Trump & Cruz On Keeping Us Safe

Still, this most entertaining of five Republican presidential debates was nevertheless notable for its drivers trading much paint in the straightaways. Policy on terrorism and immigration were two hot-button political issues that dominated much of the debate, and sparked heated exchanges between some of the candidates at the Venetian Theatre.

With precious little time remaining before voting begins, the Cruz-Rubio dynamic seems far more likely to define the next phase of the contest than a Bush comeback.

Paul was quick to bring up Rubio’s now-abandoned gang of eight Senate plan that would have eventually led to undocumented immigrants gaining legal status, saying, “Marco has more of an allegiance to Chuck Schumer and to the liberals than he does to conservative policy”.

“If you’re a threat to him, he’ll go after you”, Republican strategist Rick Wilson said of Trump.

Who won the debate last night?

The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, completed after Trump’s comments, showed him leading the field with support of 33 percent of Republican voters. He didn’t do anything to push it forward so I think in that way he fell short of where he kneed to go in this.

TRUMP: I wish it was always this easy as you, Jeb. And by taking aim at – and holding his ground against – Rubio, Cruz did nothing to stall his burgeoning momentum.

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. He and several other candidates attacked the politically correct leadership and culture in the U.S. Trump said Bush had seen his lectern moved from center stage to the brink of falling offstage. Trump was battling with Jeb Bush more than anyone else and Bush definitely got the worst of it. To his credit, Bush tried to come out strong (and not look low energy) by calling Trump a “chaos candidate” and saying he was “unhinged”.

Retorted Bush: “Donald, you’re not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency”.

But somehow, the candidates – including Trump – stumbled into a thoughtful discussion about a deep issue: Is it better to overthrow dictators in the hope of spreading democracy, or put up with them for the sake of stability? Trump said his proposal “is not about religion” but security.

Jeb Bush finally delivered a powerful debate performance. But Sen. Rand Paul and Carly Fiorina steered clear of criticizing the decision of local authorities. “The answer better not be because we didn’t have access to the information that would have allowed us to identify those killers”.

When Trump complained that the CNN moderators were trying to entice candidates into attacking him, Bush said “this is a tough business, running for president”. Previously, Cruz has pledged to “carpet bomb Isis into oblivion”, adding: “I don’t know if sand can glow in the dark, but we’re going to find out”. Dennis Dietz of Polk City, a registered Democrat, told the Guardian: “I switched out of the Republican party because of this kind of fear-mongering”.

Mr. Bush, who defended his brother and former president George W. Bush’s West Asia policy, which included coalitions with friendly Arabs, said: “If we push the Muslim world away, we can’t win this war”. At one point Dr. Ben Carson asked who he’d side with… the retired neurosurgeon declined to do that.