Skip to main content

Trump Rivals Seek to Draw Blood in Pre-Super Tuesday Showdown

Share This article

No more Mr. Nice Guy. Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, targeted frontrunner Donald Trump in a big way during Thursday night's GOP debate.  
 
The real question – will it make a difference on Super Tuesday? 

Trump, Cruz,  Rubio got the most attention with heated exchanges throughout the night.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Dr. Ben Carson were given some questions but not as many as the others. Even Trump in a post debate interview said he thought that was unfair.

Rubio and Trump bantered back and forth first over questions about immigration.

"This is a big issue for Texas. It is a huge issue for the nation," Rubio said.

Rubio accused Trump of hiring illegal workers at his businesses.

"I've hired tens of thousands of people. He brings up something from years ago... the laws were different then," Trump countered.

"I really find it amazing that Donald thinks that he's the one who discovered illegal immigration," Ted Cruz jumped in to say.

Ted Cruz will be at Regent University for the Presidential Candidate Forums on Friday, Feb. 26.
Watch the event LIVE @ 7 p.m ET

"And, by the way, Marco is absolutely right, a federal court found Donald guilty of a conspiracy to hire illegals and issued a million dollar judgement against him," Cruz added.

It turned into a free-for-all at one point between Rubio and Trump. They both started attacking each other over investments, business, cronism and ethics.

Governor Kasich said the greater issue isn't immigration but giving people access to the American dream to better themselves and their families.

"My view is, we need economic growth. Everything starts with economic growth... we have to make sure that everybody has the sense that they can rise," Kasich said.

"Real compassion is providing people a ladder of opportunity to rise up," Carson agreed.

Moderator CNN's Wolf Blitzer shifted gears to the importance of the next U.S. Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia following his death.

When asked if he would make protecting religious liberty a litmus test for any judicial appointments, Donald Trump said he would.

"He's gonna look for someone who will cut a deal," Cruz argued when talking about Trump's ability to protect religious liberty.

Rubio said he doubts if Trump becomes president he would nominate a Supreme Court justice candidate who would defend the constitution as Scalia did.

"Let's not just get so narrow here," Kasich said when it comes to doing business with people who may not line-up with your religious views.

"Even though everybody has the same rights, nobody gets extra rights... that's unfair." Carson said making the point that one person shouldn't have to compromise their beliefs to give another person "extra rights."

A question about Obamacare turned to the individual mandate in the healthcare law.

Trump said the insurance companies are making a fortune because of the "lines" between the states that allow them a monopoly of coverage.

"We have to get rid of the lines around the states so there is serious, serious competition," Trump said.

"What is your plan on healthcare?," Rubio challenged Trump on not having a real solution for reforming healthcare.

"When you get rid of the lines it opens up competition," Trump responded.

When asked if that's all to his plan, Trump said that's all that's needed to fix the problem, "There's nothing to add."

"What we need is transparancy by providers and the industry," Kasich said that's what's happening in his state and it can happen for the nation.

"It's easier to interpret the Dead Sea Scrolls as it is a healthcare bill," Kasich continued.

"Healthcare is not a right but I do believe it is a responsiblity for a responsible society, and we are that." Carson said.

"I propose a system in which we use health empowerment accounts, which are like a health savings account with no bureaucrats. And we give it to everybody from birth until death," Carson explained.

"They can pass it on when they die. We pay for it with the same dollars that we pay for traditional healthcare with. We give people the ability to shift money within their health empowerment account within their family. So dad's $500 short, mom can give it to him or a cousin or uncle.And it makes every family their own insurance carrier with no middle man. It gives you enormous flexibility," Carson elaborated.

Trump says he'd eliminate waste in the federal government when it comes to the economy and balancing the budget.

"We are going to cut many of the agencies, we will balance our budget, and we will be dynamic again," Trump said.

Kasich says he's got the experience and actually had four years of a balanced budget when he was in Congress.

"And, look, I've got a plan to take to Washington, and I will have it there in the first hundred days, and it will include shifting welfare, education, transportation, Medicaid and job training back to us, so we can begin, in the states, to be the laboratories of innovation," Kasich said.

All the candidates agreed the current administration has treated Israel horribly.

Carson spoke up after several questions were asked without him being included.

"Well first of all, people say that I whine a lot because I don't get time. I'm going to whine because I didn't get asked about taxes, I didn't get asked about Israel," he told the audience.

On taxes, Carson said the IRS is not honest and "we need to get rid of them."

"I never had an audit until I spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast, and then all of a sudden, they came in..." Carson said.

He also told the audience he wasn't surprised by what he heard on a recent visit to Israel.

"I talked to a lot of people. I couldn't find a single one who didn't think that we had turned our backs on Israel. You know, they are a strategic partner for us but also recognize that we have a Judeo Christian foundation, and the last thing we need to do is to reject Israel. It doesn't mean that we can't be fair to other people," Carson explained.

He also said North Korea's Kim Jung Un is an unstable person but he does understand strength.

"And I think we have to present strength to him. We should be encouraging the alliance with Japan and South Korea... And lastly, we should make sure that he knows that if he ever shoots a missile at us, it will be the last thing he ever does," Carson concluded.

Share This article

About The Author

CBN
News

CBN News is a national/international, nonprofit news organization that provides programming 24 hours a day by cable, satellite and the Internet. Staffed by a group of acclaimed news professionals, CBN News delivers stories to over a million viewers each day without a specific agenda. With its headquarters in Virginia Beach, Va., CBN News has bureaus in Washington D.C., Jerusalem, and elsewhere around the world. What began as a segment on CBN's flagship program, The 700 Club, in the early 1980s, CBN News has since expanded into a multimedia news organization that offers today's news headlines