The third Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday night did not disappoint. Here are the most interesting moments of the night so far.

1. Cruz attacks media, brings down the house


Asked a question about the debt limit, Ted Cruz responds: “The questions asked so far in this debate illustrate why the American people don’t trust the media. This is not a cage match.” He gets raucous applause.

“How about talking about the substantive issues people care about?” Cruz asked, saying that the moderators of the first Democratic debate on CNN went easy on the candidates from the other party.

“That debate reflected a debate between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks and nobody watching at home believes any of the moderators has any intention of voting in a Republican primary.”

“Let the record reflect I asked you a question about the debt limit and I got no answer,” retorted moderator Carl Quintanilla.

“You’re not interested in an answer?” asked Cruz as the moderators cut him off and moved on to their next question.



2. Bush-Rubio feud explodes on-stage

Marco Rubio, asked about an editorial calling on him to resign over his rate of missed votes in the Senate and the contempt he's expressed for the job, responds, “This is another example of the double-standard that exists in this country between the mainstream media and the conservative movement.” He gets huge applause.

Jeb Bush jumps in and calls Rubio a "gifted politician," but tells him to either show up for votes or quit. “What is it like, a French work-week?” he said of the Senate's manageable work-week.

Rubio responds, “Someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you." Donald Trump can't get a word in edgewise.



3. The crowd boos the moderators

The moderator asks Ben Carson about his apparent endorsement of a nutritional supplement company that made dubious claims about curing cancer and autism. Carson denies any relationship, calling the question "propaganda." The moderator says that Carson's photo appeared on the company's website. Carson said he never gave his permission for his image to be used.

"Does that not speak to your vetting process or process in any way?" asks the moderator. The crowd boos the moderators.

“See, they know," Carson says, gesturing to the crowd. The jeers continue in the hall as the debate cut to a commercial break.



4. Jeb’s winning something, but Christie’s heard enough about fantasy football

“I’m 7-0 in my fantasy football league,” brags Bush in a response to a question about regulating sports betting. “Gronkowski is still going strong.”

Then Chris Christie cuts into to lament the bigger issues being ignored. “We have ISIS and Al–Qaeda attacking us and we’re talking about fantasy football?” The crowd cheers.



5. Trump V. John Harwood

After describing some of Trump's plans, including deporting 11 million undocumented immigrants and building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, moderator John Harwood asks "Let’s be honest: Is this the comic book version of a presidential campaign?"

“That’s not a very nicely asked question the way you said that,” Trump responded, then cited CNBC contributor Larry Kudlow, who’s praised his tax plan.

Harwood then followed up, saying he had talked to economic advisers who have served presidents of both parties about Trump's tax plan: "They say you have as much chance of cutting taxes that much without increasing the deficit as you would of flying away from that podium by flapping your wings."

"Then you would have to get rid of Larry Kudlow … who came out the other day and said 'I love Trump’s tax plan,'" Trump retorted.



6. Weakness

Asked to name their greatest weaknesses, some of the candidates comply. Others not so much.

John Kasich: “My great concern is we are on the verge perhaps of picking someone who cannot do this job.”

Mike Huckabee: “I don’t really have any weakness that I can think of ... I try to live by the rules."

Bush: “I am by nature impatient and this is not an endeavor that rewards that .. I can't fake anger."

Rubio: “I do believe I share a sense of optimism.”

Trump: “I trust people too much. Too trusting. And when they let me down, if they let me down, I never forgive.”

Carson: “Not really seeing myself in that position (the presidency)."

Carly Fiorina: “After the last debate I was told I didn’t smile enough.”

Cruz: "If you want someone to grab a beer with I may not be that guy. But if you want someone to drive you home…"



7. Trump attacks Kasich



After Kasich questions Trump’s fitness for office, Trump unloads on Kasich’s record as steward of Ohio’s economy: “First of all, John got lucky with a thing called fracking. He hit oil.”

On Kasich's work for the bank at the center of the financial crisis: “Lehman Brothers started it all. He was on the board, and he was a managing general partner.”

On Kasich's tone: “His polls numbers tanked. That’s why he’s on the end. And he got nasty.”



8. Trump fake apologizes

After mounting an extended defense of the four bankruptcies filed by his businesses, Trump concludes, “I’ve used the laws of the country to my benefit. I’m sorry.”



9. Jeb puckers up

"Find me a Democrat that would cut spending $10, I'll give him a warm kiss."



10. Rubio turns questioning of financial competence into book plug

Rubio said that early in his marriage, he had to explain to his wife why “Sallie Mae” was taking thousands out of his paycheck each month. He rejected critiques of his fiscal management skills as a “litany of discredited attacks.”

“We’re raising a family in the 21st century,” Rubio said of his family’s rise from modesty to moderate wealth.

Asked about how he encountered financial problems even after landing a million-dollar book deal, Rubio plugs the book. “It’s available in paperback if you’re interested in buying it.”



11. Rubio chastises the media, again

“The Democrats have the ultimate super PAC, they’re called the mainstream media.” The crowd cheers.



12. Huckabee's Trump Collection necktie



Asked if Trump has the moral authority to lead the country, Mike Huckabee responds, “I love Donald Trump. He is a good man. I’m wearing a Trump tie tonight. Get over that one."

"Is it made in China or Mexico?" asks a moderator. Huckabee says he doesn't know.

Trump cuts in to say, "Such a nasty question, but thank you governor.”



13. Trump could be packing heat right now

Trump says he’d feel “more comfortable” if employees at his company were armed. He notes that he has his own concealed carried permit, something “very unusual in New York.”

“I do carry on occasion, sometimes a lot,” he says. "But I like to be unpredictable."



14. Fiorina gets the floor

A moderator tries to block Carly Fiorina from breaking into a conversation about entitlement reform, then quickly gives in.

“You all wanted us to limit the— Ah all right. Go ahead.”



15. Trump v. Harwood on who set the debate length

Trump uses his closing statement to tout his negotiating abilities in forcing CNBC to limit the length of the debate despite their desire to make more ad revenue off a longer debate.

“I could stand up here all night. Nobody wants to watch three and a half or three hours. And I have to hand it to Ben,” says Trump. “They lost a lot of money, everybody said it couldn’t be done. And in about two minutes, I renegotiated it to two hours, so we could get the hell out of here.”

“Just for the record, the debate was always going to be two hours,” responds Harwood.

“That’s not right. That’s absolutely not right,” retorts Trump.