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Marco Rubio vs. Donald Trump: Breaking down the Republican debate
By Adam C. Smith and Alex Leary
Feb 26, 2016The final GOP presidential debate ahead of Super Tuesday was Thursday night at the University of Houston's Moores School of Music Opera House. It was moderated by CNN's Wolf Blitzer, with Telemundo News anchor Maria Celeste Arras, Salem talk radio host Hugh Hewitt and CNN's Dana Bash also asking questions. Here's your watercooler recap.
Ben Carson
- Quote: "What we need to do is be looking for solutions tonight. It's not about us, it's about the American people."
- Best moment: "Can somebody attack me please?" Carson quipped at one point, distinguishing himself from the arguing frontrunners. The boisterous crowd loved it.
- Biggest misstep: "I'm going to whine. I didn't get asked about taxes. I didn't get asked about Israel," he said. Once again, Ben Carson seemed invisible for much of the night.
- Rating the performance: Carson's kindly demeanor invariably comes through in these debates, but he's so quiet that he is virtually irrelevant.
Ted Cruz
- Quote: "It is extraordinary that of five people standing on this stage that two of us are the children of Cuban immigrants. It really is the embodiment of the incredible opportunity and promise this nation provides."
- Best moment: "Donald is right. He is promising if he's elected he will go and cut deals in Washington. And he's right. He has supported -- he has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democrats."
- Biggest misstep: He missed several prime opportunities to challenge Trump, as well as opportunities to insert himself into the back and forth between Rubio and Trump.
- Rating the performance: Cruz was oddly docile for the first half of the debate, letting Rubio dominate much of the night with aggressive attacks on Trump. He needed a big night, and instead seemed to play it safe.
John Kasich
- Quote: On deportations: "I don't think we're going to tear families apart. I don't think we're going to ride around in people's neighborhoods and grab people out of their homes. I don't think it's practical and I don't think it reflects America."
- Best moment: Appearing above the shouting and bickering, of which there was lots. He said a young girl told him at a town hall, "You know, I don't like all this yelling and screaming at the debates. My mother's thinking I might not be able to watch the thing anymore."
- Biggest misstep: Nothing other than he faded into the background too often.
- Rating the performance: Kasich cast himself as the pragmatic candidate on immigration and gay marriage. With fewer candidates on stage — and no other governor — Kasich was able to tout his accomplishments. He may not have a path forward but Kasich showed he belonged on stage and may have won voters looking for more results.
Marco Rubio
- Quote: If not for an inheritance, "you know where Donald Trump would be right now? Selling watches in Manhattan."
- Best moment: Taking it early to Trump at the top of the debate on immigration, signaling to voters he is hungry for a chance to take on the frontrunner.
- Biggest misstep: Stumbled in trying to explain his position on President Barack Obama's program shielding young immigrants from deportation. Rubio shifted his language last week but insisted Thursday he had not. His position is nuanced so it may have not caught on with the crowd.
- Rating the performance: We keep saying this is the "most important debate" for a candidate but for Rubio it was crucial. He's trying to break out and take on Trump alone and Rubio came prepared, attacking early and standing his ground amid Trump's theatrics. He stood out more than anyone. Downside: He spoke really fast.
Donald Trump
- Quote: "We either have a country or we don't have a country. We have at least 11 million people who are in this country illegally. They will go out. .?.?.The best of them will come back, but they will come back through a process."
- Best moment: "That wall just got 10 feet taller," Trump responded when asked about former Mexico President Vicente Fox declaring, "I'm not paying for that f------ wall."
- Biggest misstep: He noted that his sister, a judge, "signed a bill" along with Justice Samuel Alito. Ummm, Mr. Trump, judges do not sign bills. He also sounded weakly defensive when pressed repeatedly for details on his vague health care proposals.
- Rating the performance: Rubio clearly got under Trump's skin, but he was never thrown off stride. He punched back repeatedly, and colorfully. Whether it was declining to denounce Palestine or praising non-abortion services provided by Planned Parenthood, he again proved to be the most unusual GOP frontrunner in a long, long time.
