperated when Wolf Blitzer said two hours into the debate that we had only just begun.

This past weekend, another New Jersey native, former UFC champion Frankie Edgar, traveled to Las Vegas to win a fight and showed his peers he’s a legitimate contender. I would not talk to Vladimir Putin. Having said that, it’s become so clear that it’s virtually impossible to predict what Trump supporters may or may not be thinking, or if some of those Trumpians are even thinking at all.

“I think if you’re in favor of World War III, you have your candidate”, Paul said while pointing to Christie. And no one has forgotten the ISIS massacre in Paris or the Russian plane bombed out of the sky in October. It’s having that kind of judgement.

CNN went second, in Simi Valley, California, and fell just shy of 23 million viewers. In a moment that might help ease anxiety among Republican leaders, Trump pledged he would not run as an independent. He says that’s evidence that President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have not done enough to keep people safe. The only time he criticized anyone on the stage was that reference to Cruz and Rubio having a very arcane debate about angels on the head of a pin. For a “by the numbers” look at speaking times, topics mentioned and more, try this summary from Bloomberg. Under Obama this whole government doesn’t work. We’ve been betrayed by the leadership that Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton have provided to this country over the last number of years. “Contrast that with a blustering Christie who says, ‘Yes, I’m going to tell the Russians they can’t fly, ‘ coincidentally, where they are already flying”.

The debate revealed the party’s internal debate over national security, divided between the desire to lash out at the Islamic State and concerns over civil liberties that arose in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks. With national security on the forefront of many people’s minds, questions on ISIS, immigration and terrorism dominated the night.

Aron: I thought Paul had a good night.