As the 11 leading Republican candidates stood in front of a former Air Force One jet Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, one topic dominated the majority of the conversation — Donald Trump.
The opening question of CNN’s Republican presidential debate asked if candidates felt safe with Trump’s finger on the nuclear launch button. The question came after comments made by Gov. Bobby Jindal in the past week condemning the former reality television host as a “narcissist” and “egomaniac.”
Two candidates, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, said that would be a decision for the voters to make.
Trump was both a target and source of criticism throughout the night, as the billionaire real estate mogul poked fun at Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s appearance and his standing in the polls.
“I never attacked [Paul] on his look, and, believe me, there’s plenty of subject matter there,” Trump said.
Apart from Trump, other hot topics at the three-hour debate centered around issues such as Planned Parenthood, immigration and Kim Davis — the Kentucky clerk who gained national attention after refusing to administer a marriage license to a gay couple.
One topic discussed early on in the evening was the unexpected polling successes of “political outsiders,” including Fiorina, Trump and neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson.
“If someone is within a system their whole life, they don’t know how broken the system is,” Fiorina said. “It’s not that politicians are bad people. It’s that they’ve been in that system forever.”
Several candidates spoke in favor of ending government support for Planned Parenthood, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was one of many candidates who cited videos depicting officials from the women’s health organization allegedly “callously, heartlessly bartering and selling body parts of human beings,” Cruz said.
A week after organizing a faith-based political rally centered around Davis, Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was asked if Bush, who recently commented that Davis was required to do her job, was on the wrong side of the issue.
Huckabee did not say if Bush’s stance was wrong, but reiterated his belief that the U.S. Supreme Court overstepped its power with its ruling in favor of gay marriage.
“I thought that everybody here passed ninth grade civics,” Huckabee said. “Courts cannot legislate. The courts can’t make a law.”
The immigration discussion began with Trump and a question regarding the logistics of his plan to deport the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently residing in the U.S.
The tone shifted as moderator Jake Tapper asked Bush about comments Trump made regarding Bush’s Mexican-American wife and Bush speaking Spanish while on the campaign trail.
Bush requested Trump apologize to his wife, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio defended Bush on speaking Spanish.
The candidates’ tax plans, ranging from Carson’s flat-tax to Trump’s progressive tax, were discussed, as well as Carson’s support for raising the minimum wage.
Ohio Gov. Scott Walker criticized Carson’s proposed minimum wage increase and said education is the key to improving wages.
“The best way to help people see their wages go up is to get them the education and the skills they need,” Walker said. “That’s why we talk about it. It’s all about jobs.”