Trump attacks fly fast at debate
Republican rivals follow Romney’s lead; front-runner insists his hands are fine
DETROIT They were at Donald Trump’s throat all night.
With plenty of angry crosstalk, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio tried to do everything they could to slow down Trump’s momentum with a torrent of attacks on his vague answers on policy, his business record, his ever-changing positions on issues, and abrasive campaign style.
It was a striking strategic departure: Cruz and Rubio didn’t attack each other, as they have in the past. For the first time in a debate, they had a united front. In response, Trump brushed them off, sneeringly calling them “little Marco” and “lying Ted.”
Still, when asked if they would support the nominee, even if it were Trump, they all said yes.
But the reason the 11th GOP presidential debate may go down in history is because it featured a joke about a man’s anatomy. “Look at those hands. Are they small hands? He referred to my hands — if they’re small, something else must be small,” said Trump, the GOP front-runner.
It was a defense of a insult that rival Rubio unpacked on the cam- paign trail in the last week, when he said: “You know what they say about men with small hands? You can’t trust them.”
Trump on Thursday tried to kill that rumor. “I guarantee you, there’s no problem,” he said to
loud cheers from the audience at the Fox Theatre in Detroit.
As Trump’s strength in the presidential campaign grows — the wealthy TV star won seven of 11 states on Super Tuesday — he’s coming under heavier fire from Cruz, a Texas senator who won three states Tuesday, and Rubio, a Florida senator who won one.
The last person in the GOP final four, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, as usual tried to stay above it all. Kasich has shaken off the narrative early in the race about his anger problems by taking on the mantle of reasonable, huggable candidate. Asked a question about Trump and foreign affairs, Kasich said, “I’m not biting.”
Trump has captured nearly half of all the delegates awarded so far. His rivals hope to beat him in delegate-rich Florida and Ohio on March 15, but Trump leads the polls in both states. Losses for Rubio and Kasich in could leave their candidacies at serious risk of failure. Kasich said Thursday, “I will win Ohio.”
The debate lineup shrunk by one candidate on Wednesday when Ben Carson announced he would not participate. The retired neurosurgeon signaled he would soon formally withdraw from the race. Carson said he’ll talk about his future at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., Friday.
Rubio came ready to battle, matching Trump jab for jab, and pointing out each time Trump answered a policy question with an attack on a rival. “He doesn’t have answers, and he’s asking you to make him the president of the United States,” Rubio said.
“I know what’s happening on the economy,” Trump fired back. “I’ve employed tens of thousands of people. “Have you ever heard of Trump steaks? Trump Vodka. ... You’ve ruined these companies,” Rubio told him.
When the moderator nudged in with a policy question, Rubio said, “Let’s see if he answers it.”
“Don’t worry about it little Marco,” Trump said.
Trump was also asked about the blistering speech 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney gave in Utah earlier Thursday, when he said Trump’s bullying, greed, showing off, misogyny and absurd theatrics would lead the Republicans to disaster. Romney challenged Trump to answer with substance not insults. “Well, look, he was a failed candidate,” Trump responded.