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Best Tweets Of The Detroit GOP Debate

The umpteenth GOP debate descended into a parody of reality television. As adults go, however, Ted Cruz had his best night yet.

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For the umpteenth time, the Republican candidates met last night for a debate. After the Super Tuesday caucuses, only four contenders remained to gather in Detroit: Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump. The Fox News moderators skipped the opening statements and got right to the questions.


The tone of the conversation did not improve from there. Segueing from the ongoing conversation about the size of his hands, Trump sought to establish that—well, I’ll let Twitter explain.


The talk then turned from Trump’s “business” to his business. As in the last debate, Rubio and Cruz sought to drive home their point: Trump is a con man and unfit for high office.


Moderator Mike Wallace challenged Trump on his deficit reduction plans, and brought some charts to back him up.


Trump proclaimed that, through negotiation, he would save more money on prescription drugs than the government actually spends on prescription drugs. Wallace was not impressed.


Cruz got a question on immigration, but he turned it on Trump, questioning his commitment to reducing illegal immigration, noting his campaign donations to Democrats who support amnesty, and suggesting that he told The New York Times off the record that his Mexican wall idea was all bluster.


After avowing his staunch support for reducing immigration, Trump advocated increasing immigration.


Rubio, sounding hoarse, questioned Trump’s commitment to American workers after hundreds of jobs in his Florida hotel went to foreigners.


John Kasich also spoke.


Ben Carson did not, but Twitter had not forgotten him.


On foreign policy, the moderators asked Trump to explain an unusual position.


Asked for specific policy positions and advisers, Trump said some words and named some names.


Kasich spoke of his deep experience with foreign policy questions.


Megyn Kelly asked Trump to explain some of the times he changed his positions, and showed some video to illustrate. She did not hold back.


More of Trump’s business failures came under fire, including Trump University, the unaccredited school he founded and about which he is now the subject of a civil fraud suit.


Kelly live-fact-checked Trump’s responses.


Cruz continued the assault. When Trump tried to talk over him, Cruz employed a tactic familiar to many other parents of small children.


Trump returned to his A material: talking about polls.


Kasich, now the lowest-polling candidate in the race, changed the subject.


But Cruz returned to the fray, and Rubio joined him. Trump resumed interrupting.


The moderators threw Kasich a softball and begged him to line it right at Trump.


Instead, he tried to cram his entire foreign policy worldview into 45 seconds.


As the debated ended, it was clear that Cruz had registered the best performance. Rubio, hampered by a cold, still managed to make some good points. Trump, distracted by attacks from all sides, flailed wildly. Kasich did his thing.

But the back-and-forth left some viewers yearning for more. For an outsider candidate, even more of an outsider than Trump. But who could that be?