The 12 biggest moments of the GOP debate
By Kyle Cheney
January 15, 2016
January 15, 2016
Politico
A smaller cast featured harder hits Thursday, as seven top-polling Republican presidential candidates sought to leave a lasting impression with 18 days until voting begins in Iowa. Here are the most memorable moments:
1. Citizenship melee
Ted Cruz unloaded on Donald Trump with his most forceful salvo yet, rejecting any suggestion that he's ineligible to be president because he was born on Canadian soil to an American mother. Cruz noted that many people supporting Trump's theory also believe that citizenship requires two American parents born on American soil.
"Since September the constitution hasn’t changed, but the poll numbers have," Cruz said. "I recognize that Donald is dismayed that his poll numbers are falling … but the facts of the law here are clear."
He added that if Trump's backers are right, Trump himself wouldn't be eligible because his mother was born in Scotland. "On the issue of citizenship, Donald, I’m not going to use your mother’s birth against you," he said.
2. New York values
Cruz elaborated on his recent Trump dig, accusing the mogul of having "New York values." He said he meant that New Yorkers tend to value "money and media" and are socially liberal on issues from abortion to same-sex marriage. Riffing on Trump's dig at him -- that not a lot of evangelicals come out of Cuba -- he charged, "Not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan."
Trump delivered a somber and indignant reply, reminding the audience that New York was watched by the world as it responded to the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
"We rebuilt downtown Manhattan ... everybody in the world loved New York and loved New Yorkers," he said. "And I have to tell you, that was a very insulting statement Ted made."
3.Trump-Cruz or Cruz-Trump
The brawl over citizenship also led to an unusual exchange in which Trump and Cruz each appeared, sarcastically, to offer each other the vice presidential slot on their ticket. Trump, playing out a hypothetical, said that he might consider choosing Cruz as his running mate but that Cruz might be sued by Democrats over his citizenship.
"I choose him as my vice presidential candidate, and the Democrats sue because we can’t take him along for the ride," he said. "I don’t like that."
Cruz replied with a joke — when he's the nominee, Trump can be his vice presidential pick, and if his citizenship theory is right, Trump will become president.
"Donald, you — you very kindly just a moment ago offered me the V.P. slot," he said. "I'll tell you what. If this all works out, I'm happy to consider naming you as V.P. So if you happen to be right, you could get the top job at the end of the day."
4. Cruz takes on the Times
Ted Cruz was practically salivating when moderator Maria Bartiromo asked him to respond to The New York Times report that nicked him for failing to disclose a $1 million loan from Goldman Sachs while running for Senate in 2012. Cruz quickly labeled the story a "hit piece" and thrashed the paper -- already a low-hanging conservative foil.
Cruz pointed out that he's been the subject of Times columnist Frank Bruni's ire.
"That same columnist wrote a column comparing me to an evil demonic spirit from the movie 'It Follows,'" Cruz said. "The New York Times and I don’t really have the warmest of relationships."
Cruz said the undisclosed loan was a "paperwork error." "If that's the best hit the New York Times has got, they better go back to the well," he said.
5. Senate squabble
Sen. Marco Rubio and Cruz locked horns late in the debate over immigration, with Rubio accusing Cruz of repeatedly changing positions for political expedience, and he didn't stop at immigration issues.
"I saw you on the Senate floor flip your vote on crop insurance," he said. "That is not consistent conservatism"
Cruz retorted, "I appreciate you dumping your oppo research folder," to which Rubio shot back, "No, it’s your record."
6. "I hope you'll reconsider"
Jeb Bush jumped in after Trump defended his plan to ban Muslim immigration into the United States, pleading with the GOP poll leader to change his views.
"I hope you reconsider this because this policy is a policy that makes it impossible to build the coalition necessary to take out ISIS," Bush said. "The Kurds are our strongest ally, they’re Muslim."
"All Muslims? Seriously?" he asked.
Trump countered that he's simply seeking security.
"I want security for this country," he said. "We have a serious problem with, as you know, radical Islam."
7. Christie intervenes in Rubio-Cruz tussle
Rubio and Cruz criticized each other in harsh terms over their competing tax plans, a wonky clash that centered on their interpretation of value-added taxes on business.
"I’m going to side with Ronald Reagan on this and not Nancy Pelosi," Rubio charged.
Cruz countered that Reagan economist Art Laffer backed his plan. After Rubio countered again, suggesting Cruz's plan to abolish the IRS would fail, Chris Christie jumped in to remind viewers that the two senators were initially asked to talk about entitlement programs. Rubio said he'd get to entitlements, but Christie cut him off.
"You already had your chance, Marco, you blew it," he said.
8. Trump talks trade and tariffs
Donald Trump, facing questions for telling The New York Times that he'd consider a 45 percent tariff on Chinese goods, lashed out at the paper, following Ted Cruz's smackdown of the Times earlier.
"It’s the New York Times, they’re always wrong," he said.
Trump said he's "open to a tariff" but only mentioned 45 percent to suggest what the rate would have to be to offset China's currency devaluation.
"If they don’t start treating us fairly and stop devaluing and let their currency rise so our companies can compete," he said, "I would certainly start taxing goods coming in from China."
9. Christie hurls insults at Obama
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has long aimed memorably nasty barbs at the president, and he continued Thursday, calling him a "petulant child" for pursuing executive actions to implement his favored policies. But he ratcheted up the schoolyard language in the debate.
"We are going to kick your rear end out of the white house come this fall," Christie said after pointing out that Democrats have been routed from governorships and lost their majorities in Congress throughout Obama's tenure.
10. Trump: My kids will run my company
Trump talked logistics for transferring control of his company to his kids if he takes the White House.
"If I'm elected president, I couldn't care less about my company, " he said.
“I have Ivanka and Eric and Don sitting there,” he said, gesturing toward his kids in the debate audience. “Run the company kids. Have a good time. I’m gonna do it for America.”
Trump initially suggested the arrangement would constitute a "blind trust," but then noted that might not be the case because they're his children.
11. Carson gets apocalyptic
Ben Carson criticized Barack Obama for being naive on foreign policy, but in doing so outlined a terrifying scenario in which a nuclear blast takes out America's electric grid while they're also using dirty bombs to attack and using cyber attacks to take down American computer systems.
"I mean, just think about a scenario like that. They explode the bomb, we have an electromagnetic pulse. They hit us with a cyberattack simultaneously and dirty bombs," he said. "Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue at that point? He needs to recognize that those kinds of things are in fact an existential threat to us."
12. One-way ticket to Guantanamo
Marco Rubio hinted that he'd get pretty aggressive with terrorists caught by the United States. Describing a muscular approach to taking on "radical jihadist terrorists," Rubio said he had a plan for those caught on the battlefield: "A one-way ticket to Guantanamo Bay Cuba, and we are going to find out anything they know."
"It is a war that either they win or we win," he said.
Article Link to Politico:
A smaller cast featured harder hits Thursday, as seven top-polling Republican presidential candidates sought to leave a lasting impression with 18 days until voting begins in Iowa. Here are the most memorable moments:
1. Citizenship melee
Ted Cruz unloaded on Donald Trump with his most forceful salvo yet, rejecting any suggestion that he's ineligible to be president because he was born on Canadian soil to an American mother. Cruz noted that many people supporting Trump's theory also believe that citizenship requires two American parents born on American soil.
"Since September the constitution hasn’t changed, but the poll numbers have," Cruz said. "I recognize that Donald is dismayed that his poll numbers are falling … but the facts of the law here are clear."
He added that if Trump's backers are right, Trump himself wouldn't be eligible because his mother was born in Scotland. "On the issue of citizenship, Donald, I’m not going to use your mother’s birth against you," he said.
2. New York values
Cruz elaborated on his recent Trump dig, accusing the mogul of having "New York values." He said he meant that New Yorkers tend to value "money and media" and are socially liberal on issues from abortion to same-sex marriage. Riffing on Trump's dig at him -- that not a lot of evangelicals come out of Cuba -- he charged, "Not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan."
Trump delivered a somber and indignant reply, reminding the audience that New York was watched by the world as it responded to the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
"We rebuilt downtown Manhattan ... everybody in the world loved New York and loved New Yorkers," he said. "And I have to tell you, that was a very insulting statement Ted made."
3.Trump-Cruz or Cruz-Trump
The brawl over citizenship also led to an unusual exchange in which Trump and Cruz each appeared, sarcastically, to offer each other the vice presidential slot on their ticket. Trump, playing out a hypothetical, said that he might consider choosing Cruz as his running mate but that Cruz might be sued by Democrats over his citizenship.
"I choose him as my vice presidential candidate, and the Democrats sue because we can’t take him along for the ride," he said. "I don’t like that."
Cruz replied with a joke — when he's the nominee, Trump can be his vice presidential pick, and if his citizenship theory is right, Trump will become president.
"Donald, you — you very kindly just a moment ago offered me the V.P. slot," he said. "I'll tell you what. If this all works out, I'm happy to consider naming you as V.P. So if you happen to be right, you could get the top job at the end of the day."
4. Cruz takes on the Times
Ted Cruz was practically salivating when moderator Maria Bartiromo asked him to respond to The New York Times report that nicked him for failing to disclose a $1 million loan from Goldman Sachs while running for Senate in 2012. Cruz quickly labeled the story a "hit piece" and thrashed the paper -- already a low-hanging conservative foil.
Cruz pointed out that he's been the subject of Times columnist Frank Bruni's ire.
"That same columnist wrote a column comparing me to an evil demonic spirit from the movie 'It Follows,'" Cruz said. "The New York Times and I don’t really have the warmest of relationships."
Cruz said the undisclosed loan was a "paperwork error." "If that's the best hit the New York Times has got, they better go back to the well," he said.
5. Senate squabble
Sen. Marco Rubio and Cruz locked horns late in the debate over immigration, with Rubio accusing Cruz of repeatedly changing positions for political expedience, and he didn't stop at immigration issues.
"I saw you on the Senate floor flip your vote on crop insurance," he said. "That is not consistent conservatism"
Cruz retorted, "I appreciate you dumping your oppo research folder," to which Rubio shot back, "No, it’s your record."
6. "I hope you'll reconsider"
Jeb Bush jumped in after Trump defended his plan to ban Muslim immigration into the United States, pleading with the GOP poll leader to change his views.
"I hope you reconsider this because this policy is a policy that makes it impossible to build the coalition necessary to take out ISIS," Bush said. "The Kurds are our strongest ally, they’re Muslim."
"All Muslims? Seriously?" he asked.
Trump countered that he's simply seeking security.
"I want security for this country," he said. "We have a serious problem with, as you know, radical Islam."
7. Christie intervenes in Rubio-Cruz tussle
Rubio and Cruz criticized each other in harsh terms over their competing tax plans, a wonky clash that centered on their interpretation of value-added taxes on business.
"I’m going to side with Ronald Reagan on this and not Nancy Pelosi," Rubio charged.
Cruz countered that Reagan economist Art Laffer backed his plan. After Rubio countered again, suggesting Cruz's plan to abolish the IRS would fail, Chris Christie jumped in to remind viewers that the two senators were initially asked to talk about entitlement programs. Rubio said he'd get to entitlements, but Christie cut him off.
"You already had your chance, Marco, you blew it," he said.
8. Trump talks trade and tariffs
Donald Trump, facing questions for telling The New York Times that he'd consider a 45 percent tariff on Chinese goods, lashed out at the paper, following Ted Cruz's smackdown of the Times earlier.
"It’s the New York Times, they’re always wrong," he said.
Trump said he's "open to a tariff" but only mentioned 45 percent to suggest what the rate would have to be to offset China's currency devaluation.
"If they don’t start treating us fairly and stop devaluing and let their currency rise so our companies can compete," he said, "I would certainly start taxing goods coming in from China."
9. Christie hurls insults at Obama
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has long aimed memorably nasty barbs at the president, and he continued Thursday, calling him a "petulant child" for pursuing executive actions to implement his favored policies. But he ratcheted up the schoolyard language in the debate.
"We are going to kick your rear end out of the white house come this fall," Christie said after pointing out that Democrats have been routed from governorships and lost their majorities in Congress throughout Obama's tenure.
10. Trump: My kids will run my company
Trump talked logistics for transferring control of his company to his kids if he takes the White House.
"If I'm elected president, I couldn't care less about my company, " he said.
“I have Ivanka and Eric and Don sitting there,” he said, gesturing toward his kids in the debate audience. “Run the company kids. Have a good time. I’m gonna do it for America.”
Trump initially suggested the arrangement would constitute a "blind trust," but then noted that might not be the case because they're his children.
11. Carson gets apocalyptic
Ben Carson criticized Barack Obama for being naive on foreign policy, but in doing so outlined a terrifying scenario in which a nuclear blast takes out America's electric grid while they're also using dirty bombs to attack and using cyber attacks to take down American computer systems.
"I mean, just think about a scenario like that. They explode the bomb, we have an electromagnetic pulse. They hit us with a cyberattack simultaneously and dirty bombs," he said. "Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue at that point? He needs to recognize that those kinds of things are in fact an existential threat to us."
12. One-way ticket to Guantanamo
Marco Rubio hinted that he'd get pretty aggressive with terrorists caught by the United States. Describing a muscular approach to taking on "radical jihadist terrorists," Rubio said he had a plan for those caught on the battlefield: "A one-way ticket to Guantanamo Bay Cuba, and we are going to find out anything they know."
"It is a war that either they win or we win," he said.
Article Link to Politico:
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