Photo via Politifact
Republican presidential candidates hashed it out Wednesday night covering issues from Planned Parenthood to immigration with Carly Fiorina emerging as a strong voice to challenge front-runner Donald Trump.
The night was split up between two separate debates – held in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library – the earlier group being comprised of the four candidates polling at at least 1%.
The second group, which aired during primetime, comprised of candidates polling at a higher rate – former Florida Sen. Jeb Bush, television personality Donald Trump, retired Neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, former tech executive Carly Fiorina, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Although many students are aware of this fact, Fiorina received her MBA from the University of Maryland. For those who already knew, some watching the debate on campus were happy to see the Maryland alum doing so well on the stage.
“It was really cool to see someone who studied here running for President! I always think of the Ivy League schools producing Presidents, so it was pretty cool to see a Terp up there,” junior government and politics major Maddie Darbie said.
Carly Fiorina’s performance was highly praised as a strong contending force against Trump’s debate domination. She was also praised for her poise and class on the stage, even while surrounded by 10 men.
Sophomore Communications major Annie Scott said that while she may not agree with [Fiorina] on a lot of her views, she thinks that Fiorina is an “articulate and powerful speaker who did well against the field of men she is put against.”
Much like the first debate, which aired over the summer, Trump led the airtime, speaking for 18 minutes and 47 seconds, according to NPR. A three-minute gap sits between he and the next candidate, Bush.
Unlike in the last debate where Fiorina was not in the primetime space, she was able to get into the top-tier group and secure the third spot for most airtime.
However, the use of the time by candidates was not always helpful to those who tuned in to find where the candidates stand on the issues.
“It was frustrating that there was so much back and forth between candidates, rather than insightful questions and responses,” Scott said.
While some candidates took this time to talk about themselves and evade questions to discuss their own track record, some showed more constructive use of the time to discuss the issues.
Candidates like Rubio and Cruz did well when handling policy questions. Rubio appeared well versed on foreign policy and Cruz discussed domestic policy effectively to play his Republican base.
In addition to getting increased airtime, Fiorina garnered what could have been considered as the loudest applause of the night when she went after Planned Parenthood saying, “This is about the character of our nation and if we will not stand up and force President Obama to veto this bill, shame on us.”
However, Planned Parenthood wasn’t the only topic she became impassioned over. She and Trump participated in a back and forth debate about their business performances, Trump citing Hewlett-Packard’s poor track record during her tenure, and Fiorina citing Trump’s businesses having to file for bankruptcy four times.
Although Fiorina answered for her record with confidence, her controversial record at HP may come back to haunt her if she were to garner the nomination.
The pair also clashed when CNN anchor and moderator Jake Tapper asked Fiorina to respond to Trump’s comments to Rolling Stone regarding the appearance of her face.
She swiftly responded with, “I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Trump said.”
The debate concluded with a few more light-hearted questions, like what the candidates would have their code name be with Fiorina choosing the name Secretariat. She will live up to that name if she is able to perform like she did last night at the next Republican debate, pulling off a triple crown, just like the racehorse.
The next debate will be on October 13, featuring the Democratic presidential candidates.