Rubio, Trump Draw Attacks from GOP Rivals at Tuesday Night Debate

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the one-time front-runner who has struggled throughout the campaign, was among the most aggressive of the candidates in seeking to discredit Trump.

“ISIS is gaining strength because the perception is that they’re winning, and President Obama fuels that perception”, Cruz said.

Trump brushed the attacks aside, taunting Bush over his poll numbers and with now-familiar rejoinders. “With Jeb’s attitude we will never be great again”, Trump said, and defended his Muslim proposal.

“We are not talking about isolation, we’re talking about security”, he said. We’re talking about security. Poor Donald. he also said with a straight face that he respected the Republican leadership.

One exchange, in which Bush told Trump that he would never win by “insulting [his] way to the presidency”, was the top social media moment on Facebook.

“You’re moving further and further”, Trump said to Bush.

If you’re going to close the Internet, America, realize what that entails.

“I am totally committed to the Republican Party and I am proud to be the front-runner”, Trump said, promising he won’t launch a third-party candidacy.

Most of his Republican rivals, as well as officials and leaders in the United States and around the globe, have criticized Trump’s proposal although many of his supporters have voiced sympathy with his views.

Cruz’s vote to end the kind of bulk phone data collection that some believe could make the fight against terror easier, had Marco Rubio on the attack.

Cruz denied that claim and said the law “strengthened the tools of national security and law enforcement” to go after the terrorists. “That would change when militants across the globe see that when you join ISIS you are giving up your life”.

Trump was put on the defensive early about his plans to prohibit Muslim immigration, keep out Syrian refugees, construct a Mexican wall and deport 11 million illegal immigrants. Bush interrupted: “You said on September 30th that ISIS was not a factor”.

The FOX Business Network will host the next GOP presidential debate in SC on January 14th, 2016. Cruz has moved past him in some Iowa surveys.

In the Trump vs. Cruz war of words, Trump who suggested that Cruz was a “maniac” last Sunday now suggested during the debate, “I have gotten to know him [Cruz] over the last three or four days, he has a wonderful temperament”.

By the conclusion of the two-hour confrontation, Trump said he was ready to declare once and for all that he would not run an independent if he loses the GOP nomination.

In terms of those who did not do so well, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson illustrated that he is perhaps not very good at the game of politics, complaining that he was not getting enough speaking time and then when later asked a question about two other candidates, he replied it was not up to him to comment on their policies.

Also appearing in the main debate are New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Ohio Governor John Kasich, U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and former corporate executive Carly Fiorina. Rubio’s campaign has raised questions about Cruz’s position on sending troops to the Middle East as well as whether he would allow immigrants living in the USA illegally to stay here.

Trump didn’t go after Cruz by name during a Las Vegas rally on the eve of the debate, but said the prime-time faceoff could turn messy. He also decried Trump’s call to prevent Muslims from immigrating to the U.S.

“He has touched a nerve because people are angry and afraid”, Huckabee said.