Republican TV debate begins in confusion as Ben Carson and Donald Trump awkwardly wait in wings
The candidates were supposed to come out one by one in order of their positions on the podium – but it almost immediately fell apart
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Your support makes all the difference.TV debates for the Republican presidential candidacy have started to take on a predictable rhythm, with Donald Trump saying something outrageous about waterboarding, Ted Cruz attacking Barack Obama’s healthcare reform and attacks from all sides on the rising force in the polls – this time Marco Rubio.
Yet no one could have expected the complete shambles that was the introduction the candidates received when they entered the ABC News stage.
The candidates were supposed to come out one by one in order of their positions on the podium – but it almost immediately fell apart when Ben Carson appeared to hesitate in the wings and missed his chance to come out.
He was overtaken by a clearly amused Ted Cruz, before Donald Trump emerged in an apparent attempt to usher him on stage himself.
In the end, Mr Trump and Mr Carson appeared to be vying for position as the last person to enter the stage. It looked like Mr Trump had succeeded in that goal, until the ABC hosts remembered to introduce Ohio governor John Kasich.
Once the debate actually got started, the highlight of the debate came when Mr Rubio suffered a scathing attack on his capability to offer the lead alternative to Mr Trump and Mr Cruz.
Mr Rubio, a first-term senator from Florida, has sought to appeal both to mainstream Republicans and those eager to upend the status quo. But his rivals, particularly New Jersey governor Chris Christie, have been blistering in their criticism of what they see as his slim qualifications to serve as commander-in-chief.
"You have not been involved in a consequential decision where you had to be held accountable," Mr Christie said. "You just simply haven't."
Mr Christie built his closing argument around his criticism of Mr Rubio, and he kept up that approach on the debate stage. He accused the senator of being a candidate governed by talking points — then pounced when the senator played into his hands by repeating multiple times what appeared to be a planned response to criticisms about his qualifications.
"That's what Washington DC does," Mr Christie said. "The drive-by shot at the beginning with incorrect and incomplete information and then the memorized 25-second speech that is exactly what his advisers gave him."
Mr Trump was back on the debate stage after skipping the last contest before the Iowa caucuses. After spending the past several days disputing his second-place finish in Iowa, he sought to refocus on the core messages of his campaign, including blocking Muslims from coming to the US. He said he would bring back waterboarding, “and a hell of a lot worse”.
Read more about the latest on the US elections here.
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