Go big or go home! That seemed to be the theme of the fourth Republican presidential debate, which kicked off in Milwaukee, Wis., on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Fresh off his hosting duties on Saturday Night Live — which got gangbusters ratings as he predicted — Donald Trump took center stage. Again. He was joined by Ben Carson, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich, and Rand Paul. (Chris Christie was relegated to the earlier debate this time around.)
Moderators included Fox Business anchors Maria Bartiromo and Neil Cavuto, as well as Gerard Baker, the editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal. Though the moderators and candidates certainly got along better than in the last go-round, it wasn’t all smooth sailing on stage. Here’s a look at the fights Trump got into during the two-hour TV event:
1. Trump came to Bush’s defense, sort of, and Bush said thank you, sort of.
When Kasich tried talking over Bush, Trump jumped to the former Florida governor’s defense … in his own Trump way, that is. “You should let Jeb speak,” Trump barked at Kasich. “It’s unfair.” It seemed Bush appreciated Trump’s gesture … well, for the most part.
“Thank you, Donald, for allowing me to speak at the debate, that’s really nice of you,” Bush quipped. “I really appreciate that. What a generous man you are!” (That line of sarcasm-tinged gratitude earned big applause from the crowd.)
PHOTOS: Donald Trump’s Feuds
2. Trump and Kasich butted heads on immigration.
Not surprisingly, Kasich didn’t like Trump butting in and the interjection sparked a heated exchange between the two (which didn’t include Bush). Kasich took Trump to task for his stance on immigration until Trump declared, “I have created tens of thousands of jobs… I don’t have to hear from this man, believe me. I don’t have to hear from him.” Kasich made a displeased face but didn’t hit back.
3. Trump and Fiorina continued to irk each other.
After Trump reminded America, yet again, that he believed he would get along well with Vladimir Putin because they were on 60 Minutes together and the show “did very well that night,” Fiorina took aim at Trump’s claims of friendship with the president of Russia.
“I have also met him, though not in a green room for a show, but in a private meeting,” the former Hewlett-Packard CEO calmly noted to a round of applause from the crowd.
But Trump wasn’t going to let her throw the last punch, and a few minutes later, when she tried jumping in to answer a question, he interjected instead. “Why is she always interrupting everybody? Why?” he asked. His query was met with a mixed reaction of cheers and boos, but he didn’t seem to mind.
Sadly, no questions were asked about one burning topic: Starbucks’ controversial holiday cup design, which means we know only where one GOP candidate stands on the issue. His name is Donald Trump.
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