Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, the two Republican senators enjoying a burst of momentum going into the New Hampshire primary, faced tough criticism from their opponents on the debate stage Saturday night – as Donald Trump, too, took a shot on the chin from Jeb Bush in a spat over development.
The debate saw the middle-tier candidates scrapping to gain some traction in the race, putting the top three finishers in Iowa’s caucuses on defense from the outset – and seemingly keeping them there.
The most heated argument came between Rubio and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, after Rubio defended his Senate record and experience.
“You have not been involved in a consequential decision where you had to be held accountable, you just simply haven’t,” Christie said. Pointing to a sanctions bill, Christie said Rubio skipped the vote, adding: “That’s not leadership, that’s truancy.”
Rubio fired back that Christie didn’t retu to New Jersey during the recent snowstorm until he was pressured. “They had to shame you into going back,” Rubio said, before retuing to criticism of President Obama.
“There it is. The memorized 25-second speech,” Christie said, mocking Rubio’s allegedly rehearsed “talking points” on Obama. Rubio again accused Christie of not wanting to retu to New Jersey for the storm response, but Christie shot back: “Is that one of the skills you get as a United States senator – ESP?”
Cruz, too, was sharply criticized by Ben Carson for representatives of his campaign incorrectly spreading rumors on caucus night that he was dropping out of the race.
“To think that I would just walk away just 10 minutes before the caucus … I mean, who would do something like that?” he said. “And to assume someone would, what does that tell you?”
He called the actions a good example of “certain types of Washington ethics … Washington ethics basically says, if it’s legal, you do what you need to do in order to win.”
Cruz insisted he “knew nothing about” the election night rumors, and again apologized.
“Ben, I’m sorry,” he said.
The Saturday night debate, hosted by ABC, was 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. He then walked on.
The debate also marked Trump’s retu to the stage – he sat out the last debate over a dispute with debate host Fox News. Retuing for the face-off in Manchester, N.H., though, his front-ruer status in the race is now in jeopardy, after Cruz bested him in the leadoff Iowa caucuses and Rubio pulled off a strong third-place finish that has given his campaign fresh momentum.
But it was former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush who put Trump on his heels at Saturday’s debate, in a dispute over eminent domain – the govement power to seize property that Trump has supported.
“It’s a necessity for our country,” Trump said.
But Bush accused Trump of using eminent domain to take property from an elderly woman for a project in Atlantic City.
After Trump denied it and then accused Bush of trying to be a “tough guy,” Bush asked, “How tough is it to take property from an elderly woman?”
Trump essentially took on the audience, which booed him repeatedly as he then accused them of being Bush’s “donors and special interests.” Trump got the final word, telling Bush that the Canada-to-Texas Keystone pipeline they support is a “private job” that needs eminent domain to be completed.
Trump, earlier, also defended his “temperament,” challenging criticism from 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.
He also mocked Cruz, after the senator did not respond directly whether he stands by his words.
“He didn’t answer your question,” Trump noted. “People back down with Trump, and that’s what I like, and that’s what the country is going to like.”
Trump still leads in New Hampshire, but recent polls show Rubio surging in the state, which votes Tuesday.
The debate at St. Anselm College featured 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, Kasich and former Florida Gov. Bush are also polling well in the state. 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 Carson was dropping out of the race.
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.