Republican debates: real-time updates on Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Fox News and the totally contrived STAGED debate questions

Friday, August 07, 2015
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Tags: Republican debate, Donald Trump, Jeb Bush

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(NaturalNews) Notes from watching the Republican debate where, so far, every question directed to Donald Trump is an accusation while every question directed to Jeb Bush is a softball, pre-arranged question designed to make him look good. It's clear that the purpose of this debate is to destroy Trump! Learn more at TRUMP.news

(refresh for more notes)
(entries here are in reverse chronological order)

Trump: "Our country is in serious trouble. We don't win anymore. We don't beat China in trade. We don't beat Japan in trade... we can't beat Mexico at the border... we can't do anything right... our vets have to be taken care of, end Obamacare, make our country great again, and I will do that."

Bush: "I believe we're at the verge of the greatest time to be alive, but Washington is holding us back... a broken immigration system... we're not protecting or reforming our entitlement system... politicians in Washington use these as wedge issues. We can fix these things and restore America's leadership in the world."

Walker: "I'm a guy with a wife, two kids and a Harley... we balanced the budget and turned our state around. It's not too late for America..."

Huckabee: "This election has been a whole lot about a person who has been high in the polls but doesn't have a clue about how to govern... and who could not lead. And of course I'm talking about Hillary Clinton. I think America is in trouble but not beyond repair... gonna take leadership... one nation under God." (Best joke of the night with the opening...)

Carson: "I'm the only one who separated Saimese twins, the only one to take out half of a brain... but in Washington maybe someone beat me to it..." (humor / laughter) "Freedom is not free and we must fight for it every day... we're fighting for our children."

Cruz: "If I am elected President. I intend to rescind every illegal and unconstitutional executive action taken by Barack Obama... will investigate and prosecute Planned Parenthood for criminal violations... will cancel the Iran deal... stop IRS persecutions... I will keep my word! I will fight to defend liberty..."

Rubio: Talks about how he comes from a poor family in Cuba. America is the land of opportunity. "I'm running for President because... I believe we can't just save the American dream, we can expand it... I'm asking for your vote... A New American Century..."

Paul: "I'm a different kind of Republican." Talks about how he's introduced a tax cut and a balanced budget. Defending the privacy of Americans. "I want our party to be bigger, better and bolder" and he leads Hillary Clinton in the polls.

Christie: Explains his family and upbringing, how he came from a lower-income family. Explains how he fought terrorism. Says he kicked ass in a state dominated by Democrats.

Kasich: Explains his biography, what he did so far. Impressive resume in the political system. "We balanced the budget... I spent 10 years in the private sector... we've turned it all around... people have hope again in Ohio!" Audience cheers.

Now each candidate will make a closing statement.

10:54 To Carson: race relations, how divided we are, what would you do to heal? "We have the purveyors of hatred who take every incident and try to make a race war out of it... it's time for us to move beyond (skin color) because... our strength as a nation comes in our unity... and those who want to destroy us are trying to divide us."

10:53 To Rubio. What about the veterans? "God has blessed us with some very good candidates, the Democrats can't even find one." Audience cheers. "I believe God has blessed our country... we have a VA that does not do enough for veterans... we changed the law... it is outrageous they've only fired one person... we're going to have a VA that cares more about our veterans than the bureaucrats who work at the VA."

10:52 Same question to Walker. "I know that God doesn't call me to do specific things, what God calls us to do is follow His will... living my life in a way that would be a testimony to our faith."

10:51 Same question to Kasich. "I do believe in miracles, I've had a lot of elections... not about campaigns, I tell my people that these are about a movement to restore common sense, to do things like provide economic growth... the country's divided... we've gotta unit our country again. We are weaker when we are divided... the Lord's not picking us, He wants America to be strong, and He wants America to lead."

10:50 Question on whether candidates have "received word from God." Ted Cruz: "I am blessed to receive the Word from God every day... I'm the son of a pastor... my father was an alcoholic and my father left my mother, and left me... then he gave his heart to Jesus and it turned him around. The scripture tells us you shall know them by their fruits. We need a consistent conservative... I stand against Planned Parenthood to defend life... for my entire career." Audience cheers!

10:45 Redirect to Christie: "We need to strengthen our military... bring us to a 350-ship Navy... send a clear message around the world... on foreign aid, I absolutely believe Israel is a priority to keep them strong and safe."

10:44 Question to Paul. Your budget cut all financial aid to Israel. "I'm the only one who actually has a five year budget that balances... each one of my budgets has cut foreign aid. We ought to quit sending money to countries that hate us... we shouldn't borrow money from China to send it anywhere... we cannot give away money we don't have. We do not project power from bankruptcy court! We're borrowing a million dollars a minute!"

10:41 Question to Huckabee. Transgender personnel in the military. How would you handle it? "The military is not a social experiment. The purpose of the military is to kill people and break things... the purpose is to protect America... I'm not sure how transgender surgery for soldiers makes our country safer... the disaster is that we've forgotten why we have a military... we've decimated our military..."

10:40 Question to Walker, what would you do if Putin destabilized other regions. "The Russian and Chinese government know more about Hillary's email server than do the members of Congress... under Obama there's a lot of mush... I would send weapons to Ukraine, put forces on Eastern border of Poland... missile defense system..."

10:40 Question to Carson. Chemical weapons. Would you have used military force against Assad? "We have weakened ourselves militarily. Our Navy is at its smallest size since 1917... our generals are retiring... our enemies are increasing. Our friends can't trust us anymore... we turn our back on Israel... of course Obama's not going to be able to do anything. I would shore up our military first."

10:39 Question to Cruz: Have Russia and China committed cyber war? Cruz, "We need a new Commander in Chief who will stand up to our enemies..."

10:36 Foreign policy. Question to Trump. "We have a President who doesn't have a clue. I would say he's incompetent... the deals that we make... we have people in Washington that don't know what they're doing. With Iran, we're making a deal... we want our prisoners, we don't get anything, what's happened in Iran is a disgrace and it's going to lead to destruction."

10:31 Question to Walker: Police targeting blacks... civil rights... do you agree? "It's about training. Making sure law enforcement have proper training on use of force... stand up and support those men and women..."

10:30 Question: What will you do to protect Christians who speak out against gay marriage. Rand Paul: "I don't want my marriage, or my guns, registered in Washington... no government should interfere with their religious opinions... it's time to resist..."

10:28 Gay marriage. Question to Kasich. How do you explain to them your opposition to same sex marriage. "Because someone doesn't think the way I do, doesn't mean I can't care about them or accept them or love them." Good answer on tolerance. "Issues like that are planted to divide us." "God give me unconditional love... I'm gonna give it back..."

10:27 Trump responds. "When you have people who are cutting Christian's heads off... we don't have time for tone, we have to go out and get the job done."

10:26 Question to Bush, asking if he really called Trump an asshole and a clown. He says it's not true. "We're gonna win when we unite people with a hopeful, optimistic message..." he starts citing statistics from Florida's economy. "I cut taxes $19 billion..." says everybody rises up.

10:25 Question to Trump, accusing him of being a Democrat, previously in favor of gun control and abortions. When did you actually become a Republican? "I've evolved on many issues over the years... I am pro-life... I am proud to say I'm pro-life."

10:24 Question to Rubio: If you believe that life begins at conception, how do you justify ending a life. Rubio says the question is bogus and wrong. "Every single human being is entitled to the protection of our laws, whether they can speak or not... future generations will look back and call us barbarians for murdering millions of babies."

10:22 Social issues. Question to Bush: You say you support ending funding for Planned Parenthood. How could you not know about donations to PP? "I joined the Bloomberg Foundation because of ... education reform... I defunded Planned Parenthood... I created a culture of life in our state. We expanded adoptions... we ended partial-birth abortion... I am completely pro-life... this goes way beyond politics. I hope we respect life."

10:15 Questions about Iran and the horrible Obama deal. Question to Walker: if this deal is undone, what then? Walker: "Terminate the deal on day one. Reinstate the sanctions from Congress... convince our allies to do the same." Question to Rand Paul: "I oppose the Iranian deal... I don't immediately discount negotiations... Reagan did negotiate with the Soviets, and Obama gave away too much too early..." Huckabee chimes in: "President Obama is 'trust but villify' ... dangerous place this world is going to be as a result of a deal in which we got nothing!" Great full answer from Huckabee.

10:13 Question to Rubio. "Describe one action you'd do to make the economic environment more favorable to small businesses." Rubio: "The economy we live in today is in global competition... the big companies can affect policies, but small companies are struggling. We need to even out the tax code... have a regulatory budget that limits the regulations on economy, repeal Obamacare... improve higher education... repeal Dodd Frank. It is eviscerating small businesses. Make America fair again for all businesses." Once again, Rubio comes off as highly intelligent.

10:10 Question to Trump. Another hit piece. Says Trump's businesses have declared many bankruptcies. Says lenders lost billions. Why should we trust YOU to run the nation? Trump says that our of hundreds of deals, he's had 4 deals go bad. "The fact is, I built a net worth of more than $10 billion, I employ thousands of people, and I'm very proud of the job I did." Fox News goes on attack, says Trump Entertainment Resorts went bankrupt. Trump: "These lenders are not babies, they're total killers. You're living in a world of the make believes, Chris, if you wanna know the truth. Ceasar's just went bankrupt. Every company in Atlantic City went bankrupt... seven years ago, I left Atlantic City before it cratered. By the way, this country owed $19 trillion dollars, and they need somebody like me to straighten out that mess." Audience cheers.

10:05 To Huckabee: You say that changing entitlements would be breaking a promise. Explain how you can do it. Huckabee: "60 million Americans are on social security... the government took this money out of their check... says social security was robbed to pay for Obamacare. "It's fundamentally lying to the people and stealing from them..." to reduce their social security. Christie responds by saying the system is fundamentally broken. Huckabee says the flat tax would earn revenues from prostitutes, pumps, drug dealers, etc...

10:05 Directed to Huckabee and Christie. Entitlement reform. You say you want to cut benefits and raise the retirement age. Christie, "I'm the only guy on the stage who has put out a detailed plan... 71% of spending is on entitlements... we'd raise retirement age by 2 years... and phase it in... we would means test social security for those making over $200,000 a year... if we don't deal with this problem, it will bankrupt this country."

10:03 Directed to Walker. You promised you would create 250,000 jobs. But it didn't happen. Now you're promising a new economic plan. Why should voters believe you? Walker responds with his own economic statistics, touting successes. "Get the government out of the way, repeal Obamacare... put in place a new energy policy, lower the tax rate, reform the tax code."

10:02 Directed to Bush. You promised 4% economic growth and 19 million new jobs. Another softball "hero" question for Bush. Question: How can you pull that off? "We've done it 27 times since WWII... the new normal of 2% is so dangerous for our country..." answer is clearly rehearsed... "We're not growing fast, a 4% growth strategy means you fix a convoluted tax code... you get rid of Obamacare... you embrace the energy revolution in our country!"

10:00 Directed to Carson, same question as to Kasich. How will you defend against Clinton? "If Hillary is the candidate, which I doubt, that would be a dream come true. She is the epitome of the progressive movement... she counts on the fact that people are uninformed. Taking advantage of useful idiots. I just happen to believe that people are not stupid... I want to help people understand... the progressive movement is causing the problems." Carson nails it. Nails Clinton. Audience applauds.

10:00 Directed to Kasich: The Republican will be facing off against Clinton. She will say that you support the rich while she supports the middle class... how will you answer that? "Pro growth... balancing budgets... economic growth is the key to everything. Important that we reach out to people... America is a miracle country, we have to restore the sense that the miracle will apply to YOU!"

9:54 Directed to Rubio: Why is Bush wrong on Common Core? Rubio says education should be run by the states, not the feds. "The Dept. of Education will turn it into a mandate... they will use Common Core to force it down the throats of our people." Rubio is coming off as arguably the best-spoken candidate on the stage so far.

9:52 Question asked to Bush about why he advocates Common Core. Audience BOOS! Bush: "The federal government should not be involved in curriculum development... I'm for higher standards." Seems like yet another softball question.

9:51 Dr. Carson asked if he agrees. "I advocate a tithing taxation system..." he advocates a proportional tax system. "Get rid of deductions and loopholes..." Basically supports a 10% flax tax.

9:49 Facebook question. Will you cut or abolish bloated departments of Big Government? Directed to Huckabee, is the government too big to shrink? "The donor class feeds the political class who does the dance... govt. keeps getting bigger... the biggest fight we all have is the FEDERAL government! There are a lot of things happening at the fed. level that are beyond the jurisdiction of the Constitution. We can get rid of the IRS if we pass the Fair Tax!"

9:46 Question to Trump about repealing Obamacare. Says Trump called himself a liberal on health care. Why did you change? "Single payer works in Canada... it could have worked in a different age... what I'd like to see is a private system... the insurance companies are making a fortune because they have control of the politicians. Get rid of the artificial lines..." Rand Paul bickers... Fox News asks Trump why he gave money to Democrats? Trump says "Our system is broken. I give to everybody. When I need something from them, I call them, they are there for me. That's a broken system!"

9:45 Question to Carson: Would you bring back waterboarding? (The question is stupid. Waterboarding never went away...) Carson says, "There is no such thing as a politically correct war..." "I don't believe in fighting stupid wars." Carson comes off as highly intelligent, reasoned and thoughtful.

9:44 Question to Walker: Which Arab country has the potential to be our greatest partner? "We are leading from behind under the Obama / Clinton doctrine."

9:43 Question to Bush: the question is whether the first Gulf War was a mistake. Bush says it was, and regrets the lives lost. This question is clearly designed to allow Bush to explain away his previously messed-up answer so that Democrats can't use it against him in the final election. "To honor the people that died, we need to stop the Iran agreement... and we need to take out ISIS with every tool at our disposal."

9:42 Question to Ted Cruz: How would you destroy ISIS? "We need a Commander in Chief that speaks the truth... the President is unwilling to utter the words 'radical Islamic terrorist.'" Audience applauds. Ted Cruz nails the answer and appears presidential without being rude and bombastic like Christie. Is Cruz the smartest man in the room?

9:41 Question to Christie about whether he will continue to support the surveillance state, to which he says "I will make no apologies whatsoever" and goes on to describe why he wants MORE spying on the American people! Way to go, Big Brother! Rand Paul replies, "I want to collect more records from terrorists, but less records from Americans... I will continue to stand for the Bill of Rights!" Argument breaks out between Christie and Rand Paul. Paul says, "Get a warrant!" Christie goes nasty, unleashing his inner Big Brother. "You fundamentally misunderstand the Bill of Rights," warns Rand Paul. "I don't trust President Obama with our records. I know you gave him a big hug..." Christie goes personal, attacking Rand Paul for posting his speeches on the internet. Christie comes off as a completely rude asshat.

9:34 Question to Ted Cruz: the murder of citizens in San Francisco, a sanctuary city. Would you defund sanctuary cities? "Absolutely YES," says Cruz. Cruz says Republicans "don't want to enforce the immigration laws... there are far too many in the Washington cartel..." "I have NEVER supported amnesty!"

9:33 Scott Walker hit with question on why he changed his mind on immigration, and Fox News anchor asks him if there are any other positions we shouldn't believe him on. (Wow.)

9:32 Discussion returns to illegal immigration, where Fox News anchors are strong-arming the candidates to try to goad someone into trashing Donald Trump on stage. Rubio nails the right answer, saying we need to stop illegal immigration NOW.

9:24 Directed to Trump: "You say the Mexican government is sending criminals, rapists, drug dealers across the border..." Once again, it's so pathetically obvious that Fox News is using this debate to try to destroy Donald Trump. Trump responds: "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even be talking about illegal immigration!" Trump continues: "Our leaders are stupid! Our politicians are stupid! The Mexican government... sends the bad ones over because they don't wanna pay for them... that's what's happening whether you like it or not!"

9:22 Another softball question directed to Jeb Bush on immigration, describing how much he LOVES illegal immigrants and how they're all "pro-family." This debate is rigged!

9:20 Totally unfair Medicaid question directed to John Kasich, clearly designed to embarrass him. Once again it's obvious that Fox News wants Jeb Bush elected. Kasich handles the question expertly, however.

9:19 ISIS question directed to Rand Paul, who says he's the only guy to demand we stop arming ISIS allies. "It's a disgrace! We shouldn't fund out enemies, for goodness sakes!"

9:17 Mike Huckabee says the next President should invoke the 5th and 14th Amendments of the Constitution to completely outlaw abortion as a violation of that child's due process rights and protection under the law. "The Supreme Court is not the Supreme Being!"

9:15: Fox News goes pro-abortion, with Megan Kelly asking Scott Walker, "Would you really let a mother die rather than have an abortion?"

9:14 Fox News anchors attack Christie over the economic statistics of New Jersey. "If you think it's bad now, you should have seen it when I got there," he replies.

9:12 Ted Cruz: "I will always tell the truth and do what I say I would!" (Applause)

9:10 Megan the host from Fox News now drills into Trump with a vicious smear of a question for Donald Trump, saying he treats women horribly. Trump responds by telling Megan he doesn't have time for political correctness. Now it's clear Fox News is desperately attempting to destroy Donald Trump. They direct abusive questions toward him while handing Jeb Bush softball questions. So pathetic.

9:08 Fox News hosts throw softball question to Jeb Bush about his amazing leadership, and he responds with a clearly-rehearsed answer. It's obvious that Fox News is already favoring Bush in its questioning of candidates.

9:05 The debate opens with Fox News status quo anchors leveling a "gotcha" question clearly targeting Donald Trump. The question was a "raise your hands" question and asked whether any person on the stage would NOT be willing to fully support whatever Republican nominee was chosen. Trump honestly raised his hand -- and was the only one to do so -- saying that he couldn't necessarily support the nominee unless he knew who it was.

This shows, right from the start, that the Fox News debate is totally slanted against outsiders and designed from the get-go to usher in Republican status quo "party line" pushers.