Donald Trump defended his “temperament” at Saturday’s Republican debate, challenging criticism from Texas Sen. Ted Cruz that Trump would be a trigger-happy commander in chief.
“I actually think I have the best temperament,” Trump said.
Earlier this week, Cruz responded to Trump’s criticism of his Iowa caucus tactics by questioning his temperament. He joked that with Trump in charge, Americans could wake up and find he’s “nuked Denmark.”
Trump reminded the audience at Saturday’s debate that he did not back the Iraq war.
“I was the only up here who said don’t go, don’t do it,” Trump said.
The Saturday night debate is the candidates’ last before the New Hampshire primary. It started with a hiccup, as the moderators appeared to, temporarily, forget to invite Ohio Gov. John Kasich to the stage.
Trump, after sitting out the last debate, retued for the face-off in Manchester, N.H. But his front-ruer status in the race is now in jeopardy, after Texas Sen. Ted Cruz bested him in the leadoff Iowa caucuses and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio pulled off a strong third-place finish that has given his campaign fresh momentum.
Trump still leads in New Hampshire, but recent polls show Rubio surging in the state, which votes Tuesday.
The ABC-hosted debate at St. Anselm College features the seven top-polling candidates. Former HP CEO Carly Fiorina and former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore did not make the cut.
Unlike in Iowa, the battle for the not-Trump vote is crowded and competitive in New Hampshire. Aside from Cruz and Rubio, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush are also polling well in the state. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had been ruing strong as recently as January but has seen his numbers slide in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, the fallout from the Iowa caucuses continues to reverberate on the campaign trail in the Granite State.
Cruz has not been able shake accusations that his campaign resorted to underhanded tactics to win, including sending a mailer that suggested Iowans in low-tuout areas were guilty of a voting “violation” and having campaign representatives spread the inaccurate rumor on caucus night that Ben Carson was dropping out of the race.
Cruz, for his part, has played down the complaints – questioning Trump’s “temperament,” while still apologizing to Carson.
Fiorina, and even some rival candidates, had lobbied ABC and the Republican National Committee to let her debate Saturday despite the criteria disqualifying her. But ABC stood firm in its decision to stick by criteria aounced before Monday’s caucuses, after which three GOP candidates dropped out.