Republican candidates trump Donald

Fox Business Network’s Republican debate drew nearly as big an audience as CNBC’s debate two weeks ago, according to early Nielsen ratings data. Texan Cruz and Floridian Rubio continue to trail outsider candidates Donald Trump and Ben Carson in the polls.

“It may be the best Hillary Clinton can do, but it’s not the best America can do”, said Bush, who is attempting a campaign reset after a sluggish start to his bid for the GOP nomination. He has criticized the news media following reports that questioned details of the personal narrative.

In Tuesday night’s debate, Trump played more the role of referee than rabble-rouser. Ted Cruz, businesswoman Carly Fiorina, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Kentucky Sen.

Missing from the debate was the campaign rhetoric of gay marriage, abortion, legalizing pot and the social issues that have hurt the collective image of the Republican Party, even with Republican voters under 40.

After Trump began discussing the importance of a wall along the Mexican border and deporting the 11 million or so people in the US illegally, Bush said that was both impractical and an abdication of American values.

A moderator asked Trump about his opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal under consideration by Congress. He said the deal would harm USA workers and stressed the danger in allowing China to continue to manipulate its currency and enter the United States market through the backdoor.

Making the rounds on morning television talk shows a day after the GOP presidential debate, the candidates pressed their main talking points before heading out to campaign in early voting states – but they also faced questions in the aftermath of their debate performances.

“Whether it’s taxes or wages, if they’re too high we’re not going to be able to compete with other countries”, Trump said Thursday in an interview with Fox News.

“Think about the families; think about the children”.

“If Republicans join Democrats as the party of amnesty, we will lose”, said Cruz. “We have to win the presidency”. The problem is that viewers don’t want to watch the Republican candidates swat softballs and get challenged on nothing. Without a follow-up, the moderators skated above those questions.

After taking on Trump, Kasich got aid from an unexpected source: the next speaker, the much-maligned Bush.

“I have no problem with being vetted”. “That’s not for me to say”, he said, noting that he did have enough confidence in Carson to have him run one of his companies.

“While Carson chuckled, Cavuto grinned, and then said, I will forget that follow-up”. There a mix of protesters were assembled – a few on the right and many more on the left, calling for the GOP to address immigrant rights, climate change, stagnant minimum wages, poverty, racism and war.

The discussion moved into defense spending, where Rubio said, in his response to Paul’s attack over increased military spending: “Rand is a committed isolationist; I’m not”.