The fourth debate among candidates for the Republican nomination for president saw the gloves come off Tuesday as GOP icon Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment – “Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican” – was broken time and again.
The eight candidates participating in the primetime debate clashed over foreign policy, immigration and the economy. At the earlier debate, it was cutting the size of government and points for participating that drew the most attention.
Here area a few of the more memorable moments of the evening:
1. Juice box is trending: During the first debate of the evening, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal went after Chris Christie as Christie talked about his record of wins as governor of the heavily-Democratic state of New Jersey. Jindal at first grudgingly praised Christie then pivoted to say, "I'll give you a ribbon for participation. And a juice box." While Christie appeared aggravated at the comment, he didn't engage Jindal, instead taking the opportunity to take a swipe at Hillary Clinton.
Of course it took no time for “juice box” to begin trending on social media.
2. Ted Cruz on counting to 5: A new rule of thumb in debates – don't list a group of federal agencies you'll get rid of once you are president. Under no circumstances will you be able to remember all of them when you are standing on that stage. (See Rick Perry). On Tuesday, it was Ted Cruz's time to muff the answer. The five agencies on his list: the IRS, Commerce, Energy, COMMERCE and Hud.
3. Donald Trump gets his mojo back: After a somewhat reserved performance in the third GOP debate, Donald Trump brought it Tuesday night, challenging John Kasich and chiding Carly Fiorina. After Kasich said Trump's plan to deport undocumented immigrants was "silly," Trump responded, "You're lucky in Ohio that you struck oil."
He went on to tell Kasich that if it was good for President Dwight Eisenhower to deport millions in the 1950s, it would be good for a Trump presidency. “Dwight Eisenhower. You don’t get nicer, you don’t get friendlier. I like Ike, right. They moved a million and a half people out.”
Of Fiorina he asked, “Why does she keep interrupting everybody?” as she jumped in to make a statement. He was booed.
4. Carson on his past: Ben Carson didn't' have a good week last week what with the media scrutinizing statements he has made about his past. Moderator Neil Cavuto asked him what that was like. "First of all, thank you for not asking me what I said in 10th grade, I appreciate that," Carson said. Cavuto answered, "I'll just forget about that follow-up then."
5. Hillary's no one's favorite: Democratic Party frontrunner Hillary Clinton's name came up a number of times Tuesday, and not in a good way. Chris Christie warned that if she is elected she is "coming for your wallet." Debate moderator Maria Bartiromo referred to her "impressive resume." She was booed. Ben Carson said, "When I look at somebody like Hillary Clinton who sits there and tells her daughter and a government official that no this (Benghazi) was a terrorist attack and tells everybody else it was a video, where I come from, they call that a lie."
6. Board games even came up: "We are not going to be the world's policemen but we sure as hell better be the world's leader. That's like a board game," Jeb Bush said of Donald Trump's take on foreign policy. "That's like playing Monopoly or something."
7. Let's hear it for welders: Marco Rubio pointed out that college isn't for everyone and that people should stop looking down on vocational education. He got wild applause when he said, "Welders make more money than philosophers. We need more welders and less philosophers."
8. Paul v. Rubio: Rand Paul attacked Marco Rubio's conservative chops when he was critical of Rubio's tax reform plan. Rubio defended the plan then went after Paul saying, "I know that Rand is a committed isolationist. I'm not. I believe the world is a safer and a better place when the United States is the strongest country in the world." Paul responded, "You cannot be a conservative if you're going to keep promoting programs that you're not going to pay for." Rubio repeated, "I know that the world is a safer and a better place when the United States is the strongest country in the world."
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