GOP debate goes on without Trump

The host pulled together clips and soundbites of Donald Trump disagreeing with himself.

Trump chose to boycott the debate after feuding with Fox News over one of the debate’s moderators, Megyn Kelly, and after the network issued a statement mocking Trump.

The Fox News Republican debate without front-runner Donald Trump received the second-lowest viewership ratings of the seven such televised encounters among Republicans so far this election cycle, CNN reported on Friday. As for his own rally, which Team Trump dubbed “the Special Event to Benefit Veterans Organizations”, the billionaire businessman repeatedly reminded the crowd that the event had been put together in less than 24 hours after his on-again, off-again feud with Fox boiled over in days before the debate. Apparently, not so much.

The ratings for the GOP debate suggest Donald Trump’s competing event was neither a complete victory nor a complete loss.

“I’m a maniac and everyone on this stage is stupid, fat and ugly”, Mr Cruz said.

The way Donald Trump sees it, he was still the big victor of Thursday night’s Fox News debate, even though he wasn’t on stage.

“It is my great honor to support our Veterans with you!”

While speaking to Kelly on air after the debate, Cruz said: “Well, you know, you were joking just before we went on air that it was sort of like Voldemort, ‘He Who Must Not Be Named'”.

Trump now stands at 28 percent in the latest poll, with rival Ted Cruz coming in at 23 percent.

Trump dominated social media during the debate, leading the entire Republican pack in Twitter mentions throughout the first half of the debate, according to data from social media analytics firm Zoomph. Ted Cruz, Trump’s closest rival and threat here in the Hawkeye State.

Four other candidates – former Hewlett Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina; former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee; former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore took part in an early undercard debate.

“Everybody else was in the witness protection program when I went after him on behalf of what the Republican cause should be: conservative principles, believing in limited government, believing in accountability”, he said.

(AP Photo/Chris Carlson). Jeb Bush, right, talks to Rand Paul during a commercial break at a Republican presidential primary debate, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, in Des Moines, Iowa.