GOP candidates, minus New Jersey governor Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee whose poll numbers didn’t qualify them, find themselves on the main stage again for another debate. The debate, hosted by Fox Business the self-proclaimed anti-CNBC, which promises to ask “real questions” on “real issues,” is being held in Milwaukee. Tonight candidates will be answering questions about one of those real issues: the economy.
Jeb Bush, assertive from the previous debate where his speaking time fell, was quick to criticize Barack Obama’s policies when discussing economic issues. He actually called for “repealing” all of the established laws under Obama.
Like Bush, Carly Fiorina also said Obama’s laws should be abolished as a first step to “take the government back.” She said:
Meanwhile, Donald Trump and Ben Carson agreed over not raising the minimum wage. Trump said he couldn't sympathize with pleas for a higher wage. Carson said, "Every time we raise the minimum wage, the number of jobless people increases.
While Trump stood by his plans for building a wall on the border, John Kasich disagreed and called Trump’s plan to deport 11 million people “silly.” Trump said a wall worked for Israel and when further rebutted by Kasich said, “you’re lucky you struck oil in Ohio.”
Bush got snarky with Trump after the Donald acted like he was throwing Bush a bone: “Thank you Donald for letting me speak at the debate. That’s very nice of you,” Bush said, sarcastically calling Trump "generous" as well.
Ted Cruz's anti-granny-pushing stance swayed by his mother:
Marco Rubio talked about the changing economy by making a comparison between the telephone’s rise to popularity versus Candy Crush’s because what a time to be alive. Rubio’s quote about how the times are a-changin': “It took the telephone 75 years to reach 100 million users. It took Candy Crush 1 year to reach 100 million users.”
Rand Paul says he's not down with big government.
Paul goes after Rubio over military spending, saying he believes in a strong defense but not at the expense of further national debt. Here’s part of the heated debate:
A charged up Paul even fact-checked Trump on the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, aimed to increase more jobs in America and boost the economy, after he erroneously included China.
Bush says America's biggest threat is "Islamic terrorism" and advocates for a no-fly zone in Syria to combat ISIS. Meanwhile, Trump is gun-ho about Russia's Vladimir Putin dealing with ISIS.
And now for Dr. Carson's thoughts:
Trump gets booed loudly by the crowd after he rudely calls out Fiorina, without bothering to name her, saying, “Why does she keep interrupting everybody?” Paul piggybacks.
Rubio cracks international affairs and concludes why countries hate America: “They hate us because women drive in our country.”
Bush tries to make a joke when discussion turns to the Dodd-Frank bill, passed to prevent another financial crisis like 2008’s, and says it should be repealed. The joke flopped:
And Hillary Clinton fires back at him in a tweet:
Faced with the question whether he would bail out big banks, as was done previously, Kasich says yes and gets booed. Cruz, who is adamantly against it, goes after him.
When a debate moderator lists Clinton's lengthy political resume and says she's been closer to the White House than anyone there, before asking Rubio why he is better equipped for president, the crowd boos.
On a night where candidates haven't called out Clinton too often, Cruz says she embodies "cronyism," a buzzword of the night. Merriam-Webster defines cronyism as: "the unfair practice by a powerful person (such as a politician) of giving jobs and other favors to friends."
Fiorina uses her closing statement to go after Clinton, saying the nation would crumble under another Clinton presidency saying it would "corrode the character of this nation." Fiorina said the class divides between rich and poor would widen, middle class would be crushed, and veterans wouldn't be cared for. Fiorina repeated her mantra of taking back the government and promised to beat the "lying" Clinton.
After being called the "worst secretary of state" by Trump in his closing statement, Clinton subtweets the candidates.
