Republican presidential candidates set for debate tonight

Fox News has just confirmed the field of candidates who will be onstage for the first televised debate of the 2016 presidential race. But that’s not the only good news for the swing-state governor.

Here are five takeaways from Thursday the pre-debate debate.

Lesser-known contenders including former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Fiorina slammed Trump, blasting the billionaire businessman’s conservative credentials and friendly relationship with Hillary and Bill Clinton.

Asked how he felt, he said, “how do you think I feel?”

After Trump and Jeb Bush, son and brother of former presidents, the list’s clout drops off considerably.

We’ve already told you that former Florida Gov. “That never works”. He is the only one of the 10 who has actually participated in a presidential debate before.

Perry entered the forum with more to prove than anyone. “He’ll have a lot better chance because he’s not coming in as a politician”, he said.

While Trump draws a frenzy of headlines, Democrats say his stated positions are similar to those of the Republican mainstream: no naturalization of illegal immigrants, repeal of the health care reform introduced by President Barack Obama and opposition to abortion.

Buffeted by more evidence of declining advertising revenue, New York-based Fox was plummeting 12% to $28.15 on Thursday, extending the company’s 2015 decline to 27%. That’s gotta hurt the former three-term governor of one of the largest states in the nation.

“I probably am the target”, Trump said on ABC.

Trump exists so much in his own universe that engaging him, poking the bear, seems likely to cause more harm than help. He’s had a rough last week – especially as Hillary Clinton has used him as a punching bag.

Along with potentially convincing a fair number of viewers that she’s the candidate to do it, she also won over one of her on-stage rivals.

Graham is known for his deep foreign policy knowledge, but also his biting sense of humor and happy-go-lucky approach to his work in the Senate and time on the campaign trail. The dark red line on there is Donald Trump, who wasn’t even included in the RCP average at the beginning of May, leapfrogging everyone with great relish. “This was not a subject that was on anyone’s mind until I brought it up at my announcement”. “They make the laws, but we have to live with them”. He added later, “Today, I’m 60”.

With 10 candidates crammed onto the stage at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, things will move very quickly, those familiar with the format tell NJ Advance Media. (This is also part of his appeal.) The debate format might not allow much room for gotcha questions-or, put another way, questions that would show us whether the candidate knows what he’s talking about or not-but if Trump gets one, he could be in trouble.

For former Pennsylvania Sen.

“What is true in New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina is now people want to hear exactly what he’s going to do”, Chidester said.

Trump, who was in the midst of pretending to choke himself onstage during Huckabee’s repertoire, dropped his hands and began fanning himself in relief. When asked to address some of his businesses that went bankrupt, Trump pivoted to the financial woes of New Jersey – a clear swipe at Christie.