Rubio strong on domestic and foreign affairs as rivals seek to portray Donald Trump as unworthy to become leader of the free world

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The 12th Republican debate saw an abrupt shift of tone on Thursday, as candidates suspended their bickering in a concerted attempt to rebuild their party’s appeal to a general electorate.



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Amid fears that months of insults and bitter infighting risk driving voters away in November, all four remaining contenders for the GOP presidential nomination appeared for the first time more focused on policy than each other.

“Elections are important but it’s the unity of this country that really matters,” said Ohio governor John Kasich, after a series of unusually reflective discussions on trade, education and social security.

Even Donald Trump, whose rallies have been characterised by growing violence and who has been widely blamed for lowering the tone of debates, struck a conciliatory pose, claiming his supporters were motivated by love not hate.

“We’re taking people from the Democratic party,” he said, in an opening statement that signaled growing confidence he will emerge as winner of the nomination race.

“We’re taking people as independents and they’re all coming out and the whole world is talking about it. It’s very exciting.”

He added: “I think, frankly, the Republican establishment, or whatever you want to call it, should embrace what’s happening. We’re having millions of extra people join. We are going to beat the Democrats. We are going to beat Hillary or whoever it may be. And we’re going to beat them soundly.”

Before the debate, it was confirmed that Ben Carson, who withdrew from the race last week, will endorse Trump on Friday.

After that, Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, emerged on stage to insist that the party would support the eventual nominee “100%” – whoever he may be.

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Ted Cruz, the only candidate who appears to have a reasonable chance of catching Trump, accused some party leaders in Washington of having “fevered dreams of a brokered convention”, a scenario he said “would be an absolute disaster”.

In the first half of the debate it was Cruz who emerged as the key aggressor to Trump. Whether on immigration reform, entitlements or on tariffs, the Texas senator needled the frontrunner for serving up proposals that were not rooted in reality.

“He’s right about the problems. But his solutions don’t work,” Cruz said.

Later he targeted Trump’s foreign policy as similarly lacking in substance.



“We need a president who understands the national security interests of this country,” Cruz said. “And the answer is not [to] scream, ‘all Muslims bad’.”

Cruz, having defeated Trump in several states, has framed the contest as a two-man race. In these moments, he nearly proved it by sidelining Rubio – who in the earlier half of the debate was reticent to engage with Trump at all.

There were still plenty of attempts to attack Trump’s suitability as president and commander in chief, but they were made with noticeably more restraint.

Rubio and Cruz sought to portray Trump as bereft on policy and lacking the gravitas to assume the mantle of leader of the free world. The two senators continuously drew a contrast with the frontrunner on substance over style.

Rubio, with his ambitions on the line in Tuesday’s Florida primary, delivered a particularly urgent performance before an enthusiastic hometown crowd. Having suffered a collapse in recent contests due in part to his foray into the gutter politics synonymous with Trump, Rubio used Thursday’s platform to showcase his nuance on domestic and foreign affairs when compared with the brash billionaire.

The biggest example came in the form of Cuba, an especially personal issue to the state that served as the landing ground for the exiles who fled the Castro regime in the 1960s.

Trump appeared to hedge on his earlier embrace of Barack Obama’s historic decision to re-engage in diplomatic relations with Havana. The US might “get sued for $400bn or $1tn” by the Cuban government, the business mogul argued, if an unfavorable deal were struck.

“All that stuff has to be agreed to now. We don’t want to get sued after the deal is made,” Trump said.

Rubio, who has made the tale of his Cuban immigrant parents a cornerstone of his campaign, was quick to mock his opponent.

“I don’t know where Cuba is going to sue us, but if they sue us in a court in Miami they’re going to lose,” the Florida senator said, to loud applause.

Rubio, one of the most outspoken critics of Obama’s Cuba policy, went on to say the president was “getting nothing in return” from the Castro regime.

“Here’s a good deal,” he said. “Cuba has free elections. Cuba stops putting people in jail for speaking out. Cuba has freedom of the press.”

Trump spoke in the vague assurances that have become emblematic of his campaign.



The problem is, presidents can’t just say anything they want. It has consequences, here and around the world Marco Rubio

“I would want to make a good deal,” he said. “I would want to make a strong, solid good deal, because right now everything is in Cuba’s favor.”

Rubio also criticized Trump’s rhetoric toward Muslims, marking a shift from the charged rhetoric the senator has himself used in previous debates and on the campaign trail.

A weak spot remained Rubio’s stance on climate change, which he dismissed despite its catastrophic impact on his home state of Florida.

“There was never a time when the climate was not changing,” he said. “As far as a law that we can pass in Washington that can change the weather – there’s no such thing.”

Rubio later added: “I am not going to destroy the US economy for a law that will do nothing for our environment.”

The senator’s steadfast position against the president’s clean energy proposals came despite a request from the Republican mayor of Miami – who is supporting Rubio – that Congress take action against the rising sea levels threatening his hometown.

Florida remains one of the states most deeply affected by climate change, and the sea level around Miami is already rising 60% faster than projected.

Rubio insisted the solutions offered in Washington would do little to reverse the trend and he would communicate as much to his mayor if given the opportunity.

“America is not a planet,” Rubio concluded. “It’s a country.”

Trump was asked by the moderators if by his recent comments that “Islam hates us” he was essentially saying that roughly 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide hated America.

“I mean a lot of them, I mean a lot of them,” Trump responded, prompting a mix of cheers and laughter from the audience.

“There’s something going on that maybe you don’t know about, maybe a lot of other people don’t know about, but there’s tremendous hatred and I will stick with exactly what I said.”

Rubio said Trump’s remarks were appealing to a lot voters because “he says what people wish they could say”.

“The problem is, presidents can’t just say anything they want. It has consequences, here and around the world.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Donald Trump speaks to the media in the spin room. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Rubio went on to discuss the “hostile environment” created overseas by news stemming from America implying that political leaders dislike Muslims. He also praised the military service of Muslim Americans.

“Anyone out there that has the uniform of the United States on and is willing to die for this country is someone that loves America. No matter what their religious background may be,” Rubio said.

Trump responded by invoking the attacks on 11 September 2001 and what he said was a “tremendous hate” within Islam.

“You can be politically correct if you want. I don’t want to be so politically correct,” he said. “I like to solve problems. We have a serious, serious problem of hate.”

Rubio, in one of his louder applause lines of the night, shot back: “I’m not interested in being politically correct. I’m interested in being correct.

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“We are going to have to work with people of the Muslim faith even as Islam itself faces a serious crisis within it of radicalization.”

Not long ago, it was Rubio who often generated headlines over his sharp rhetoric toward Muslims – whether for criticizing the president for visiting a mosque, dismissing widespread discrimination against Muslims in America or suggesting he was open to closing mosques down.

On Thursday, Rubio returned to the original premise of his candidacy: that he was the most formidable Republican candidate in a general election against Hillary Clinton.

Whether the debate will be enough to salvage his sinking campaign in Florida’s crucial primary remained unclear. Rubio is trailing Trump by double digits in the state.

The best hope of Tuesday’s results is to slow Trump’s chances by robbing him of the path toward the 1,237 delegates required to clinch the nomination.