Trump proves to be boss in GOP race
Marvel Comics may have The Fantastic Four, but the Republican Party has The Tedious Ten.
Thursday night’s initial debate between the 10 leading candidates for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, up until press time, provided minimal fireworks, few surprises and only one certainty: love him or hate him, Donald Trump is the man to beat.
“The moment of truth has arrived,” announced Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly as the debate began, but the man of the moment was The Donald.
Standing centre stage, sporting his usual comb-over that defies gravity and a perpetual scowl that the Grinch might have envied, Trump grabbed focus instantly by proclaiming himself the sole candidate who would not automatically support the eventual candidate of the party, unless it turned out to be him.
He was belligerent, impolite and not afraid of who he offended. “The big problem this country has is being politically correct,” he declared. He then went on to demonstrate how that phrase could never be used to describe himself, by reiterating or defending his past comments on women, illegal immigrants and “the stupid leaders of the United States.”
The other nine contenders tried to make themselves seem dynamic, with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker declaring passionately, “I’m pro-life; I’ve always been pro-life,” only to have former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee outdo him by vowing he wouldn’t let people violate “the constitutional rights of the unborn child” by “ripping out their body parts and selling them like parts of a Buick.”
Rand Paul, the wild-eyed ophthalmologist senator from Kentucky, took issue with almost everything his opponents said, until Chris Christie, the feisty governor of New Jersey, accused him of “sitting in a senate subcommittee blowing hot air,” deflating him for a while.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz found himself fading into the background so he played the anti-terrorism card, shouting out, “If you join ISIS, you’re signing your death warrant."
Former Florida governor Jeb Bush seemed surprisingly muted all night, trying to assert his tough reputation, saying “they called me ‘Veto Corleone’ ” because he vetoed more than 2,000 budget line items during his time in office. But his heart wasn’t in the fight, even though he ranks number two in the polls now.
Ben Carson, the Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon turned politico, got so few chances to speak that he joked about it. But when given an opportunity, he didn’t make much of an impression, claiming brainpower without demonstrating it.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio made the most of the chances he got, dealing with the omnipresent spectre of Democratic nemesis Hillary Clinton by advising “this election isn’t going to be a resumé competition,” while boasting that he, not Clinton, could talk about what it meant to live “paycheque to paycheque.”
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, probably the least assertive of the 10 candidates, succeeded in summing up the thrust of the evening when he said, “Donald Trump is hitting a nerve in this country . . . if people tune him out, they’re making a mistake.”
Donald Trump, you’re not fired. The other nine? Not so much.