A defiant Donald Trump dominated the first Republican presidential debate on Thursday, electrifying the event from the start by refusing to rule out running as an independent if he failed to get the party’s nomination.
He was booed by the normally supportive studio audience when he suggested he might not run as a Republican, a prospect he has raised before, and something that worries many on the right who remember the impact of Texas businessman Ross Perot on George HW Bush’s re-election hopes in 1992.
“I will not make the pledge at this time,” said Trump after he was the only one of the 10 candidates to raise his hand in response to a question about whether they would guarantee not to run as a third-party candidate.
“If I’m the nominee, I will pledge I will not run as an independent. But – and I am discussing it with everybody – I’m, you know, talking about a lot of leverage,” he added.
Trump was also grilled over his outspoken views on immigration, women, bankruptcy and Barack Obama’s intelligence.
“I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct,” insisted the real estate billionaire and reality TV star after he was asked by debate chair Megyn Kelly about calling women “fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals”.
“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even be talking about illegal immigration, Chris,” he retorted to her Fox News colleague Chris Wallace when pressed on why he had accused Mexico of sending its rapists and criminals to the United States.
The two-hour televised debate in Cleveland was billed as an opportunity for Trump’s rivals for the Republican primary election to put a halt to his dramatic recent rise in the polls and highlight his limits as a serious politician.
But while several rivals, most notably an eloquently performing Marco Rubio, attempted more nuanced analysis over issues such as immigration, Trump’s trademark bluster was bolstered by his position in the centre of the debate stage and the fact that so many of the other candidates were talking about him.
Trump, already one of the best known and least experienced names in the 2016 race, also appeared to win the battle to win yet more public attention: appearing top in a ranking of internet search terms during the debate that was released by Google.
“Our country is in serious trouble, we don’t win any more,” concluded the New York businessman in his closing remarks. “We can’t do anything right ... We have to make our country great again.”
In contrast, Jeb Bush, the establishment favourite and former frontrunner in the polls, had a difficult night, coming under fire not just from the hosts but his fellow panelists on issues such as his support for immigration reform and nationally enforced education standards.
The night was also memorable for a fierce exchange between Kentucky senator Rand Paul and Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, over the balance between surveillance and national security.
The two clashed in the most heated scenes of the debate over Paul’s support for curtailing the National Security Agency. When Paul accused Christie in turn of getting too close to the White House and “hugging” Obama, the New Jersey governor shot back that the hugs he remembered were with the families of 9/11 victims.
Yet divisive as the NSA issue is among Republican voters, it is the most distinctive part of Paul’s agenda and his passionate defence of the bill of rights brought warm applause from the crowd.
In recent weeks, the Kentucky senator has struggled to connect with anyone and has been dogged by a scandal involving his father’s campaign staff this week. He will be delighted to have been back on familiar territory with one of the most memorable scenes of the night.
- This article was amended on 7 August 2015 to correct the final paragraph. It originally said a scandal dogging Rand Paul involved his campaign staff. To be clear, although one of the indicted men was Rand Paul’s 2010 Senate campaign manager, and another currently runs a pro-Rand Paul superPac, the allegations relate to the 2012 presidential campaign of Rand Paul’s father, Ron Paul. The line has been changed.
