On Sept. 16, the top eleven Republican presidential candidates took to the stage to debate against one another for only the second time in the 2016 race. The debate was held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California and was moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper, Dana Bash, and Salem Radio Network radio host Hugh Hewitt. Standout candidates included Carly Fiorina, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, and of course, Donald Trump.
Donald Trump was once again the star of the evening, as he dominated the questions asked, interruptions, and attacks on other candidates. However, with each time Trump speaks to a crowd on a stage, whether it be a rally or a debate, it is becoming more and more evident that his knowledge of actual policy is virtually nonexistent.
Wednesday night was Fiorina’s first time debating the top candidates, as she did not qualify as a top ten contender in the first GOP debate, a standard set by Fox News moderators. In the first debate in August, she was named the clear winner of the separate debate among the less popular candidates, which was what ultimately qualified her to debate the top contenders last Wednesday. Prior to the second debate, Fiorina made it abundantly clear that she deserved to be a top-tier candidate and that she belonged on the stage debating the top Republican presidential hopefuls; and on Wednesday night, proved herself to be more than right.
Although Donald Trump is the clear frontrunner in the GOP race for the White House, he was no match for Fiorina’s confidence, poise, and expert knowledge on policy, something that is becoming more evident each day that Trump lacks. Perhaps Fiorina’s greatest applause of the night followed her statement urging the nation to “force” President Obama to veto the bill to continue the funding of Planned Parenthood that is about to be voted on by Congress.
“This is about the character of our nation and if we will not stand up and force President Obama to veto this bill, shame on us,” said Fiorina.
It seemed as though Fiorina possibly turned down what could have been an opportunity for a harsh hit back at Trump regarding a recent comment he made that many surmise to have been about her facial appearance making her unelectable.
“I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said,” said Fiorina, which was followed with yet another roar of applause from the audience.
However, she did not shy away from challenging Trump’s qualifications as a “global businessman” and even had to defend herself as a businesswoman when her own record came in to question by Trump in an effort to fight back at her.
The back and forth battle between Trump and Fiorina that resulted from this topic prompted many viewers and even two particular candidates to become annoyed that a great deal of the debate focused on two individual candidate’s backgrounds, rather than policy and current issues facing the nation. GOP presidential candidates Governor John Kasich and Governor Chris Christie both interrupted Trump and Fiorina at different times throughout the evening to request that the debate refocus on more important issues at hand.
Another standout of the evening was former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, which served as a victory for his campaign as it was a great improvement from his performance at the first debate in August and due to his recent drop in poll numbers. One of Bush’s most memorable and applauded moments of the night was his defense of his brother, President George W. Bush, against Trump’s accusation that the President “gave us” President Barack Obama.
“You know what? As it relates to my brother, there’s one thing I know for sure. He kept us safe,” Bush fired at Trump. “You remember the fire fighter with his arms around him? He sent a clear signal that the United States would be strong and fight Islamic terrorism, and he did keep us safe,” continued Bush.
Additionally, Bush hit back at Trump for his accusation that the only reason for the Bush campaign’s support of comprehensive immigration reform is due to the fact that Governor Bush’s wife is Mexican-American.
“To subject my wife into the middle of a raucous political conversation was completely inappropriate and I hope you apologize for that, Donald,” said Bush. Bush even suggested that he apologize to his wife right then and there on stage during the debate, but Trump declined, as was expected.
Bush shocked viewers last Wednesday night, as his performance at the first debate was subpar and his current poll numbers are low. His numerous standout moments in addition to his all around vast improvement from the first debate in August made him a clear winner in the second GOP presidential debate.
Despite Florida Senator Marco Rubio’s current low poll numbers, he yet again portrayed the makings of a frontrunner in his poised and knowledgeable manner in which he performed at the second GOP debate. Rubio possesses a vast and powerful knowledge of policy that he often ties in to his own personal history. Additionally, he took a slightly different approach than Fiorina and Bush to tackling Trump by redirecting his challenges and the focus of the debate in general toward his areas of expertise.
An example of this redirection was one of Trump’s most memorable attacks on Rubio through his confrontation regarding Rubio’s many absences at Senate votes.
“You’re right, I have missed some votes, and I’ll tell you why, Mr. Trump. Because in my years in the Senate, I’ve figured out very quickly that the political establishment in Washington, D.C. in both political parties is completely out of touch with the lives of our people,” said Rubio. “That’s why I’m missing votes. Because I am leaving the Senate, I’m not running for re-election, and I’m running for president because I know this: unless we have the right president, we cannot make America fulfill its potential, but with the right person in office, the 21st century can be the greatest era that our nation has ever known.”
Senator Rubio may not be doing as well as he’d like in the polls, but it seems as though if he continues this strategy of redirection toward his strengths and performing as well as he has been in the debates, that he will certainly challenge the other frontrunner GOP candidates.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s primary standout moment occurred when he fired at Trump and Fiorina for monopolizing too much of the debate’s time on their backgrounds in business.
“While I’m as entertained as anyone by this personal back-and-forth about the history of Donald and Carly’s career, for the 55-year-old construction worker out in that audience tonight who doesn’t have a job, who can’t fund his child’s education, I’ve got to tell you the truth. They could care less about your careers, they care about theirs,” said Christie. “Let’s start talking about that on this stage and stop playing the games.” This statement resulted in a roar of applause from the audience, as it finally seemed as though Christie’s maturity as a candidate has begun to evolve.
An additional standout moment for Christie was his discussion of the Republicans’ goal to defund Planned Parenthood. The governor suggested that the problem with the debate was that all of the candidates were fighting one another on how to defund the program when they actually all fundamentally agree on the main issue at hand: that they want it defunded.
“Overall it [the second GOP presidential debate]was a good representation of the candidates’ stances on some of the issues. I found it very enlightening in regard to their opinions. Some of the questions got the candidates to show their real opinions since they don’t have much time to spin their answers when they’re on stage. The most important issues discussed were immigration, the problems in the Middle East, and economic stimulation. I personally think Carly Fiorina won the debate. She showed that she’s a real contender and not afraid to come after people like Donald Trump. It’s evident that she wants to win,” said senior Emily Mincey.
The candidates that didn’t have such memorable performances as some of their fellow competitors included Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and Scott Walker. Huckabee and Cruz were able to confidently answer the questions asked to them; however, they were not asked nearly as many questions as other candidates, opted out of attacking Trump as well as any other candidates, and virtually were nearly forgotten about. Expectations for Dr. Ben Carson’s performance at this debate were high, as he recently has secured the number two spot in the GOP race; but unfortunately, he fell short of these expectations. Carson performed too cautiously and some mocked him for his overly tranquil demeanor. Additionally, he turned down ample opportunities to swing at Trump.
Rand Paul, on the other hand, once again did not turn down the opportunity to attack Trump, but also once again, seemed to have gone a bit overboard. Paul pointed out numerous flaws of Trump’s, but failed to promote his own strengths, leaving viewers unsure about his assets and policies.
Scott Walker also did not shy away from attacking Trump, remarking that, “We don’t need an apprentice in the White House. We have one there right now.” Overall, Walker’s performance was slightly better than at the first debate, but he simply did not have any standout moments.
The debate among the top eleven GOP presidential candidates actually did not showcase every Republican in the 2016 race. Just as in the first debate, right before the “main event” of the night, the remaining GOP hopefuls not in the top eleven debated against one another. These candidates included Lindsey Graham, Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum, and George Pataki. The standout candidate of this “happy hour” or “kids’ table” debate as many refer to it, was Lindsay Graham. Graham delivered solid responses regarding military strategy and immigration, which is what seems to have put him over the top at this debate.
Overall, the CNN GOP presidential debate was undoubtedly entertaining; however, its ability to provide viewers with the knowledge of a majority of the candidates’ strengths and policies fell quite short.
