The second Republican presidential debate on CNN came and went, and at least for me, Trump and Fiorina walking away from it as the top performers of the night.
The debate kicked off with what else, insults.“First of all, Rand Paul shouldn’t even be on this stage.” Trump said, because the Kentucky Senator was at the very bottom of the polls.
Paul jabbed back at Trump for taking a cheap shot at Carly Fiorina’s looks, which prompted Trump to land by far, the funniest barb of the night.
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Completing this poll grants you access to Shark Tank updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to this site's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.“I never attacked him on his looks…And believe me, there’s plenty of subject matter there.”-Donald Trump on Rand Paul’s looks
OMG! @realDonaldTrump just slammed @RandPaul on his looks #cnndebate
— Javier Manjarres (@THESHARKTANK1) September 17, 2015
As expected, the CNN debate would be dominated by Donald Trump-most of the questions asked by the moderators seemed have been about something Trump had said. Trump won big last simply because the debate was all about him. But while Trump was the clear winner, Carly Fiorina surprised no one with her stellar performance. Fiorina all but stole the show away from the other candidates. Fiorina was on fire. The former HP CEO took on Trump, and on a couple of occasions, even seemed to get the best of the real estate billionaire.
“That is precisely the way you ran your companies. You ran up mountains of debt, as well as losses, using other people’s money…Why should we trust you to manage the finances of this nation?”-Carly Fiorina on Trump’s casino business
Fiorina scored the biggest points against Trump when she addressed his “look at that face” remark/insult of her to a Rolling Stone reporter. “I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said Trump could only respond by saying, “I think she’s got a beautiful face, and I think she’s a beautiful woman.”
.@CarlyFiorina just eviscerated @realDonaldTrump over his “look at that face” remark #CNNDebate — Javier Manjarres (@THESHARKTANK1) September 17, 2015
.@tedcruz says Republicans surrender to Obama. He is right. #CNNDebate
— Javier Manjarres (@THESHARKTANK1) September 17, 2015
To be fair, all of the candidates on the stage did exceptionally well. Senator Cruz was commanding and substantive with his answers to the questions, while former Governor Jeb Bush came across as extremely knowledgeable, and sounded very presidential. Jeb even landed a couple of jabs to Trump, dinging him on the remark he made about his wife. Bush suggested to Trump that he apologize to his wife on national TV. Trump, as expected, said that he wouldn’t because he felt he did and said nothing wrong. Senator Rubio appeared to get the short end of the political stick. While Rubio shined with every single response he gave in the 3-hour-long debate, he seemed to have gotten lost somewhere in the mix. Remember, this debate was all about Trump, so because the bulk of the questions asked had something to do with Trump, Trump, as well as those who have attacked him, received all of the air time. While it seemed as if the attacks were solely against Trump, with “The Donald” taking aim mostly at Bush and Walker, Rubio took a broadside hit after Trump called him out for having “the worst voting record there is.” Rubio couldn’t disagree, and didn’t. Trump made Rubio admit that little ugly truth, that he is leaving the Senate after serving less than one term in office.
“I figured out very quickly that the political establishment in Washington D.C., of both political parties, is completely out of touch with the people…That’s why I am missing votes, because I am leaving the Senate, I’m running for president.”-Sen. Marco Rubio
One thing I did notice was the Reagan library seemed a bit warm because perspiration seemed to glisten of the foreheads and heads of several of the candidates, especially Rubio, who at one point looked as if he dunked his head in a bucket of water. Not really, but the sweat was more prevalent on Rubio. Rubio tends to sweat a lot. The post debate polls should still have Trump with a commanding lead among the field of candidates, with Fiorina, and possibly Cruz, gaining more ground.
.@CarlyFiorina will climb in the polls after her stellar debate performance #CNNDebate — Javier Manjarres (@THESHARKTANK1) September 17, 2015
Trump closed with this remark:
“We will make this country greater than ever before. We’ll have more jobs. We’ll have more of everything,”