First Take: Trump gets spotlight, but it might burn

Paul Singer | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption First GOP debates: Trump, Fiorina take spotlight As expected, Thursday night’s Republican debates on Fox News featured plenty of fireworks from frontrunner Donald Trump. USA TODAY’s Paul Singer on how the crowded field competed to make strong impressions on voters.

If the Republican Party hoped its first debate would de-emphasize Donald Trump's unpredictable and bellicose campaign, that hope collapsed in the first moments of the event. Now the party elders can instead hope that a two-hour Trump binge is all the American public can stomach.

Fox News moderator Bret Baier began the debate asking the candidates to raise their hands if they would not pledge to support the eventual GOP nominee. Only Trump raised his hand, and Baier called him on it — essentially allowing Trump to be the only candidate given a chance to make an opening statement. And Trump used his time to say that he would not rule out an an independent run if he loses the GOP nomination, because, "I'm talking about a lot of leverage."

The leverage was clear.

The moderators continued to turn the spotlight on Trump, even when trying to highlight his warts. Megyn Kelly called him out for offensive comments he has made about women over the years. He largely shrugged it off, saying "I don't have time for total political correctness," then suggested maybe he should say something nasty about her.

Chris Wallace tried pressing him to provide evidence of his charge that the Mexican government was sending criminals into the U.S., which allowed Trump to return to his favorite talking point of calling for construction of an impenetrable wall along the border.

Baier noted that Trump has donated to Democratic politicians, including Hillary Clinton, raising doubts about his commitment to Republican ideals.

Trump said it is simply because he is a businessman working in a "broken system" where the rich can trade cash for access. Because of his donations, he said, "when I need something they are there for me." He added "most of the people on this stage I have given to," which the other candidates leapt to deny.

Perhaps the whole performance plays into Trump's persona as an iconoclast who speaks his mind when others are worried about not offending anybody.

But it also highlighted his flaws — his penchant for unsubstantiated claims, personal attacks and lack of loyalty to the party he is bidding to lead.

The moderators' tough grilling of Trump gave the other candidates room to draw some distinctions with each other. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie sparred over the enhanced surveillance powers granted to the government after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attack. Paul said he would stand up for the Bill of Rights, and Christie accused the senator of "blowing hot air."

Ohio Gov. John Kasich tried to play nice with Trump, saying, "Trump is hitting a nerve in this country" and inviting him to donate to the Kasich campaign, while Paul attacked Trump, saying the businessman is "used to buying politicians." Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon, noted that he is the only candidate who has separated conjoined twins and removed half of a brain.

But otherwise, they were largely overshadowed by Trump's larger-than life presence.

Trump was even a player in the pre-debate forum that he did not participate in, featuring the seven candidates who did not crack the top 10 in national polls. Moderator Martha MacCallum raised Trump, calling him the "elephant that is not in the room" and asking Rick Perry and Carly Fiorina whether Trump is "getting the better of you." Fiorina used the question to land a sharp punch at the front-runner in the polls. "I didn't get a phone call from Bill Clinton before I jumped in the race," she said, a reference to news reports that the former president had called Trump to urge him to be more active in the GOP race.

Fiorina dominated Twitter during the early debate, was the most searched candidate on Google during the program, and was broadly praised for her performance by commentators afterward. If any of the second-tier candidates could use the forum to vault into the top tier for the next debate, Fiorina appears to be leaving Cleveland with the best chance.

And Trump leaves Cleveland having made an indelible impression of himself. That might not turn out to be a good thing for his campaign.

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