Bullish Trump comes out swinging
Republican front-runner Donald Trump has traded jabs with former Florida governor Jeb Bush, former business executive Carly Fiorina and other presidential rivals in a contentious debate marked by frequent bickering and personal attacks.
In the second debate of the 2016 Republican White House race, the candidates battled over Iraq, condemned United States President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, and sharply disagreed on whether the government should be shut down in order to cut funds for women’s health group Planned Parenthood.
With Trump shooting out to a big lead in opinion polls in the Republican presidential race, the other 10 candidates on the crowded debate stage struggled at times for attention, barely four months before the first nominating contest for the November 2016 election.
But unlike last month’s first debate, when most of the contenders shied away from directly challenging Trump, several candidates engaged in sometimes fierce personal exchanges with the real estate mogul and former reality TV star.
Revelling in the spotlight, Trump touted his business experience and fired off insults, making a crack about US Senator Rand Paul’s looks and declaring that for- mer New York governor George Pataki ‘‘couldn’t get elected dog catcher’’.
Trump drew a sharp rebuke from former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Fiorina for his recent comment in an interview that voters might not back her because of her face.
‘‘I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr Trump said,’’ Fiorina said, drawing applause.
Trump leaned toward her and replied: ‘‘I think she’s got a beautiful face, and I think she’s a beautiful woman.’’
Fiorina has been rising in the polls and was sharing the stage with the leading candidates for the first time. She noted that Trump’s companies had filed for bankruptcy four times and asked, ‘‘Why should we trust you?’’.
Bush, a frequent target of Trump’s jibes for his ‘‘low-energy’’ campaign, criticised the billionaire for his past friendliness with Democrats and for trying to get involved in casino gambling in Florida.
When Trump noted that he was the only person on the stage who had disagreed with the decision to go to war in Iraq, Bush leaped to the defence of his brother, former president George W Bush, who ordered the invasion.
Trump also took aim at Paul, saying he did not even belong on the stage because of his low standing in the polls.
At one point, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, renowned for his sometimes brusque and bullying style, derided the ‘‘childish back-andforth’’ and called on the candidates to be more substantive.
Reuters/Ipsos opinion polling shows Trump leading the 2016 race among Republicans with 32 per cent. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson is second at 15 per cent. Bush is in third place at 9 per cent as his campaign struggles to take off.
Also debating in the main event at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley were Scott Walker, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Mike Huckabee and John Kasich.