Ten Republican candidates for president gathered in North Charleston, South Carolina, for their sixth debate last night. Interest in the early “undercard” debate was even more muted than it had been on previous nights.
Those of us watching this undercard debate are really pathetic.
— Stuart Rothenberg (@StuPolitics) January 14, 2016
The debate, originally designed for four candidates, diminish even further when Rand Paul declined to participate. Instead, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, and Rick Santorum got the hour to themselves. Fiorina started the night with some fireworks:
.@CarlyFiorina: “Unlike another woman in this race, I actually like spending time with my husband.” pic.twitter.com/UaevnBmHTe
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) January 14, 2016
Huckabee dropped some old pop culture references:
At the #GOPDebate, Mike Huckabee says Afghanistan reminded him of “The Flintstones.”… (Vine by @CNNPolitics) https://t.co/74NNyfeG2I
— Richard Benitez (@RYCB14) January 15, 2016
Santorum tried to match Fiorina in volume, if not intensity.
He had an extra glass of ovaltine https://t.co/BHhHU4kLhx
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) January 14, 2016
It ended with some questionable advice to the viewers.
“Go and Google Rick Santorum” — nooooooooooooo
— Brett LoGiurato (@BrettLoGiurato) January 14, 2016
None of the three were terrible, but as much talk was about the absent candidates.
Rand Paul is congratulating himself right now for not dignifying this.
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) January 14, 2016
I miss Lindsey Graham.
— Alexis Levinson (@alexis_levinson) January 14, 2016
“What is Jim Gilmore up to tonight?” he wondered idly.
— Blake Hounshell (@blakehounshell) January 14, 2016
In the main event were the candidates ranked in the top seven: Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump. After opening statements, the talk quickly turned to a New York Times story about a loan Cruz took out in 2012, and whether it was properly disclosed:
Cruz gets a freebie to remind everyone the establishment hates him and the New York Times hates him.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) January 15, 2016
His reply resembled a Nixon speech from the 1952 campaign.
Ah, Cruz is giving his Checkers speech.
— Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT) January 15, 2016
"And we called that loan Checkers…:"
— MISTER Wurtzel (@NathanWurtzel) January 15, 2016
Or did it?
Cruz didn't mention his girls or the dog.
— Richard M. Nixon (@dick_nixon) January 15, 2016
Next, Cruz addressed his eligibility for the presidency despite his Canadian birthplace. He took the originator of the attacks, Donald Trump, to the constitutional law woodshed.
Cruz just jumped off the ropes and body slammed The Donald's birther BS. #gopdebate
— jon gabriel (@exjon) January 15, 2016
Ted Cruz kickin dirt on Trump's shoes
— john r stanton (@dcbigjohn) January 15, 2016
Boom
— Jamelle Bouie (@jbouie) January 15, 2016
Cruz knows so much more about this than Trump
— Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) January 15, 2016
Cruz noted that the most extreme birther arguments would shed doubt on even Trump’s eligibility, as he is the son of a Scotland-born mother:
Your mother was born in Scotland and your father smelled of elderberries
— Dave Clark (@DaveClark_AFP) January 15, 2016
TRUMP IS ANCHOR BABY!
— GregGutfeld (@greggutfeld) January 15, 2016
The crowd turned on the frontrunner, and not for the last time that night.
I've never seen Trump get a beatdown like that.
— Jesse Walker (@notjessewalker) January 15, 2016
WOW IS TED CRUZ CRUSHING THIS (Also, thanks FBN for letting this fight go)
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) January 15, 2016
Crowd is booing Trump right now
— David Freddoso (@freddoso) January 15, 2016
They’re saying Booo — onald
— John Ekdahl (@JohnEkdahl) January 15, 2016
The focus stayed on Trump as the moderators questioned the idea that he was the angriest candidate. Trump didn’t deny it. Some thought it played well.
"I will gladly accept the mantle of anger," is a home run.
— Michael B Dougherty (@michaelbd) January 15, 2016
Others thought he sounded sinister.
"I would gladly accept the mantle of anger" would have been a great line for Kylo Ren
— Charles Hughes (@CharlesHHughes) January 15, 2016
By this time, other candidates were struggling for air time, and worked to jump in if their name was mentioned.
Jeb Bush excited like he just got tagged on Instagram. #GOPDebate
— Invisible Obama (@InvisibleObama) January 15, 2016
Or, in Carson’s case, even alluded to.
"I'd like to say something, I was mentioned."
"You were?"
"Yea, he said 'everybody'."
😂
#GOPDebate
— Liz O'GingerMcIrish (@lizzyf620) January 15, 2016
Carson later got a question about whether Bill Clinton’s past was fair game in the campaign against his wife:
Fox moderator goes for it: "Is Hillary Clinton an enabler of sexual misconduct?" I kind of think this Q should be put to all candidates.
— McKay Coppins (@mckaycoppins) January 15, 2016
He answered by talking about…incivility on the Internet?
Boy, Carson really made that juicy Hillary question a slog.
— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) January 15, 2016
Carson: the problem with america is people say stupid things in the comments section on the internet
— JayfromBrooklyn (@AmateurPolSc) January 15, 2016
Carson's right: never read the comments.
— Lizzie O'Leary (@lizzieohreally) January 15, 2016
Next, the moderators asked about the Second Amendment. Rubio and Bush took advantage of their first time in the spotlight that night.
Jeb is really good on the Second Amendment.
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) January 15, 2016
Marco Rubio: "I am convinced that if this president could confiscate every gun in America, he would." pic.twitter.com/92g8TyqXiS
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) January 15, 2016
Rubio followed with an attack on Christie for campaigning on a platform inconsistent with the positions he took as a candidate for governor. Christie fired back resolutely.
Christie just went back in time and unhugged Obama.
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) January 15, 2016
As in earlier debates, the moderators sought to start an argument between Cruz and Trump, the two frontrunners in the Iowa polls. This time, it worked. Cruz defended his stump speech mention of Trump’s “New York values,” and Trump hit back convincingly.
Wow, Cruz is going out of his way to attack Trump now. Will he regret it?
— Harry Enten (@ForecasterEnten) January 15, 2016
Watch it Ted. I'm a New Yorker. But I don't live in NYC. Although I was born there.
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 15, 2016
Trump goes to 9/11, and Cruz forced to applaud
— Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) January 15, 2016
"Ah shit! I forgot about 9/11" @tedcruz probably #GOPDebate
— Kevin H (@kevinonthemoon) January 15, 2016
Trump was then given a chance to modify his campaign trail pronouncement that he would ban all Muslims from entering the United States. He declined.
Donald Trump is asked whether anything he’s heard makes him want to rethink his position. That would imply he thought it in the first place.
— Megan McArdle (@asymmetricinfo) January 15, 2016
He colorfully alluded to the Jakarta bombings as proof of the need for a ban.
Trump: "💣💣💣💣💣" https://t.co/Ri6n7tK7hH
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) January 15, 2016
Bush disagreed, and held his own in the exchange.
Jeb can't even pic.twitter.com/s1oaHhr35A
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) January 15, 2016
Jeb's Muslim immigration answer absolutely right.
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahNRO) January 15, 2016
Jeb hits Trump again. pic.twitter.com/BkuYNmXDOm
— jimgeraghty (@jimgeraghty) January 15, 2016
Then the talk turned to tariffs, where Trump was accused of wanting to resurrect the GOP’s protectionism of the nineteenth-century. He denied it…sort of.
"I didn't propose a 45% tariff…*60 seconds of gibberish*…And that's why a 45% of tariff would make sense." #GOPDebate
— James Downie (@jamescdownie) January 15, 2016
Trump: "I'm a free-trader!"
Trump 15 seconds later: "I'm open to a tariff if we aren't being treated fairly!" #Cato2016
— Charles Hughes (@CharlesHHughes) January 15, 2016
"No, no. I'm a free trader. I believe in free trade–as long as we can rig it on our favor."
— Mark Dow (@mark_dow) January 15, 2016
Rubio countered with the point that tariffs make goods more expensive, hurting the average American.
Rubio: The buyer pays the tariff.
Finally, someone said it. Econ 101.
#GOPDebate
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 15, 2016
Jeb joined his former protégé, but Trump stood fast on the point.
Jeb Bush explains basic economics to Trump. Trump says economics are for weak people.
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) January 15, 2016
Carson got a question about corporate tax inversions.
moderator: how will you fix offshore tax evasion?
carson: my mom had a great strategy regarding car ownership
#GOPDebate
— John Brougher (@johnbrougher) January 15, 2016
While on the subject of taxes, Cruz’s tax proposals came up. Rubio insisted it was a value-added tax. Cruz disagreed. It got semantic.
Ted Cruz's VAT absolutely is a VAT
— James Pethokoukis (@JimPethokoukis) January 15, 2016
#GOPDebate Clearly Rubio doesn't know what VAT is: US has it in the form of sales tax. Sadly, he's making Cruz sound like an intellectual.
— Kris & Emma (@PondSnobs) January 15, 2016
Even the name of the VAT was disputed. One the one hand:
Omg stop saying VAT tax. The T stands for tax!
— Lizzie O'Leary (@lizzieohreally) January 15, 2016
But then again:
@lizzieohreally The B in JEB stands for Bush!
— Farhad Manjoo (@fmanjoo) January 15, 2016
Finally, the evening concluded with a Rubio-Cruz showdown. Rubio called Cruz a flip-flopper, and had some points to back it up.
Oh, man, Rubio's been waiting all night to unload this barrage. Wow.
#GOPDebate
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 15, 2016
Somebody done practiced that list.
— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) January 15, 2016
My face when Rubio just schooled Cruz pic.twitter.com/GDDD2pvfxy
— Alyssa Canobbio (@AlyssaEinDC) January 15, 2016
Cruz responded, but Rubio had won over the crowd.
Crowd boos Cruz when he accuses Rubio of lying. Wow. #GOPdebate
— Conrad Close (@conradclose) January 15, 2016
Most startling moment to me? When @tedcruz said only 1/2 of @marcorubio attacks were false. So basically owned the other 1/2. OUCH.
— Katie Packer (@katiepack) January 15, 2016
With the closing statements, the debate coasted to a stop.
Stillllll going. Backbone. Leadership. Blahblah.
#gopdebate
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) January 15, 2016
.@marcorubio mentioned "god" "individual" "liberty" & "military" in his closing statement but not sure wut he said #BuzzwordSalad #GOPDebate
— Katherine Timpf (@KatTimpf) January 15, 2016
There was a lot of back-and-forth over a variety of topics. For the first time in a while, it feels right to say this.
This was an awesome debate #confessyourunpopularopinion
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) January 15, 2016