Candidates at second tier debate begin by attacking Trump
- 9 years ago
Even though he was not in the room, billionaire Donald Trump got full attention at the start of the undercard GOP debate Wednesday.
When Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal was asked if he has broken Ronald Reagan's commandment not to attack other Republicans when he attacked front runner Trump in the press, Jindal replied, "Let's stop treating Donald Trump like a Republican -he's not a conservative," he said.
Knowing this is probably one of their last opportunities to address a national audience in a debate forum, the four undercard candidates immediately began jockeying to stress their conservative credentials and experience to differentiate themselves from the top tier candidates appearing later in the evening.
Missing from the undercard stage at the August debate are former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who is the only second-tier veteran to poll well enough to move up to the main event and ex-Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who has since dropped out of the race.
When Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal was asked if he has broken Ronald Reagan's commandment not to attack other Republicans when he attacked front runner Trump in the press, Jindal replied, "Let's stop treating Donald Trump like a Republican -he's not a conservative," he said.
Knowing this is probably one of their last opportunities to address a national audience in a debate forum, the four undercard candidates immediately began jockeying to stress their conservative credentials and experience to differentiate themselves from the top tier candidates appearing later in the evening.
Missing from the undercard stage at the August debate are former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who is the only second-tier veteran to poll well enough to move up to the main event and ex-Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who has since dropped out of the race.