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Behind the scenes before the Dec. 15, 2015, GOP debate hosted by CNN in Las Vegas, Nevada (Photo: Twitter)
It could be the Republican establishment’s worst nightmare: The top contenders for the GOP nomination are a powerful anti-establishment billionaire threatening a possible third-party run and a conservative Washington “bad boy” known for his scathing criticism of the party and its leaders.
Billionaire businessman Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz are set to square off Tuesday evening in the fifth and final debate of 2015.
Going into the CNN debate, Cruz and Trump are sparring in a two-man race in Iowa. Cruz was up 31 percent to Trump’s 21 percent among likely Republican caucus-goers, according to a
Bloomberg Politics-Des Moines Register poll published Saturday. Another
poll by Fox News had Cruz leading Trump by 28 percent to 26 percent on Sunday.
In the month since the Republican contenders last squared off at a debate, America has seen a heightened focus on national security following the Nov. 13 Paris terror attacks and the Dec. 2 San Bernardino, California, massacre by terrorists in which 14 people were killed and 22 injured.
CNN is hosting the debate Tuesday evening at 8:30 p.m. EST at The Venetian hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
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(Photo: Twitter)
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer will moderate the main event. CNN’s Dana Bash and Salem Radio Network’s Hugh Hewitt will serve as panelists questioning the candidates.
The following nine candidates will appear at the prime-time debate: Trump, Cruz, Dr. Ben Carson, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. Christie rejoins the main stage after he previously failed to qualify for the Nov. 10 Fox Business Network event.
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CNN will also host an undercard or “happy hour” debate at 6 p.m. EST featuring the following GOP candidates who failed to qualify for the main event due to low performance in the polls: former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and New York Gov. George Pataki.
Both debates are being broadcast live on CNN, CNN International and CNN en Español. They will also be
streamed free at CNN.com and on the cable network’s mobile apps.
The Salem Radio Network will broadcast the debates on radio stations throughout the country.
In national polling, Trump was surging ahead of the rest of the GOP pack at 31.4 percent
in the RealClearPolitics average Monday evening. Cruz came in at 16.3 percent (up from 9.6 percent in November). Rubio garnered 13.3 percent (up from 11.8 percent during the fourth debate). Bush dropped to 4 percent (down from 6 percent). Fiorina and Christie fell to 2.6 percent (down from 3 percent). Kasich, Paul and Huckabee came in at 2.3, 2.1 and 2.0 respectively. Pataki and Graham are holding steady at 0.2 percent.
For the trailing GOP contenders, the question is whether any of them can break out of the pack by generating a memorable moment that will leave a lasting and positive impression with voters, despite the long shadow cast by Trump.
Showdown between Trump and Cruz?
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Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz meet July 15, 2015, at Trump Tower in New York City (Photo: Rick Tyler/Twitter)
Reacting to news of Cruz’s gains, talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh said Dec. 7, if the senator wins in Iowa, “there are gonna be heart attacks and slit wrists in the Republican establishment and in the media.”
Limbaugh added, “It would be bad enough if trump wins, but Cruz in their minds is just as bad, if not worse. Because Cruz is a conservative. Trump, in their minds, is just a pretender fraud maniac. They can deal with that. But Cruz is a conservative, and that they literally fear like Dracula fears the cross.”
Cruz has refused to directly attack Trump, who has had several headline-generating clashes with other GOP rivals. According to
leaked audio published by the New York Times, Cruz explained at a fundraising event: “My approach, much to the frustration of media, is to bear-hug both of them [Trump and Carson] and smother them with love. I believe that gravity will bring both of these candidates down. I think the lion share of their supporters will come to us.”
Cruz said he likes and respects Carson and Trump, but he added, “You look at Paris, you look at San Bernardino, it’s given a seriousness to this race. People are looking for who is prepared to be a commander in chief, who understands the threats we face. ‘Who am I comfortable having their finger on the button?’ Now that’s a question of strength, but it’s also a question of judgment. And I think that is a question that is a challenging question for both of them.”
After the Times released the audio of Cruz’s comments, the senator tweeted, “The establishment’s only hope: Trump & me in a cage match. Sorry to disappoint, [Donald Trump] is terrific. #DealWithIt.”
But by Sunday, Trump responded: “I was disappointed that Ted Cruz would speak behind my back, get caught, and then deny it. Well, welcome to the wonderful world of politics!”
The rhetoric could be heating up. In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Trump called Cruz “a little bit of a maniac.”
“I don’t think he has the right temperament,” Trump said of Cruz. “I don’t think he’s got the right judgment. You look at the way he’s dealt with the Senate where he goes in there, frankly, you know, like a little bit of a maniac. You’re never going to get things done that way.”
Cruz responded with a tweet featuring a video of “Maniac” from the iconic 1980′s film, “Flashdance.”
Will CNN be fair, or stick with ‘food fight’ questions?
The last time CNN moderated a GOP debate was on Sept. 15, where the network was accused of asking only “food fight” questions in an effort to spark a confrontation between contenders. An estimated 23 million viewers tuned in to watch the show.
CNN hasn’t offered any sneak peaks of the questions it has planned for Tuesday evening’s debates.
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Sen. John McCain (Photo by J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
Besides not knowing specifically where the plant is, the administration would have difficulty taking it out with airstrikes because ISIS terrorists are "capable of digging underground and protecting themselves," McCain said.
"It's not so easy to take it out from the air. Air power alone does not win conflicts.
