The last GOP presidential debate of 2015 is over! The debate was a crucial moment for Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Marco Rubio (Florida) and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
As with the first debate of the night, this debate focused on national security in the wake of recent terrorist attacks carried out or influenced by ISIS.
The debate featured: Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, businesswoman Carly Fiorina, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Sen. Rand Paul (Kentucky).
Sen. Ted Cruz has been steadily rising in the polls and this debate was an opportunity to keep that momentum. Meanwhile, Carson has seen his poll numbers plummet in the wake of terrorist attacks.
The debate started out focusing on Donald Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the country.
“We are not talking about isolation, we’re talking about security. We’re not talking about religion, we’re talking about security,” Trump said when asked if his Muslim ban is an isolationist approach. “I will build a wall, it will be a great wall,” he added.
“Banning all Muslims will make it harder to do exactly what we need to do, which is defeat ISIS,” Jeb Bush said, claiming that the ban is not a serious proposal.
When asked why Cruz disagrees with Trump’s proposal, he said that the threat does not come from the Islamic faith - as evidenced by the fact that there are many Muslim nations that do not suffer from violence caused by terrorist organizations like the Islamic State.
He argued that Trump’s proposal declares war on the Islamic faith rather than the real problem. “It’s not a war on a faith. It’s a war on a political and theocratic ideology that seeks to murder us,” Cruz said.
When asked if President George W. Bush’s statement “Islam is peace,” is still relevant to the Republican Party, Bush said it is if the United States wants to defeat ISIS. He said banning Muslims from entering the country would alienate Arab nations, “If we expect to do this on our own, we will fail,” he said.
When asked if the private sector should be forced to cooperate with law enforcement, Florina argued that the private sector does not need to be forced to do anything, it just needs to be asked to cooperate.
Gov. Kasich argued that the time limits on the metadata program was prohibiting law enforcement’s ability to track suspected terrorists. But focused on the issue of encryption, where law enforcement cannot read the messages of suspected terrorists.
Sen. Paul argued that members of the government made a mistake by pushing for regime change across the Middle East and North Africa. He argued that the toppling of governments created power vacuums which helped lead to the increase of safe havens for terrorist organizations.
Sen. Cruz said the United States should not try to topple Syrian President Assad, because Assad is fighting ISIS. He argued that removing Assad would give ISIS more power without another military force fighting the terrorist organization.
“The government in Saudi Arabia is not a democracy, but we have to work with them,” Sen. Rubio said arguing that the U.S. will have to work with as many governments as it can. But he said ant-American governments should be toppled.
On immigration, most candidates agreed that there needs to be more border security but they varied over whether or not to provide a path to citizenship.
On the issue of the Syrian refugee crisis, candidates almost all agreed that the U.S. should not accept any Syrian refugees. Candidates varied on the length of the ban, with some arguing it should be temporary until law enforcement can develop a better vetting process.
When asked how the U.S. should deal with North Korea, Russia, and China, Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson urged using economic means to push back against aggressions without military force.
Gov. Chris Christie said he would fight back against Chinese cyber attacks by ordering cyber attacks on China. Christie said the U.S. would “go with the things that they are most sensitive and most embarrassing to them,” in cyber attacks.
When asked about Trump’s attack on Cruz, he responded by saying, “Having gotten to know him over the past three or four days, he has a wonderful temperament.”
Donald Trump had one of his best debate performances yet. Sen. Cruz also had a good, he took some fire from the candidates but defended himself well. Gov. Christie also had a good night.
Sen. Marco Rubio’s was put on the defensive a lot especially with national security and privacy. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush had a bad night as his attacks on Donald Trump backfired.
As with the first debate of the night, this debate focused on national security in the wake of recent terrorist attacks carried out or influenced by ISIS.
The debate featured: Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, businesswoman Carly Fiorina, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Sen. Rand Paul (Kentucky).
Sen. Ted Cruz has been steadily rising in the polls and this debate was an opportunity to keep that momentum. Meanwhile, Carson has seen his poll numbers plummet in the wake of terrorist attacks.
The debate started out focusing on Donald Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the country.
“We are not talking about isolation, we’re talking about security. We’re not talking about religion, we’re talking about security,” Trump said when asked if his Muslim ban is an isolationist approach. “I will build a wall, it will be a great wall,” he added.
“Banning all Muslims will make it harder to do exactly what we need to do, which is defeat ISIS,” Jeb Bush said, claiming that the ban is not a serious proposal.
When asked why Cruz disagrees with Trump’s proposal, he said that the threat does not come from the Islamic faith - as evidenced by the fact that there are many Muslim nations that do not suffer from violence caused by terrorist organizations like the Islamic State.
He argued that Trump’s proposal declares war on the Islamic faith rather than the real problem. “It’s not a war on a faith. It’s a war on a political and theocratic ideology that seeks to murder us,” Cruz said.
When asked if President George W. Bush’s statement “Islam is peace,” is still relevant to the Republican Party, Bush said it is if the United States wants to defeat ISIS. He said banning Muslims from entering the country would alienate Arab nations, “If we expect to do this on our own, we will fail,” he said.
When asked if the private sector should be forced to cooperate with law enforcement, Florina argued that the private sector does not need to be forced to do anything, it just needs to be asked to cooperate.
Gov. Kasich argued that the time limits on the metadata program was prohibiting law enforcement’s ability to track suspected terrorists. But focused on the issue of encryption, where law enforcement cannot read the messages of suspected terrorists.
Sen. Paul argued that members of the government made a mistake by pushing for regime change across the Middle East and North Africa. He argued that the toppling of governments created power vacuums which helped lead to the increase of safe havens for terrorist organizations.
Sen. Cruz said the United States should not try to topple Syrian President Assad, because Assad is fighting ISIS. He argued that removing Assad would give ISIS more power without another military force fighting the terrorist organization.
“The government in Saudi Arabia is not a democracy, but we have to work with them,” Sen. Rubio said arguing that the U.S. will have to work with as many governments as it can. But he said ant-American governments should be toppled.
On immigration, most candidates agreed that there needs to be more border security but they varied over whether or not to provide a path to citizenship.
On the issue of the Syrian refugee crisis, candidates almost all agreed that the U.S. should not accept any Syrian refugees. Candidates varied on the length of the ban, with some arguing it should be temporary until law enforcement can develop a better vetting process.
When asked how the U.S. should deal with North Korea, Russia, and China, Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson urged using economic means to push back against aggressions without military force.
Gov. Chris Christie said he would fight back against Chinese cyber attacks by ordering cyber attacks on China. Christie said the U.S. would “go with the things that they are most sensitive and most embarrassing to them,” in cyber attacks.
When asked about Trump’s attack on Cruz, he responded by saying, “Having gotten to know him over the past three or four days, he has a wonderful temperament.”
Donald Trump had one of his best debate performances yet. Sen. Cruz also had a good, he took some fire from the candidates but defended himself well. Gov. Christie also had a good night.
Sen. Marco Rubio’s was put on the defensive a lot especially with national security and privacy. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush had a bad night as his attacks on Donald Trump backfired.