Trump and Cruz take aim at one-another in latest Republican debate

Bush dismissed the proposal as unserious, saying “Donald is great at the one-liners, but he’s a chaos candidate and he’d be a chaos president”.

Trump, the tycoon and onetime reality television star who has been the surprise leader of the Republican presidential race, has only gained in popularity since his abrasive anti-Muslim comments, even as rivals accused him of playing into jihadist hands.

The ad then shows Bush at the Tuesday debate call out Donald Trump for saying that Hillary Clinton would be a good negotiator with Iran over its nuclear program. We’re not talking about religion; we’re talking about security. We’ll talk about that.

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.

“We need to engage with the Arab world to make this happen”, said Bush, according to the debate transcript published by The New York Times.

Toward the end of the debate, Trump was asked if he would rule out a run as third-party candidate.

Trump stayed firm on the travel ban and proposal to “close” parts of the internet to prevent ISIS online recruitment.

Bush hit Trump on his proposal to temporarily ban all Muslims from entering the United States and the impact that would have on the country’s efforts to defeat ISIS. “I know”, Trump slapped back before pointing out Bush’s sharp fall from front-runner status.

Marco Rubio, meanwhile, went directly at Cruz, trying to slow his momentum in the final debate of 2015.

“ISIS is gaining strength because the perception Is that they’re winning, and President Obama fuels that perception”, Cruz said. You can see the results here, but one thing really stands out. “I have never supported legalization, and I do not intend to support legalization”, Cruz replied. “People feel fear. They feel outrage”.

The Texas senator is on the rise, particularly in Iowa’s kickoff caucuses, where he’s challenging Trump’s months-long lead. But he was rescued at the last minute by a new Iowa poll over the weekend.

Cruz has been reluctant to criticize Trump, and while Trump called Cruz “a maniac” at the weekend, he passed up the chance to do it again. Cruz appeared content to bide his time with Trump, sticking to the “bromance” drafting strategy of hoping for the billionaire’s decline and sweeping up his supporters.

The debate’s focus on national security was a detriment for retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who has struggled on complex global matters.

Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich arguably played the smallest role in the debate; he spoke the fewest minutes and wasn’t once mentioned by any of the other candidates.

It took less than 15 minutes for the former Florida governor to spar with the business mogul and assert his stance on the impossibility of a Trump presidency, something he’d reiterate throughout the night.

Lindsey Graham, a USA senator from SC with hawkish views on national security, was especially withering.

Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said, however, that Trump had brought up an important issue, stressing the need to protect American citizens from Islamic State militants.