Republican candidates faced off in the season’s eighth presidential debate, this time in New Hampshire.
The debate got off to a bumpy start Saturday, February 6, 2016 when Ben Carson apparently didn’t hear his name called by the hosts from ABC News.
Carson was to come on stage second, but walked to the edge of the stage and stopped, not hearing his name. He remained as several of his rivals walked pass him to the podium.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich wasn’t called until Chris Christie mentioned his name, eventually asking, “Can I introduce Kasich?”
Donald Trump returned to center stage after boycotting the last debate in Iowa. The billionaire businessman was sandwiched in between his two biggest rivals, Iowa caucus winner Ted Cruz, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who finished a close third behind Trump.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson were also on the New Hampshire debate stage as they attempted to give their candidacies a boost ahead of the Feb. 9 primary.
What to do with the Affordable Care Act
During the debate, it came out that Trump, Cruz and Carson all agree on at least one thing: They detest the Affordable Care Act. All three, however were taking different approaches to explain just what they want in its place.
Trump promised “to replace Obamacare with something so much better.” He says that would include healthcare savings accounts for individuals and allowing insurance companies to sell policies across state lines.
Trump implicitly accused his rivals of not backing some kind of safety net care for the poorest Americans.
Cruz did not get into the details of a replacement at all, using the discussion to blast “socialized medicine.”
Carson said he wants to give Americans subsidies for medical savings accounts using money now spent on existing health care.
Bush and Trump argue over eminent domain
Trump and Bush got in a terse back-and-forth exchange over their positions on eminent domain, the process by which the government takes private property for public use.
When Bush tried to interject, Trump drew boos when he dismissed him saying, “Let me talk, quiet.” Trump quipped the catcalls were coming from “donors and special interests,” the only people who could get tickets to the high profile debate.
Trump defended the use of eminent domain, saying it’s “absolutely necessary” to build roads, schools, bridges and hospitals.
Bush forcefully challenged Trump, asking why he tried to use eminent domain to purchase the home of an elderly woman who lived near one of his Atlantic City casinos. Bush says, “That isn’t public purpose. That was downright wrong.”
Candidates at odds when it comes to immigration reform and deportation
Marco Rubio is defending his role in immigration reform as a member of the Gang of Eight in the Senate.
Rubio said the American people cannot trust Congress until the border is secured and that those here illegally would not be put on a pathway to citizenship.
Chris Christie struck back at Rubio’s answer, saying “it’s abundantly clear that he didn’t fight for the legislation.”
The 2013 Gang of Eight bill passed the Senate, but did not pass the House.
Kasich says he “couldn’t even imagine” ripping families apart by deporting immigrants living in the country illegally and says doing so doesn’t match American values.
Kasich says he’d make passing comprehensive immigration reform a priority within the first 100 days of his presidency. An attempt to pass a comprehensive bill in 2013 could not make it through Congress.
Kasich is at odds with several of his rivals, including Ted Cruz, on the issue of deportation. Cruz says its possible to deport people living here illegally. The only thing missing, he says, is “political will.”
How to best handle North Korea
Christie is trying to out-tough his GOP rivals when it comes to dealing with North Korea when addressing how to handle a crisis involving hostages or the rogue nation’s nuclear proliferation activities.
Bush is saying the U.S. should reinstate “crippling sanctions” and establish those sanctions “right now.” But Christie says the U.S. has to boost its profile on the global stage, but he fell short from saying he supports military action against North Korea.
Trump’s plan for dealing with North Korea runs through China. He said that the key to dealing with North Korea is enlisting the help of China. Trump says China should be responsible for addressing problems with North Korea because “they can do it quickly and surgically.”
The debate began just minutes after news broke that North Korea had fired a rocket that was a covert test of technology for a missile that could strike the U.S. mainland.
Trump said he believes China has “tremendous control” over North Korea based on conversations he’s had with bankers and others he’s dealt with.
Rubio also said he believes the United States could leverage its relationship with China to keep North Korea in check.
Cruz avoided saying how he would respond as president to a long-range rocket launch by North Korea.
South Korea said earlier Saturday that North Korea did just that, under the guise that it was launching a satellite.
Cruz deflected questions during the GOP presidential debate over whether he’d shoot down any such missile or launch a pre-emptive strike on North Korea’s nuclear infrastructure.
He said he could not “speculate” since he has not seen “the intelligence briefings” that President Barack Obama gets. ABC moderator Martha Raddatz noted that Cruz has talked in detail about how he would approach Middle East tensions despite not having access to the same intelligence available to the president.
Cruz used the question to criticize the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran.
“The most pro-life person” on the debate stage and who the “extremists” are
Bush wants Republican presidential primary voters to think of him as “the most pro-life person” on the GOP debate stage.
Rubio and Christie tried to turn the issue against the Democratic Party both saying that Democrats are “extremists” on the issue, not Republicans.
There were some slight distinctions among Republicans on what exceptions candidates would prefer in any abortion ban.
All three candidates who spoke on the matter said they would allow an abortion needed to save the life of a pregnant woman. Bush and Christie said they’d both allow women to terminate pregnancies that result from rape or incest.
How to combat the Zika virus
Christie said he’d quarantine Americans returning from Brazil after the summer Olympics and otherwise to keep the country safe from the spread of the Zika virus.
Carson said quarantining people “willy nilly” is not an effective means of stopping the spread of the virus. He says organizations like the Center for Disease Control and National Institutes of Health can play a role in drafting a “rapid response” to the spread of Zika.
Christie took heat during the Ebola crisis for quarantining a nurse who returned from West Africa in New Jersey.
Concerns over police control
Trump said police in America are “absolutely mistreated and misunderstood,” and need to be treated with more respect.
But Kasich said in Saturday’s Republican presidential debate that community leaders with concerns over police conduct need to be involved to ensure “more win-wins in America.”
Trump said there will be abuses of police power and other problems, and when that happens, people sue. In addition, he said police are “really fantastic,” ”absolutely amazing people” and have done “an unbelievable job of keeping law and order.”
Kasich says he also loves the police, but the president also has to be responsive to the concerns of people in communities concerned about abuses of power.
Taking on Hillary Clinton
Republican presidential candidates were saying they aren’t afraid to take on Hillary Clinton if she’s the Democratic nominee in the general election.
Trump says he would “galvanize” the electorate against Clinton. He promises he would “win by a lot,” though he offers few details about just what his argument against her would be.
Rubio said he believes the political dynamics nationally already favor the eventual GOP nominee. He said Republicans will be unified after the primary. The November election, he said, will be “a referendum on our identity as a nation and as a people.”
