Closed As it happened: First Republican debate

GOP Presidential Candidates Debate In Myrtle Beach

It was the showdown that has had US political junkies on the edge of their seats for weeks: bombastic billionaire Donald Trump squaring off against nine rivals for the Republican presidential nomination.


Welcome to the FT’s live blog as we wait on the edge of our seats for the 9pm EST kick-off of the first Republican primary debate.


The 17 candidates running for the Republican presidential nomination presented Fox News, the host of the first GOP debate, with a unique problem: how do you host an intelligent conversation with so many people?

Their answer was to divide up the field so that the 10 candidates who ranked the highest in a Fox poll got the coveted spots for the prime time 9 pm debate.

The seven candidates who didn’t make that cut were relegated to a 5 pm session, when there would be less viewers. Candidates in that debate tried to make light of it, with Senator Lindsey Graham and others calling it the Happy Hour Debate.

But some weren’t happy with the Fox decision to split up the candidates, like MSNBC’s liberal host Rachel MaddowShe blasted the decision, calling it unfair and accusing Fox of not basing their decision on the most recent polls as the network said it would.

But Fox is the host so it got to choose the method to the madness. And some of the candidates in the earlier 5 pm may have seen their slot as a blessing in disguise. None of them had to contend with Donald Trump.


The FT’s primer to the event is here, with all the background on the ten candidates squaring off in Cleveland.

For those who have been away from a computer or television for the past month, Donald Trump has surged to the top of a crowded field, leading his rivals by double digits.

Here’s the latest poll numbers from Real Clear Politics:

And here’s a chart showing just how dramatic that surge in support has been:


Former HP CEO Carly Fiorina, the only female GOP candidate, seems to have won the first Republican debate of the night among contenders who didn’t make the cut for the prime time forum.

Pundits gave high marks for her poise and knowledge of the issues. She took on Donald Trump, the frontrunner and elephant in the room, questioning his flipflops on previous positions on abortion. She also playfully asked the rest of the candidates if any of them had gotten a call from Bill Clinton, the way Trump reportedly had before he announced his run.

Ms Fiorina also went after Jeb Bush, though she didn’t name him, by saying the GOP needs a candidate who is not going to “stumble before he even gets in the ring.” She was probably referring to Mr Bush’s recent gaffe questioning why the US needs to spend a half a billion dollars on women’s health. He later said he misspoke.

She showed she understood world issues and knows global leaders, name dropping Bibi Netanyahu of Israel in regards to the Iran nuclear deal and King Abdullah of Jordan on the fight against ISIS as leaders she would call in her first days in office. She also said she would call Ayataollah Khamenei of Iran, though she conceded he may not take her call.

Despite her strong performance, it’s unclear whether it will make much difference in her standing. After all, she didn’t garner enough support to make it to the prime time debate and had to settle for what’s being dubbed as the “kiddie table” forum. But if some of the front runners stumble, she could be in a good position to grab the baton.


Here’s Donald Trump arriving earlier this evening in Cleveland. Unsurprisingly, by Trump plane. His flight was actually delayed out of New York’s LaGuardia Airport for an hour, in a reminder that even Donald Trump can’t avoid airline delays, even in his own plane.

https://twitter.com/DanLinden/status/629389287100805120


A lot of advice was thrown around in the lead up to the first Republican debate, especially on how to deal with the surge in popularity of Donald Trump. There were also funny quips on what not to do, as debates are a well known forum for candidate flame outs.

For his part, Mr Trump said he hoped the debate would be “civil.” It seemed others agreed as “play nice” was the top recommended strategy in a Bloomberg poll.

In the “happy hour debate” at 5 pm, the candidates were fairly civil to each other and saved most of their vitriol for President Obama and Hillary Clinton. Texas Governor Rick Perry even seemed to compliment Carly Fiorina, saying he wold rather have had her negotiating the Iran nuclear deal than Secretary of State John Kerry.

We’ll see if the relative congeniality lasts in the 9 pm session.


So who’s actually under the most pressure tonight? If Trump is Trump, as expected, most pundits will be watching whether Jeb Bush can step up this evening. The former Florida governor was widely expected to be the race’s frontrunner, given his fundraising prowess and his standing as the preferred candidate among the Republican party’s establishment wing.

Mr Bush’s campaign revealed last month that the “Super-pac” backing his bid had already raised more than $100m, far more than any of his rivals.

But his candidacy has failed to catch fire with Republican voters, and he has made several gaffes on the trail. Only this week he was forced to backtrack over a comment questioning funding for women’s health – handing Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton an easy attack line.

Mr Bush may not need to “win” tonight’s debate, but he definitely needs to remind voters that he is a candidate who could actually win a general election, Trump aside. A poor performance may prompt donors already jittery about his lack of momentum to consider other candidates.


Senator Lindsey Graham clearly had one thing on his mind during the GOP debate: being commander in chief. He repeatedly talked about how he would send troops to fight against ISIS because “if we don’t stop them over there, they are coming here.”

When he was asked about whether there was a war on women in reference to recent allegations that Planned Parenthood was selling fetal tissue for research, Mr Graham again turned to the fight against Isis. He said there was a war on women in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he has been “35 times.”

He was also one of the harshest on Hillary Clinton, blasting her for her email controversy and alluding to the Monica Lewinsky scandal of the Bill Clinton era.

But it wasn’t until he talked about the early death of his parents that interest in him spiked. In his closing statement, he noted that his mom died when he was 21 and his dad died the following year. He became the parent to his younger sister. “This nation has been great to me and that’s the only way I know how to pay it back,” Mr Graham said of why he wants to be president.


Here’s Hillary Clinton’s reaction to the “kiddies’ table” debate. As expected, it’s not positive.

It’s probably worth noting that each of the candidates at that event was asked to describe Mrs Clinton in two words.

Here were the answers (no, they are not all two words):

George Pataki: “Divisive and with no vision — no vision at all.”
Carly Fiorina: “Not trustworthy, no accomplishment.”
Rick Santorum: “Secretive and untrustworthy.”
Rick Perry: “Let’s go with three — good at email.”
Bobby Jindal: “Socialist and government-dependent.”
Lindsey Graham: “Not the change we need at a time we need it.”
Jim Gilmore: “Professional politician that can’t be trusted.”

So an attack on their “throwback policies” actually seems pretty mild.


Looks like Ted Cruz’s girls have been given an extended bed time this evening….

https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/629450654667247616


The GOP candidates didn’t spend ALL their time in Cleveland, Ohio preparing for the first Republican debate. Rick Santorum went to church and ran into Fox News debate moderator Bret Baier, who didn’t seem like he was dressed for mass.

Other visited the sites. Mike Huckabee checked out the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

There were also pre-debate rituals. In this fun video posted by IJ Politics, Carly Fiorina says she plays Solitaire to relax, while Lindsey Graham listens to Motown music. Jeb Bush calls his mom for advice while Marco Rubio turns to Siri. And here’s George Pataki gulping his pre-debate drink.


The Quicken Loans arena in Cleveland where the debate is being staged was nearly empty for the seven candidate event earlier in the evening. Now, it’s packed. Here’s the shot from Matt Walker, Scott Walker’s son.

https://twitter.com/MattWalkerWI/status/629452573297242112


Will Donald Trump give out any more phone numbers during the debate? The Donald decided to give out rival Lindsey Graham’s cell phone number after the senator called Mr Trump a “jackass.” Mr Graham was then inundated with calls, which he turned into a chance to gain political steam through a video on how to destroy your phone.

Then Gawker decided to give out Mr Trump’s number, which he then tried to turn around on Gawker.

Mr Graham had some advice for others who could be chosen to be one of Mr Trump’s White Page listings.


Megan, Gina, hello! I’m psyched to join you here for Debate Night, known in its prior incarnation as Celebrity Jeopardy.

I just can’t wait to see if Trudeau delivers the smackdown on Harper… Wait, hang on, that’s the Canadian prime minister debate also taking place tonight. Here we only live-blog the ‘Murican squabbles!

I kid. I’m just nervous that I’ll forget someone’s name given how many candidates there are. Seriously, how many people watched the earlier, junior-varsity debate and asked themselves, “Who the hell is Jim Gilmore?” (Former governor of Virginia, people.)


Anyways, I think we’re really here to answer some big pressing questions: 1) Will any candidate be half as impressive as Rick Perry’s glasses from the earlier debate? 2) What is Trump going to say about… well, anything? And 3) Will the candidates spontaneously break out into a game of five-a-side basketball after it’s over?


‘m being too flippant. It turns out that primary debates actually do matter, and can change minds, according to research cited by voxista Matt Yglesias. It’s the general election debates that we can safely ignore without feeling a sense of civic negligence:

A study by Mitchell S. McKinney and Benjamin R. Warner found that a whopping 60 percent of primary debate viewers expressed a change in voting intention as a result, including 22.6 percent who come in undecided and 35 percent who switch between candidates.>


Cardiff Garcia is in the house. This is going to be fun.


Unless I’m mistaken, this debate will be moderated by the runners up from seasons 4-6 of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Unverified.


The three actual moderators are Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly and Chris Wallace. You can read all about them here .


The candidates are taking the stage. Donald Trump introduced as “businessman”.


Chris Wallace is about one Diet Coke away from starting the wave. (And in general, when my comments conflict with Megan’s, definitely listen to Megan.)


“The moment of truth has arrived,” says Fox’s Megyn Kelly. Not so sure about that.


They’re beginning the introductions now. So if you wanna get a beer from the fridge, no worries — you’ve got a solid 12 minutes before this thing starts.


Big hand for Kasich and a standing O. Hometown ad can be neutralised by substituting “Go Buckeyes!” for substantive answers.


Handraising questions, because nothing suggests “Commander in Chief material” than participating in a schoolchild exercise.


This is a bit strange. First question asks every candidate to raise their hand if they can not pledge to respect every other candidate or run as a third party candidate. Donald Trump raises his hand. And so it begins..


Trump with a genius response, says he won’t run as an independent if he wins the Republican nomination. But man, what a magnificent act of trolling that would be. Kind of like this question.


Ever since Donald Trump entered the GOP race, it’s been all about him. First it was because of his eyebrow-raising comments.

The remarks he made in his announcement sparked countless jokes and a fair amount of backlash.

And then he went after Senator John McCain, claiming he wasn’t a war hero because he got captured. Mr McCain, a former Navy captain, was shot down over Vietnam in 1967 and was held as a prisoner of war until 1973.

Many thought he was done after those comments.

But instead, Mr Trump kept surging in the polls. So how will he do tonight? We’ll see. But at the very least, his candidacy and presence at tonight’s debate has attracted a broader audience than your average political junkie. Just because everyone wants to see what he will say next.


Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon, gets first question on whether, as a non-politican, he’s qualified to be president. He says he has the main requirement: a brain.


Ben Carson goes hard against the anti-brain special interests. Good for him.


Marco Rubio – the Florida senator who is one of the party’s best orators – on fire with this first question on whether his lack of executive experience will hurt him. Blistering response – attacks Mrs Clinton while also getting across his hardscrabble roots. Nicely done.


Megan, agree on Rubio. Strong answer. He proposed a middle-class focussed economic plan about a year ago that received plaudits because it wasn’t limited to just low-tax rhetoric, though its projections for the budget were unrealistic.


Applause from a shameless audience in response to Trump’s answer about the terrible ways he has described women in the past: “Only Rosie O’Donnell”. Says he doesn’t have time for political correctness.


Here’s a photo of Trump raising his hand – just as he’s on his first answer as to whether he has the right temperament for public office.


Trump drew some boos when he seemed to attack Fox anchor Megyn Kelly there, after saying he didn’t have time for “political correctness.”

https://twitter.com/RameshPonnuru/status/629460228170452992


Tl;dr on this round of questions from the moderators: “Man, you guys are jerks. Right?”


Christie pivots by touting his record. Effectively, I thought.


The pretty tough questions so far from the moderators is drawing praise from Hillary Clinton’s team – this from one of her rapid response staff.

https://twitter.com/JesseLehrich/status/629460913553321984


On abortion, always a key conservative litmus issue, Mike Huckabee cites “clear scientific evidence” on personhood of unborn children. Calls for pro-life policy change and some sort of constitutional change I couldn’t follow.


Question to Kasich about accepting the Medicaid expansion provision of Affordable Care Act on moral grounds (other Republican governors opposed it). She wants to know if he’ll invoke moral reasons for expanding other government services. He responds with a few achievements on mental health and then turns to the Ohio economy. Handled it well given the audience.


Jeb Bush on immigration. He and Rubio vulnerable on this issue with the Republican base. Bush has famously described illegal immigration as an act of love, but he gives the required line of having to control the border.


Jeb Bush, who has controversially supported immigration reform that would give some unauthorised immigrants a pathway to legal status – a position out of step with the Republican base – says he stands by his position. Firmly answered.


“Reporters are a dishonest lot”, says Trump. He says nothing about bloggers, so I’m good.


Trump so far isn’t exactly shining in this debate. Hard to know how it’s going down nationally, but in the arena…

https://twitter.com/jmartNYT/status/629463266364923904


The number of candidates in the GOP race means stiffer competition for donors. But with the surge of Super PACs, much of the fundraising dollars is coming from a relatively small group of people.

The competition has put pressure on candidates, with amounts like $100m being thrown around for people like Jeb Bush.

There are a few, namely Donald Trump, who don’t need to rely as much on outside help. Mr Trump disclosed he was worth $10bn, and wasn’t shy about touting it.


We’ve hit the first ad break. With the exception of Mr Trump and Mr Bush, the candidates have answered only one substantive question. I thought the early stand outs were Mr Rubio, Mr Christie, and Mr Kasich. Jeb Bush was a bit shaky on his first question but gave a firm answer on his stance on immigration reform.


Megan, agreed — Christie and Kasich for me.


This is very smart from Mr Kasich, says that Mr Trump has touched a nerve among voters, before pivoting to his own policies. Well played.


Rubio says US is the most generous country in the world when it comes to immigration. Debateable, highly. But he answered well overall, similar strategy as Kasich — acknowledge Trump quickly and discuss his own ideas.


I don’t believe Hillary Clinton when she says she is not watching tonight’s debate (although she’s apparently on a plane).


With several of the questions focusing on immigration, here’s the latest Pew polls on how the public stands on the issue.


Quite a big fight here between Chris Christie and Rand Paul on bulk collection of phone records, which Mr Paul opposes. Mr Christie accuses Mr Paul of putting the country at risk.


Both Chris Christie and Rand Paul holding strong on their positions on phone-record collection and terror-fighting, going at it. Christie goes full-braggadacio, Paul reminds people that Christie hugged Obama. This is the kind of exchange that would be interesting to see at length given the importance of the issue, except there are ten people here so we’ve gotta move on.


Have to assume that we’re gonna hear more on the economy in the second half of the debate. So far almost nothing except through tangentially related issues.


More on that dust up between Mr Christie and Mr Paul – check the eye roll.

https://twitter.com/frankthorpNBC/status/629467283765768192


The doctor has a sense of humor. Ben Carson quips after other candidates were taking up the spotlight: Thank you Megyn, I wasn’t sure I was going to get to talk again.


Jeb Bush gets the question he must have been expecting – and still stumbles a bit. His campaign was hit early on when he said he would have authorised the 2003 invasion of Iraq even knowing what he knew now. It took him about a week to reverse course. Asked tonight, he says says “knowing what we know now … it was a mistake. I wouldn’t have gone in.” But it wasn’t exactly fluid.

Here’s a link to that early gaffe.


Trump straight-up says he buys favours from other politicians. Not new for his Twitter followers but I wonder how many people are hearing this for the first time.


Interestingly, this Google Trends chart that the Washington Post deciphered shows that Ted Cruz has been the most searched candidate in this debate so far. Jeb Bush got some love when he said he was called “Veto Corleone” because of all the bills he rejected.


Here’s the happy couple with the Clintons:


Donald Trump has won an unexpected fan tonight. Bernie Sanders – the Vermont senator and avowed socialist who is running a far stronger than expected challenge to Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.

https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/629469171668152320


Did I just catch a cryptic Saul Alinsky reference? Throwback to Newt Gingrich in 2012!


Jeb Bush is getting quite a few questions – I’m not sure I’d be thrilled if I were the other candidates.


Jeb Bush’s plan for 4% growth: 1) We can do better. 2) ???? 3) 4% growth! … Oh wait, he wants to overturn Obamacare and “embrace the energy revolution”. Yeah, no, that wouldn’t do it.


With 17 candidates in the GOP field and Donald Trump taking up most of the oxygen, the contenders are doing what they can to gain attention. Some have done it through serious comments that push the envelope, like Mike Huckabee comparing the Iran nuclear deal to the Holocaust.

Others have tried a more humorous route. Ted Cruz showed off his love of both guns and bacon by claiming to cook the meat through a machine gun.

Ben Carson took to signing pledges, including ones on term limits and taxes.

And if all else fails, talk about Ronald Reagan, whom most of the candidates say they are channeling.


Scott Walker is touting his economic record in Wisconsin. Definitely his comfort zone.


Moderator handbook 101: When in doubt, pit Chris Christie against anyone else.


Scott Walker is getting asked the question he’s going to face throughout his campaign: what happened to his promise to create 250,000 jobs in Wisconsin in his first term. He fell far short, only creating about half. Here’s a lengthy FT piece.


Here’s some early verdicts on Trump:

https://twitter.com/philipaklein/status/629471086103633920


Chris Christie wants to means-test social security. Huckabee responds that it isn’t the recipients’ fault that social security won’t be able to pay for itself. That was less confrontational but more helpful in delineating the candidates’s differences than expected.


“Bankruptcy”. Drink!


Chris Christie, who barely made it into the prime time debate, is faring better than many expected. Although he is seen by many as a good talker and so far hasn’t lost his temper, which he has been known to do. But no one has brought up Bridgegate yet.

https://twitter.com/ZekeJMiller/status/629473939601944576


“WHAT AM I SAYING??!!” This question gets under Trump’s skin, as do all challenges to his self-conception as a brilliant businessman.


Marco Rubio just said the words that are music to Wall Street’s ears: repeal Dodd-Frank. Rick Perry went a bit the other way in his approach to bankers, calling for tougher regulation.


And Rubio continues to be a strong performer, getting good reviews.

https://twitter.com/markgongloff/status/629475903232430080


Megan — definitely. Putting aside his policy stances and focusing only on the horse race, Rubio has best projected himself in this debate. Clear, comes across as impressively knowledgeable, charismatic without looking disingenuous.


Handy graphic from the New York Times showing that Trump still leads in speaking time…


Tom Cruise with some kind of ad for cryogenic age preservation … Wait, hang on, that’s a trailer for Mission Impossible 17


We’re turning to social issues after this ad break. That should be fun.


As the the first GOP debates soon come to an end, here’s the schedule for the Democratic debates that was announced today.

The schedule sparked criticisms from the non-frontrunners, namely Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders, saying it didn’t afford them enough opportunities to take on Hillary Clinton. They want more debates and Mr O’Malley is thinking of forums outside the party’s six-debate framework.


If one of my entries here looks like “xfhfhhdhfdhfuifdsnjksdfdshf” it’s because I fell asleep and my head slammed down on the computer


Marco Rubio just denied he’s pushed for a rape or incest exception for anti-abortion laws.


“Ronald Reagan” — DRINK. We were robbed earlier when Perry said “Ronald Raven”, but it was totally worth it.


Here’s the sum up on that debate on abortion.

https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedNews/status/629478925094117376


Megyn Kelly has another tough one for Donald Trump: When did you actually become a Republican?

Amid some jeers in the crowd, Trump commented, “I don’t think they like me very much.” At least he is honest.

He then referenced Ronald Reagan as another person whose views evolved.


Trump actually said something nice about another candidate. He called Jeb Bush a “true gentleman” after Bush denied calling Trump an “asshole.” Kumbaya.


John Kasich asked, if he had a gay or lesbian child, how would he explain his opposition to gay marriage. “Issues like that are planted to divide us… We need to give everybody a chance.. I’m going to love my daughters no matter what they do.”


Rand Paul: “I don’t want my marriage or my guns registered in Washington.”


(This is a very good question. Think there are going to be a lot of complaints from some candidates about how few questions they received.)

https://twitter.com/kevcirilli/status/629480079425445889


A question about race and proper policing to Scott Walker. The GOP candidates have stepped a bit gingerly around this issue since the shootings in South Carolina that left nine black Americans dead. Afterward, there was renewed debate over whether South Carolina should take down the Confederate flag, which state lawmakers eventually supported.


I’d love to get a minute-count for each candidate so far tonight.


Yep — Cruz, Carson, and probably someone I forgot could be playing Tetris on their iPhones right now for all they’ve participated


Is this the price of being the frontrunner? Or the price of being Trump? Maybe a bit of both?

https://twitter.com/JoeNBC/status/629480592032272385


Business advice from Trump: “If Iran was a stock, you should go out and buy it because it’s going to quadruple.” #itsnotastock #justincase


(This is a good animation from CNBC about that earlier Christie/Paul brouhaha)

https://twitter.com/CNBC/status/629482002677260289


A line about mush and steel from Walker that he’s clearly been saving up all night. And it came across that way.


Scott Walker started off well there with a good jab at Hillary Clinton over her emails, but did not quite pull it off when talking about Poland and NATO.


Huckabee says he’s not sure that paying for transgender surgery for people in the military makes the country safer. Not quite sure where he’s going with that.


Mike Huckabee says the purpose of the military is to “kill people and break things.” He’s definitely in tough guy mode.

https://twitter.com/GovMikeHuckabee/status/629482368135401472


Rubio, Christie and (despite a few stumbling answers) Bush are the only candidates tonight who have spoken like adults and don’t sound like schoolboys irritatingly asking mom for a higher allowance.


Cardiff I disagree a bit on Bush. I don’t think it’s been his night – I think people will be concerned about this performance.


Megyn Kelley said we’re going to get closing statements and something about God after the final ad break. Right then.

https://twitter.com/TedNesi/status/629483856891146240


Oh, I don’t think he’s been impressive at all, and he’s been hesitant and inarticulate tonight. But there’s a whiny quality to the others that grates. And despite Bush’s fumbling, he still carries himself better.


Ted Cruz comes alive when asked about God, saying his father was an alcoholic and left him until he discovered the church and returned. “We see a lot of campaign conservatives but we need a consistent conservative.”


Yes, this is the question candidates are really answering.

https://twitter.com/elonjames/status/629484962425606144


Shorter Rubio: God is totally partisan.


You really see what an effective speaker Marco Rubio is that he can a) deliver a great Hillary Clinton zinger and b) connect whether God sent him a message with helping veterans in 60 seconds. He’s my winner so far tonight.

“He’s blessed the Republican party with a lot of good candidates. The Democrats can’t even find one.”


Megan, unquestionably. Can’t see how Rubio doesn’t get a boost from tonight. Kasich and Christie my runners-up.


Cruz says he’s going to “persecute religious liberty”? Freudian gaffe?


Scott Walker – I’m a guy with a wife, two kids and a Harley… Someone called me “aggressively normal”. Is that a thing? Aggressively normal?


Good sum up here of some of the closing statements from The Guardian.


And here.


The first GOP debate is over. The crowd was raucous, Trump was Trump and who knew Ben Carson was so funny? Although Trump got the most air time, according to the New York Times, it seems he wasn’t the crowd favorite. Instead, John Kasich, Marco Rubio and Chris Christie seemed to do better and Jeb Bush was just ok.

We’ll see what the polls say of who came out the best but seems like Trump may not be on top this time around. He used his closing statement to bash the state of the country, saying “We can’t do anything right.”


The early verdict is in from Jeb Bush’s team.


Closing thoughts: 1) Trump as nuts as ever, yet nobody has any idea whether it will hurt him, which is amazing, 2) Rubio a standout, though perhaps not surprising in hindsight given his effectiveness as speaker, 3) Kasich and Christie stayed cool, which served them well given their respective histories of intemperate reactions, 4) Carson had the most laugh lines, 5) Ted Cruz did indeed go mostly unnoticed, as mentioned earlier, and (more surprisingly) so did Scott Walker.


Gina, surprised that Paul had the least amount of time. He did make his mark, especially with the spat with Christie.


Fox now sampling voters after the debate. Name coming up quite a bit? Carson.

https://twitter.com/RobGeorge/status/629491692022931456


Surprised by how much the Luntz focus group was affected by Trump’s refusal to take the pledge from the first question.


Here’s also data from Google on the most searched names between 9 and 11pm. A bit surprised about the results, sadly not as surprised by the questions about moderator Megyn Kelly.


Small sample size, obviously, but if that Luntz focus group is even slightly representative of broader reaction to Trump, especially of people who previously supported him, he’ll lose quite a bit of support. But I genuinely have no idea.


The Trump camp’s response to the Luntz focus group.

https://twitter.com/MichaelCohen212/status/629494998434750464


Looks like Bush received the most questions, with eight, followed by Walker with seven each (via fivethirtyeight.com):


When she said she wasn’t watching the debate….

https://twitter.com/rebeccagberg/status/629495583145873408


Sometimes these things just make no sense. Here’s the current poll from the Drudge Report on winners and losers:


That’s going to be it for tonight’s live blog – for fuller coverage and comment go to:

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