GOP Presidential Candidates To Debate On Main Stage In South Carolina

“I’m just saying”, Cruz said.

“Well, Maria, thank you for passing along that hit piece on the front page of the New York Times”, Cruz said before adding, “The New York Times and I don’t have exactly the warmest of relationships”.

Trump renewed his suggestion that Cruz may not be eligible to serve as commander in chief, saying the senator has a “big question mark” hanging over his candidacy, given his birth in Canada to an American mother.

While battles with Cruz took center stage during Thursday’s debate, other candidates also had their time to take shots at others on stage.

In that speech, Obama sought to offer a more optimistic vision for America’s future and he singled out Mr Trump, without naming him, for calling on the United States to ban Muslims temporarily from entering the country.

The debate between three of the lowest-polling GOP presidential candidates is underway at the North Charleston Coliseum. Rubio tried to flip the criticism around on Cruz, accusing him of switching positions on immigration himself, as well as on numerous other issues.

Christie strongly disagreed – and he said that while two years ago Rubio called him a “conservative reformer”, now he is misrepresenting his record. “That is political calculation”.

Cruz was asked about a New York Times report that he failed to disclose up to $1 million in personal loans from Goldman Sachs and Citibank during his 2012 campaign for the U.S. Senate. He said it was little more than a “paperwork error”. Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Cruz have been particularly aggressive in criticizing Florida Sen. But the biting barb appeared to backfire, eliciting an unexpectedly emotional response from Trump about his hometown’s response to the September 11, 2001, attacks.

In the end, who do you think won Thursday’s Republican debate? Businessman Donald Trump has consistently led the field for months, confounding the party’s establishment wing.

“I know nothing about it, but I hear it’s a very big thing”, he said to Bloomberg Politics.

Indeed Rubio, who is polling a respectable third behind the outsiders leading the race, Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz, proved to be effective and combative throughout this sixth debate of the season.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who has emerged as a frequent critic of Trump, urged the front-runner to reconsider the policy. The retired neurosurgeon said President Barack Obama “doesn’t realize we now live in the 21st century”.

“Our children and grandchildren are counting on us to get it done”, said Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

“Not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan”. “But we don’t want to put everybody in the same category”.

Bush, meanwhile, said the idea that the country is better off today than before Obama took office is an “alternative universe”. Bush suggested the country was less safe under Obama and declared Clinton would be a “national security disaster”.

Ben Carson, who has fallen behind his rivals despite being well-liked among Republican voters, generated laughs after joking about having to wait almost 15 minutes to get his first question.

In a heated back-and-forth at Thursday night’s Republican debate on the Fox Business Network, Sen.

The debate rules resulted in businesswoman Carly Fiorina being bumped to the undercard event.