In what turned out to be an exceptionally raucous Republican presidential debate opener, billionaire businessman Donald Trump was every inch his combative self as he took on some of his rivals, debate moderators and, to be sure, President Barack Obama and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.
Trump, who has made a virtue of being politically incorrect with his brash comments on all and sundry, attracted boos from the crowded Cleveland venue with his very first move when he declined to rule out an independent run in case he fails to win the Republican nomination.
All that Trump, the current front-runner, would promise was: “If I’m the nominee, I will pledge I will not run as an independent.” But the question posed to him was on whether he would pledge his support to the eventual nominee of the Republican Party and stay away from the race.
The unsavoury exchange set the tone for a two-hour high-decibel debate involving the Top 10 Republican hopefuls on the basis of their performance in a set of five recent national polls. Fox News, which hosted the event, also held a separate second-tier debate for the bottom seven contestants, who included louisiana’s Indian-American Governor Bobby Jindal.
If there was a common refrain among the 17 in the two back-to-back debates, it was in their all-round attack on President Obama and Hillary Clinton, with some commenting that a Hillary victory would in reality be a third term for a “failed” Obama presidency.
The various Republican candidates came down particularly hard on Obama over the Iran nuclear deal, calling it a total surrender to Tehran, as also his handling of the ISIS challenge. They were also unsparing on his economic policies and moves on immigration.
“We have a president who doesn’t have a clue. I would say he’s incompetent, but I don’t want to do that because that’s not nice,” Trump remarked, adding: “What’s happening in Iran, is a disgrace, and it’s going to lead to destruction in large portions of the world.”
Florida Governor Jeb Bush, second in the pecking order, was relatively sober, but he too was unremitting on Iran. “We need to stop the Iran agreement, for sure, because the Iranian mullahs have blood on their hands, and we need to take out ISIS with every tool at our disposal,” Bush said.
As Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, third in the polls currently, put it, “We are leading from behind under the Obama-Clinton doctrine. America is a great country. We need to stand up and start leading again, and we need to have allies, not just in Israel, but throughout the Persian Gulf.”
Trump came under scrutiny for his past support to Democrats, notably his campaign donations to Hillary Clinton, prompting the question what he got in return. Trump replied he had her attend his wedding, remarking: “She didn’t have a choice because I gave. I gave to a foundation that...is supposed to do good. I didn’t know her money would be used on private jets going all over the world.”
Trump, who received a mixed response from the crowd to his comments, said the big problem America faces is on account of being politically correct. “I’ve been challenged by so many people, and I don’t frankly have time for total political correctness. And to be honest with you, this country doesn’t have time either. This country is in big trouble. We don’t win anymore. We lose to China. We lose to Mexico both in trade and at the border. We lose to everybody,” he remarked.
Jindal, who participated in the second-tier debate, attacked Obama’s policies which, according to him, were turning American dream into European nightmare. “I think the American people are looking for real leadership. That’s what I’ve done in louisiana, that’s what I’ll do in America,” Jindal said, adding: “We’ve got a lot of great talkers running for President. We’ve already got a great talker in the White House. We cannot afford four more years of on the job training. We need a doer, not a talker.”