Thread: Who Won the First Republican Presidential Debate?

The 10 leading Republican presidential candidates took the stage for their first debate Thursday night. Who do you think won?

Vote Now: Who Won the First Republican Presidential Debate?

Donald Trump
(621 Votes) 33%

Jeb Bush
(155 Votes) 8%

Ben Carson
(249 Votes) 13%

Chris Christie
(74 Votes) 4%

Ted Cruz
(68 Votes) 4%

Mike Huckabee
(43 Votes) 2%

John Kasich
(281 Votes) 15%

Rand Paul
(118 Votes) 6%

Marco Rubio
(245 Votes) 13%

Scott Walker
(37 Votes) 2%

http://time.com/3988073/republican-d...fox-first-gop/

Explosive start

Trump roils GOP presidential debate

• Blog: Blow by blow
• Christie, Paul get heated
• Fiorina shines
• Fact check
• Fiorina wins on Twitter

Donald Trump roils GOP presidential debate

By MJ Lee, CNN Politics Reporter
Updated 10:51 PM ET, Thu August 6, 2015

Cleveland (CNN)Donald Trump's latest reality show roared into Ohio on Thursday night.

Within a few minutes of his first debate as a Republican presidential candidate, Trump ridiculed comedian Rosie O'Donnell and griped about his treatment by Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly. But it was his refusal to rule out a third-party presidential run -- a move that could deny Republicans the White House -- that drew gasps in the audience and sparked anger from his opponents.

"I mean, this is what's wrong. He buys and sells politicians of all stripes. He's already hedging his bet on the Clintons, OK?" said Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.

The ever-unapologetic Trump then chastised the country for being too "politically correct."

"I've been challenged by so many people and I don't frankly have time for total political correctness," Trump quipped.

Explosive start

It was an explosive start to the first GOP debate in a campaign season already upended by Trump, the unfiltered and brash real estate magnate. It was immediately apparent that classic Trump showed up to the debate -- someone who pushes the boundaries and has no qualms about leveling personal attacks in public.

Kelly challenged Trump on some of his past comments about women.

"You call women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals," she said.

Trump quickly responded: "Only Rosie O'Donnell."

CNN Interactive: 2016 election candidates

Meanwhile, immigration loomed large at the debate -- an issue that Trump claimed full credit for bringing to the nation's attention.

"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be even talking about illegal immigration, Chris," Trump said to Fox News host Chris Wallace.

"This was not a subject that was on anyone's mind until I brought it up at my announcement."

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who has been trailing in second place behind Trump in the polls, addressed the issue by stressing that he did not support "amnesty." His stance on what to do about the millions of undocumented immigrants in the country has dogged Bush.

"We need to be much more strategic on how we deal with border enforcement, border security," Bush said. "We need to eliminate the sanctuary cities in this country. It is ridiculous and tragic that people are dying because of the fact that local governments are not following the law."

Trump was smack in the center of the debate lineup. The lower tier of presidential contenders had their brief moment in the sun earlier Thursday at a debate in which Carly Fiorina delivered a memorable and polished performance.

High-stakes moment for Trump

But the prime-time debate attracted more attention and served as a particularly high-stakes moment for Trump, whose early dominance has both stunned -- and aggravated -- members of his own party.

National Republican leaders have at times seemed unsure of what to make of the fact that such a no-filter politician with no obligations to the party could unexpectedly become the GOP's standard-bearer. The evening was also an opportunity for Bush to move past a shaky few days that included controversial comments about women's health care along with an uncomfortable performance at a New Hampshire candidate forum.

Jeb Bush stumbles into debate night

The open contempt for Trump was on full display at the earlier debate. It took only 11 minutes before candidates came out swinging against Trump.

Lesser-known contenders including former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Fiorina slammed Trump, blasting the billionaire businessman's conservative credentials and friendly relationship with Hillary and Bill Clinton.



Who's running for President? 22 photos

EXPAND GALLERY

"I talked about Donald Trump from the standpoint of being an individual who is using his celebrity rather than his conservatism," said Perry, who has positioned himself as one of Trump's biggest antagonists on the trail. "How can you run for the Republican nomination and be for single-payer health care?"

For his part, Trump found ways to mock his rivals. When asked to address some of his businesses that went bankrupt, Trump pivoted to the financial woes of New Jersey -- a clear swipe at Christie.

"I had the good sense to leave Atlantic City, which by the way, Caesars just went bankrupt," Trump said, then gestured to Christie.

"Chris can tell you."

Later in the debate, Bush cautioned that Trump's "divisive" language could be detrimental to the Republican Party.

"We're going to win when we unite people with a hopeful, optimistic message," he said.

GOP debate: Who is in, who is out

A Bloomberg survey released Tuesday had Trump at 21%, handing him a double-digit lead over both Bush, who was at 10%, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who was at 8%.

Trump, Bush, Paul and Walker were on the prime-time debate stage with Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie and John Kasich.

Christie-Paul fued

At one point, the debate stage turned into a boxing bout between Christie and Paul. They tumbled over the issue of data collection after Paul said he was proud to stand for the Bill of Rights.

"Megyn, that's a completely ridiculous answer," Christie snapped. "I want to collect more records from terrorists, but less records from other people. How are you supposed to know?"

"You get a warrant!" Paul responded.



Photos: Political families27 photos

EXPAND GALLERY

Christie shot back: "You know, when you're sitting in a subcommittee just blowing hot air, you can say things like this."

When Paul criticized Christie for hugging President Barack Obama several years ago, Christie went for the jugular: "Senator Paul, you know, the hugs I remember are the hugs that I gave to the families who lost their people on September 11th."

Beyond piling on Trump, Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton was another frequent target. Describing her as "secretive" and "not trustworthy," candidates at the earlier debate they slammed her on issues ranging from foreign policy to her use of a private email server at the State Department.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham also took a more personal shot at Clinton, criticizing her now-infamous comments that she and Bill were "dead broke" after leaving the White House.

"I know the difference between flat broke -- apparently she doesn't," he said. "Hillary, I'll show you flat broke. That's not it."

http://time.com/3988073/republican-d...fox-first-gop/

Wow, these folks must have been watching a different debate than I. Honestly, I didn't see a clear winner in the group. However, if I had to pick one, I'd probably say Cruz. Unfortunately though, it's doubtful he'll get my support. I find his position of practically tripling legal immigration unacceptable. My current favorite, Scott Walker, looked rather stale. His message was good but it sounded rehearsed. He needs to expand on his reasoning for not supporting a path to legalization and needs to become a little more animated in his responses. A starched shirt is fine, but a starched personality isn't helpful.

Trump looked very non-presidential to me and it was painful watching him stumble through his responses. In all fairness though, it did seem like he was getting picked on by the lone woman on the panel.

This debate was different than others I've seen over the years. The questions were very specific to the individual questioned and almost all of the questions were designed to put the individual being questioned in a tough spot. There is no denying that the questions asked were of the hard-ball variety.

When I went to bed last night Donald Trump was completely dominating the "Who Won" poll on Drudge Report with around 40% of the vote leading the next runner up by more than 20 points. Drudge is the most read conservative news website in the world and Drudge was the clear winner.

The backlash against Megyn Kelly and Fox News on their Facebook pages was brutal and is probably still there for you to view.

Fox News Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/FoxNews



The Kelly Factor
https://www.facebook.com/TheKellyFile

W

Establishment Candidates Walker, Bush Stumble In GOP Debate

By Ryan Grim
Posted: 08/06/2015 11:39 pm EDT Updated: 08/07/2015 1:59 am EDT

Jeb Bush and Scott Walker, two of the leading establishment candidates in the Republican primary, turned in deeply unimpressive performances Thursday evening in the GOP debate, further casting the race for the nomination into uncertainty.

Earlier Thursday, Carly Fiorina, who'd been barred by polling averages from the primetime debate, seized her moment, while Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and casino entertainer Donald Trump commanded the stage later that evening.

Walker, the Wisconsin governor, came off flat, while Bush seemed himself unconvinced by his own lines. "Looks like he wouldn't vote for himself up there," quipped one unaligned GOP operative.

In Bush's closing statement, he asked people to vote for him "whenever the primary is." He meant to nod to the different dates of primaries in different states, but it sounded more like a statement of ultimate ambivalence.

Walker, meanwhile, returned with predictable regularity to his vanquishing of teachers in Wisconsin, which he called "big government union bosses." In his closing argument, he offered humbly, "I'm a guy with a wife and two kids and a Harley."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/0...n_7953490.html

Here is the Drudge Report poll results as of right now...

BUSH 2.12% (10,691 votes)

CARSON 8.79% (44,224 votes)

CHRISTIE 1.28% (6,437 votes)

CRUZ 13.99% (70,389 votes)

HUCKABEE 3.33% (16,782 votes)

KASICH 4.88% (24,581 votes)

PAUL 6.31% (31,739 votes)

RUBIO 9.88% (49,742 votes)

TRUMP 45.77% (230,346 votes)

WALKER 3.64% (18,337 votes)

Total Votes: 503,268

Latest results:

The 10 leading Republican presidential candidates took the stage for their first debate Thursday night. Who do you think won?


Donald Trump
(36041 Votes) 47%

Jeb Bush
(3672 Votes) 5%

Ben Carson
(8665 Votes) 11%

Chris Christie
(2087 Votes) 3%

Ted Cruz
(3895 Votes) 5%

Mike Huckabee
(2183 Votes) 3%

John Kasich
(6782 Votes) 9%

Rand Paul
(3894 Votes) 5%

Marco Rubio
(8085 Votes) 11%

Scott Walker
(985 Votes) 1%

http://time.com/3988073/republican-debate-fox-first-gop/

I believe most voters want to hear about the candidates views on issues. Megyn Kelly was grinning like the "Cheshire Cat" prior to the debate when she discussed her questions and how the moderators would handle Donald Trump.

The personal attacks from the FOX moderators gave us nothing on issues, but it did confirm what most of us believe about the media. Megan Kelly's Facebook page and comments elsewhere about Chris Wallace and the trio as a group should send a message to FOX, but I doubt they care.

Originally Posted by MW

This debate was different than others I've seen over the years. The questions were very specific to the individual questioned and almost all of the questions were designed to put the individual being questioned in a tough spot. There is no denying that the questions asked were of the hard-ball variety.

i agree.