Donald Trump took on (almost) everyone at the debate

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush chimed in with “Look, let’s be clear”.

Trump, whose absence from the last Republican debate apparently pushed him to the second place in last week’s Iowa caucuses, had a relatively good time Saturday night as his rivals ganged up on newly resurgent Senator Marco Rubio.

Trump, who placed behind rival Cruz, has accused the Texas senator of voter fraud.

Meanwhile, Trump and Bush clashed over the concept of “eminent domain” – the government practice to seize property for public use – that Trump has supported. A 7News/University of Massachusetts Lowell New Hampshire tracking poll released Sunday showed he is in a strong position, leading the field with support from 36 percent of GOP voters in New Hampshire.

“The reason they’re not loving me is, I don’t want their money”.

Christie, as well as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, has staked his campaign on New Hampshire, pouring most of his resources into the state in recent weeks.

Another candidate chafing at Rubio’s rise is Bush, who’s seen his own once front-running campaign overtaken by his one-time protege. “I don’t”, Christie said.

Mr. Christie shot back that Mr. Rubio was reverting to “the memorized 25-second speech”.

“I’d like to ask all the veterans listening out there tonight who are waiting in line for health care, who are literally dying: Do you think Barack Obama knows what he’s doing?”

Mr Rubio wavered in defending his decision to walk away from the sweeping immigration bill he originally backed in the Senate – perhaps the legislation he is most closely associated with – and said he would not pursue similar measures as president.

“They can really turn a phrase… think about it when you’re watching the debate, think about which one has proven they have the ability to get things done”, he said Friday.

Cruz, victor of the Iowa caucuses, offered an apology to Dr. Ben Carson for his campaign issuing a statement that Carson would be suspending his campaign.

Such ethics ” say if it’s legal, you do what you do to win”, Mr Carson claimed. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz as first-term senators who aren’t ready to be president.

The decision to withhold fire was evident right from the start, when Cruz declined to repeat his assertion this week that Trump didn’t have the temperament to be commander in chief. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has repeatedly derided Rubio as a “bubble boy” whose staff protects him from having to answer tough questions about his record and what he would do as president.

Mr Trump was back on the debate stage after skipping the last contest before the Iowa caucuses. After spending the past several days disputing his second-place finish in Iowa, he sought to refocus on the core messages of his campaign, including blocking Muslims from coming to the US and deporting all people in the country illegally.

But Twitter said an hour into the debate that Rubio was the most tweeted about candidate on the social media platform, marking the first time a candidate other than Trump came out on top within that time frame.

The debate on ABC News, live from St. Anselm College, began with the moderator asking GOP frontrunner Donald Trump to respond to Sen. Cruz demurred, saying he wouldn’t speculate about how he’d handle the situation without a full briefing.

“It’s a necessity for our country”, Trump said.