Trump returns to debate stage; Rubio to face onslaught

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) An aggrieved Donald Trump was rejoining his Republican presidential rivals on the debate stage and hoping for a winning formula in New Hampshire, while the challenge for surging Marco Rubio was fending off attacks from other candidates.

“A steady hand.” Jeb Bush has used that phrase repeatedly throughout the campaign, as he attempts to convince voters that he’s the tried and tested choice for president-the anti-Donald Trump.

“Marco, the thing is this”, Christie said at the ABC debate at St. Anselm’s College in New Hampshire. All three are vying for the favor of establishment Republicans in New Hampshire.

The debate will mark the return of Trump to the debate stage after skipping the previous one hosted by Fox News before the Iowa caucus.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, who served as George W. Bush’s Homeland Security Secretary, warmed up the crowd, calling Trump “an embarrassment to me, an embarrassment to my party”.

After hearing Rubio speak, retirees John and Christine Perez of Londonderry said they intend to cast their votes for him in Tuesday’s primary. He took aim at Democrats – President Barack Obama, and presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders – as not having the temperament to be an effective president. Ted Cruz, the fiery conservative who won Iowa. But he’s faced criticism for messages his campaign sent to voters just ahead of the caucuses saying rival Ben Carson was dropping out and urging the retired neurosurgeon’s supporters to back Cruz instead. Both released ads on Friday highlighting a cringe-worthy interview in which Rick Santorum, who dropped out and endorsed Rubio after Iowa, couldn’t name a single accomplishment from the senator.

“For Ted Cruz’s edification”, Bush sniped, “we actually have very sophisticated weapons now”.

For months, Rubio, Bush, Kasich and Christie have labored in Trump’s shadow, struggling to gain a foothold in this famously mercurial state.

Bush countered with a jab at Trump’s attempt to take a woman’s house in Atlantic City to use as a parking lot for limousines, next to one of his casinos.

In fact, the political process should thank Trump for tapping into the anger and frustration that exist within a large segment of the electorate – a spark that’s eluded mainstream Republican heavyweights Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Chris Christie.

“You can not rely on the polls right now, because there are so many undecided voters in New Hampshire”.

But as the pressure mounts on some of the other Republican candidates, Saturday’s GOP debate could turn nasty. The three candidates, however, are within the poll’s margin of error of 5.8 percentage points. “The way you win a campaign is what you’re for, your heart and your brain, that’s what it’s really all about”, Kasich said.

“He kind of has to stop what looks like a slide”, Madden said.

New Hampshire residents traditionally decide late, and polls show a majority haven’t settled on a candidate, Scala said, making tonight’s debate crucial.

It’s part of a strategy to make Bush the anti-Trump candidate in hopes that Republicans who oppose the top tier candidate will unite behind the former governor.

“The legislation passed but it had no support”, Rubio said, trying to explain his position on the issue which has become a vulnerability for him in the Republican primary amid grass roots fury over illegal immigration.

“That’s what Washington, D.C., does”, Christie said.