In a debate boycotted by frontrunner Donald Trump, a shared aversion to him appeared to be a point of agreement among the other Republican presidential aspirants who sought to undermine one another. Mr. Trump addressed a separate rally where he raised funds for military veterans and took potshots at his opponents.
Mr. Trump skipped the debate over disagreements with Fox News that hosted it, particularly over one of the moderators, Megyn Kelly. Ms. Kelly had in an earlier debate asked Mr. Trump whether his comments denigrating women were suitable for a presidential candidate. Mr. Trump turned his ire on Ms. Kelly after the debate, saying that “she had blood coming out of her eyes… or wherever”. His tirade against her continued and on Friday, he retweeted a supporter who called Ms. Kelly “bimbo” and later justified it in an interview. Mr. Trump said he got an apology from Fox, but it was too late to rethink; the network said Mr. Trump demanded $5 million for his charities, in return for his participation, which was not acceptable to it.
“Let’s address the elephant not in the room,” Ms. Kelly opened the debate with a question to Senator Ted Cruz, who is Mr. Trump’s closest rival. “Donald Trump has chosen not to attend this evening’s presidential debate. What message do you think that sends to the voters of Iowa?” “I’m a maniac, and everyone on this stage is stupid fat and ugly…,” Mr. Cruz responded, imploring a common cause with others against Mr. Trump. Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Cruz are considered insurgents devoid of experience, inadequate in temperament and inconsiderate of the Republican Party’s moorings by the rest — and that became apparent soon.
“You now want to trump Mr. Trump on immigration,” Senator Marco Rubio told Mr. Cruz, reminding him of his earlier stance that supported legalising illegal immigrants. Jeb Bush reminded others that he had been taking on Mr. Trump from the beginning while others remained silent. “I kind of miss Donald Trump. He was a little Teddy Bear to me. We always had such a loving relationship,” Mr. Bush joked.
Mr. Rubio and Mr. Cruz had heated exchanges as both sought to disown and deny their earlier support to amnesty for immigrants.
Mr. Cruz said his plans were to revive the Reagan legacy — a social coalition of libertarians, conservatives and evangelicals and in government, total deregulation of the economy that will create a boom that will in turn support a new wave of American militarisation.
Discussing the American victory in the first Gulf war as a pointer for the current situation, the candidates drew different lessons. Mr. Cruz thought it was “saturation bombing” that won the war for America in 1992 and wanted the same to eliminate the Islamic State, while Mr. Bush and John Kasich said it was the coalition of Muslim countries that won the war. Mr. Bush and Mr. Kasich warned against anti-Muslim rhetoric.
Senator Rand Paul, though polling very low, stood out in the crowd with his libertarian positions against surveillance, security state and calling for better integration of African-Americans. “We cannot incarcerate another generation of black people. Our party needs to be part of the solution,” Mr. Paul said, referring to the disproportionate incarceration of the African-Americans in drug cases.
Mr. Rubio, who could potentially be the rallying point for the Republican establishment if Mr. Bush does not gain ground soon, appeared to be on overdrive to win over the evangelical voters. At one point he said, his life’s goal was to “live in eternity with my creator”. Asked whether he could be the saviour of the party, he said, Jesus Christ was the only saviour.
Trump for veterans
Meanwhile, only miles away from the debate venue, Mr. Trump addressed a gathering with his newfound interest — welfare of veterans. Veterans have not been spared of Mr. Trump’s diatribe earlier. DonaldTrumpforvets.com was set up hours before the event — and MSNBC discovered that the domain name was bought only for one year, raising doubts over his long term commitment — and Mr. Trump declared that more than $5 million was raised. Mr. Trump said the donations came from people who wanted to contribute to his campaign but were unable to, because he would not accept donations. “All of them are taking money from special interests. I was so greedy all my life. Now I am greedy only for America,” he said.
