GOP debate

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[h=2]Farcical start to GOP debate as candidates bungle walk-on before crowd boos Trump, Christie blisters 'robot' Rubio, Cruz takes heat for 'stealing' Iowa caucuses and Kasich is literally left behind[/h]

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  Dr. Ben Carson came to the mouth of the New Hampshire backstage hallway too early, thinking his name would be the second called. He stopped and was stranded in no-man's land and in view of a TV camera. Before Carson could figure out what to do, Jeb Bush's name was called - but with the two men blocking his way, he had to bump into Trump on his way. The ABC debate itself opened with a bang as Carson upbraided Ted Cruz for a caucus-night dirty trick in Iowa, Chris Christie attacked Marco Rubio as a leadership neophyte and Trump got the first question about his temperament as a potential commander-in-chief. Google dressed up the Sullivan Arena with wall-length TV screens, broadcast facilities, a free espresso bar and three layers of carpeting to keep the frigid temperature at bay. Outside, though, 30-degree temperatures and stiff breezes didn't slow down a few hundred GOP partisans who shouted slogans and waved signs outside the debate venue. The most heavily represented candidate among the rally-goers - John Kasich - could make a surprise move in Tuesday's primary.

 

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[h=1]Farcical start to GOP debate as candidates bungle walk-on before crowd boos Trump, Christie blisters 'robot' Rubio, Cruz takes heat for 'stealing' Iowa caucuses and Kasich is literally left behind[/h]

• Comedy of errors puts Republicans off-balance as final debate begins before the New Hampshire primary
• Opening salvos have to wait for candidates to take the stage out of order and with Ben Carson and John Kasich waiting too long in the wings
• Kasich came on only after Marco Rubio reminded the moderators that he hadn't yet been called
• Donald Trump gets the first question but the biggest fireworks come between Chris Christie and Marco Rubio
• Ted Cruz again apologized to Ben Carson for an Iowa caucus night dirty trick

Saturday night's Republican presidential debate began in chaos as several candidates didn't come on stage as ABC News moderators David Muir and Martha Raddatz called their names.
Dr. Ben Carson came to the mouth of a backstage hallway at St. Anselm College too early, as his name was to be the second called. With applause ringing through the hall for Chris Christie, he never heard his name.
Carson stopped just short of entering and was stranded in no-man's land and in view of a TV camera trained on the entryway.
Before he could figure out what to do, Ted Cruz's name was called. And then Donald Trump's.
Trump stopped to stand with Carson, seeming to tell him that he should already have been on stage.
When Marco Rubio's and Jeb Bush's names were announced, the two men were still blocking their way. They had to sneak past, with Jeb smirking and bumping into Trump on his way out.



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WHERE'S BEN? Dr. Ben Carson came out into a backstage hallway but waited when he couldn't hear his name called – leading Donald Trump to stop and stand with him when moderators called for him

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NO MAN'S LAND: As Trump stopped to talk to Carson in the hallway, apparently telling him that he should be on the stage, Bush's name was called

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OUT THE WAY: As Bush attempted to push past the waiting pair, he awkwardly bumped into Trump before making his way on to the stage

John Kasich, the last person to be called, also never heard his name in the noise. But the moderators never noticed – only calling out for Carson to come to the stage.
'Dr. Ben Carson! Please come out onto the stage! He's standing there as well,' Muir said as Trump finally left Carson standing at the altar and took his place.
After a calm and cool Carson finally took his place, Kasich was still left in the wings. He entered last instead of first – but Chris Christie had to remind the anchors that Kasich was still waiting.


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'What about Kasich? Can I introduce Kasich?' Christie asked as laughs rang out.
'It was so noisy in here. Yes. Yes. We're going to introduce Ohio Governor John Kasich,' Muir said.
Carson later said he came out at the right time but seemed not to know that his name as called at the right time. 'I wasn't introduced number-two, which was the plan,' Carson said on stage.
With the shambolic introductions out of the way, the debate exploded into life, with feisty exchanges between Ben Carson and Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Chris Christie, before Donald Trump and Jeb Bush squared up once again.
The candidates also tackled the issue of a nuclear North Korea after announcements earlier this evening that the Communist state had conducted logn-range missile tests over Japan.
While Cruz said he would defer any decision until he had seen intelligence reports, Trump advocated bringing the Chinese on board in order to apply pressure.
Sticking with the issue of national security, Cruz then defended his call to 'carpet-bomb' ISIS, though said it could be done without unnecessary civilian casualties by targeting oil fields and military installations.

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GO, GO GO: Even a TV producer leaning around the edge of a curtain to tell Carson to get on the stage seemed to have little impact on the good doctor

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AWKWARD: John Kasich was also left awkwardly waiting to one side of the stage after moderators seemed to forget to call him name

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MISSING SOMEONE? Despite one podium being left empty, it was left to Marco Rubio to remind ABC News moderators that Kasich was still waiting to be called on

Picking up on the issue of targeting oil reserves, Trump, who has long-championed that position, said the way to cripple ISIS was not militarily, but through their wallet.
Instead of force, Trump advocated taking their oil and hitting them through the banking system.
The majority of candidates agreed for the need for tougher interrogation techniques for terror prisoners, including waterboarding, which simulates drowning.
Donald Trump in particular pledged to being the technique back, along with 'much worse', arguing that ISIS does much worse to its enemies.
The majority of candidates also rallied around veterans' issues, including the need for better employment prospects and more healthcare choices.


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FINALLY: All seven candidates made it on stage after Marco Rubio (3rd left) reminded the moderators that John Kasich (left) was still backstage

A final exchange saw a pro-life debate, with Rubio restating his positions that there should be no exemptions to abortion expect if the life of the mother is threatened. Bush and Christie, meanwhile, argue that cases of rape and incest should also be qualify for an abortion.
Turning to perhaps the most pressing issue of the day, the candidates were then asked what thier pick for Super Bowl 50 would be.
Four of the seven candidates in Saturday's debate predicted a Carolina victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
Ben Carson didn't make a prediction, instead joking that 'it will be either Denver or Carolina.'
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was the most honest in his pandering, saying: 'With an eye to Feb. 20, Carolina,' the the day of the South Carolina primary.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush are picking Denver. Bush says he is taking Denver because the team's quarterback, Peyton Manning, is supporting his candidacy.

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Aside from an altercation with Bush in which he was loudly booed, Trump's performance was hailed as being more controlled and statesman-like than his earlier debates

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The candidates also locked horns over issues including North Korea, ISIS, veterans and the abortion debate



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Carson vs Cruz: Doctor takes Texas senator to task for his 'dirty tricks' campaign in Iowa
The first heated exchange of the evening came between Dr Carson and Ted Cruz, as Carson hit out at Cruz's campaign staff for wrongly spreading the rumor that he was dropping out of the race.
Carson said he was 'disappointed' that Cruz would 'think so little of me' as to quit the race before the results had even been announced.
He added: 'To think that I would just walk away 10 minutes before the caucus and say, "forget about it you guys," 'Who would do something like that?'

In one of the first clashes of the evening, Ben Carson hit out at Ted Cruz for spreading rumors he was dropping out of the race, for which Cruz again apologized

Cruz then launched into a long and measured apology, in which he appeared to blame CNN's reporting for misleading his staffers, saying he personally had nothing to do with the message.
'Now at the time I was at the caucuses, I was getting ready to speak at the caucuses like Ben was, just like everyone else was, I knew nothing about this,' Cruz said tonight.
'A couple of hours later I found out about it, I was told Ben was unhappy, Cruz continued.
However, not wanting to let the issue lie, Carson responded: ''In fact the timeline indicates that initial tweet from CNN was followed by another one within one minute that clarified I was not dropping out, so what happened to that one, it is unclear.
'But the bottom line is, we can see what happened, everybody can see what happened and you can make your own judgement,' he concluded.


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Christie vs Rubio: New Jersey governor accuses Florida senator of repeating soundbites rather than solving problems
Christie went on the attack over Rubio's less-than-stellar attendance record in Congress, over his lack of experience, and over his polished Washington image.
To wild applause he accused Rubio of 'memorizing 30 second speeches' instead of getting things done, saying 'the memorized 30-second speech doesn't solve one problem.'
Currently running in second place behind Trump after a third-place finish in Iowa, Rubio was expected to go all-out in this debate

Rubio, who performance was criticized for being robotic and repetitive, was taken to task by a combative Christie for delivering '30 second memorized speeches' rather than getting things done

Christie slapped him with the truancy charge and said that unlike his rival he's faced leadership challenges as a governor and tossed out super storm Sandy as an example.
Rubio, at the ready, reminded him that just last month as his state was about to be hit by a blizzard he was campaigning in New Hampshire.
'They had to shame you into going back,' Rubio told him. 'Then you stayed for 36 hours.'
Christie's comments were later echoed by Bush as Rubio was taken to task for repeating answers and coming across as robotic on a night when he was expected to come out swinging.


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Bush vs Trump: The Donald is loudly booed after telling Bush to 'be quiet'
One of the most heated exchanges of the evening came from the long-running rivalry between Bush and Trump, as Bush accused Trump of manipulating laws to have an elderly woman evicted from her home in order to build a limousine parking lot for one of his casinos.
Perhaps sensing the blow was about to land, Trump cut across him angrily, accusing him of trying 'to be a tough guy' before literally telling him to 'shush'.

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Bush again clashed with Trump this evening, with The Donald drawing prolonged boos from the crowd after shutting the former Florida governor down, then being booed again for lashing out at the audience

That gesture brought unusual boos against Trump, who then doubled-down by suggesting the crowd had been filled with donor angry that he had self-funded his campaign.
'You – let me talk. Let me talk. Quiet,' Trump told Bush, telling the enraged audience that Bush was trying 'to be a tough guy.'
'How tough it is to take away a property from an elderly woman?' Bush shot back.
Hearing more boos, Trump vented: 'That's all of his donors and special interests out there.

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Following the debate, Trump's family (pictured Eric and Melania) were seen on stage supporting the businessman as they have done at his other rallies

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Donald Trump waves to supporters in the crowd alongside wife Melania at tonight's Republican debate



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Reporters were crowded into the same St. Anselm hockey rink that served as media central for a Democratic debate in December.
Google dressed up the Sullivan Arena with wall-length TV screens, broadcast facilities, a free espresso bar and three layers of carpeting to keep the frigid temperature at bay.
Outside, though, 30-degree temperatures and stiff breezes didn't slow down a few hundred GOP partisans who shouted slogans and waved signs outside the debate venue.
The most heavily represented candidate among the rally-goers – John Kasich – could make a surprise move in Tuesday's primary.
Kasich's socially moderate but economically conservative stripes play well in New Hampshire, but would hit a road block in the deep south where many of the upcoming primary contests will be held.



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[h=3]Trump not predicting victory[/h]More from Ruth Sherlock in the spin room:
Donald Trump came out into the spin room a more humble figure tonight. He still spoke about how he thought he had won the debate, but, he was much less confident on predicting victory in the upcoming primary. He seemed confounded that the polls that he had so relied on in Iowa had let him down.


"I dont know what the polls mean," he said in the spin room. "They can be misleading."
He then said that his second place finish in Iowa was a good result for someone who "has never done this before".

 

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[h=3]A lively debate yields a diminished Marco Rubio[/h]Ruth Sherlock and Nick Allen report from the debate in Manchester, New Hampshire
Marco Rubio appeared a figure much diminished tonight after Chris Christie and other rivals humbled the Florida senator with a series of attacks.
Mr Rubio has been positioning himself as the reasonable grown-up of the Republican field, telling audiences in New Hampshire - where in just three days time the candidates will be put to the vote – that he is the only viable candidate to take on Hillary Clinton in a national election.
And so tonight, Mr Christie, his older rival, attacked the 44-year-old Florida senator's lack of accomplishments, painting him as talented politician who doesn’t have the experience to be commander-in-chief.
In one of the fiercest and most personal onslaughts Chris Christie accused Mr Rubio of having "never made a consequential decision in his life".

He said the senator was good at Washington's “drive-by shot” sound bites, but little else.
“Marco, the thing is this. When you're president of the United States, when you're a governor of a state, the memorized 30-second speech where you talk about how great America is at the end of it doesn't solve one problem for one person,” he said.
Apparently shocked by the ferocity of the exchange Mr Rubio did not have much of a response, weakly attacking the New Jersey economy, before diverting to an attack against Barack Obama.
Mr Christie then picked Mr Rubio apart, leaving the candidate repeating the same canned-sounding memorized spiel against Obama three times.

"There it is again," said Mr Christie. "The 25-second memorised speech that his advisers gave him."
Mr Rubio’s response was perhaps the worst of all possible options; using rehearsed and irrelevant lines, he only heightened the effectiveness of the attack, making him seem unprepared for the big stage. It reinforced the criticism that the senator is a good actor who lacks substance.
Donald Trump then piled the pressure on Mr Rubio, saying he "respectively disagrees" with a line about Barack Obama's experience that Chris Christie had already attacked as a "memorised remark".
Polls show Mr Trump leading in New Hampshire, the second of the state-by-state nominating contests to select candidates for November's general election, with Mr Rubio coming fast after a surprisingly strong third-place finish on Monday in Iowa, behind Ted Cruz and Trump.

 

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Mr Bush gave a much more assured performance on stage, suggesting that he is, finally finding his stride in the race.
After cowering from Mr Trump in several past debates, he attacked the business mogul's use of eminent domain, which allows governments to seize private lands for projects for the public good, to help him build casino complexes in Atlantic City – at the expense of a frail and elderly lady.
"What Donald Trump did was use eminent domain to try to take the property of an elderly woman on the strip in Atlantic City. That is not public purpose. That is downright wrong," he said.
Trump retorted that Bush “wants to be a tough guy, and it doesn't work very well," telling the former Florida governor to “be quiet”. When the crowd booed, he said, "that's all his donors and special interests out there."



The candidates were asking probing policy questions on issues ranging from foreign policy to abortion.
One of the most striking discussions came over the question of the use of waterboarding for interrogation by the US military.
Jeb Bush gave the most moderate response, saying that he believed banning waterboarding was the correct response.
Ted Cruz, ever slippery said he “would not bring it back in any widespread use" and Mr Rubio stuck to his nebulous response about how it was not right to give away intelligence secrets publically.

Mr Trump however, went full throttle: "I would bring back water boarding and I would bring back a hell of a lot of worse,” he said.
In the spin room later the Telegraph and other journalists repeatedly asked him what this “worse” treatment would be. Mr Trump declined to answer and then eventually said: “One day you’ll see”.
The funniest moments came from a perky Ben Carson who said that he was glad to have the chance to participate in discussion because he was not there just to “make the stage look more beautiful”

 

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[h=3]Trump: Ben Carson is "a funny guy"[/h]Ruth Sherlock has interviewed Lacena "Candy" Carson, Dr Ben Carson's wife, on the rope line.
Mrs Carson said that being the wife of a presidential candidate on the campaign trail is "what you'd expect": "Tomorrow we are visiting three states, or maybe is it four or five?" she said.

Ben Carson laughs during the Republican presidential debate in Charleston, South Carolina Photo: AFP
"If you don't pack well you have to iron your clothes every day. It's long days, a new hotel every day, and not much sleep. But it's worth it because everywhere we go people resonate with our message of logic and Christian values."
Mrs Carson said she didnt think it was fair that Carly Fiorina wasn't allowed to participate in the debate and said that she had offered for Mrs Fiorina to "come and sit with me".
Then, came The Donald. Seeing Mrs Carson on the rope line he gave her a hug and a kiss and told her: "You look good tonight." He then told her that her husband is a "funny guy".

 

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[h=3]What's worse than waterboarding? Trump won't say[/h]Nick Allen buttonholed Donald Trump on the subject
In the debate Donald Trump said he would reintroduce waterboarding, and also something "a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding".
I asked him what that would be.
He refused to answer and gave me his worst "I don't like that question" glower. His eyelids droop when he does this and he looks abot like a St Bernard.
Mr Trump answers most questions. Usually, if he doesn't like one he just gives an answer that's something completely different he wants to talk about. So I'm not sure why he objected to that one. Maybe he was just talking off the top of his head in the debate? Surely not.