Simi Valley, Calif.
Republican frontrunner Donald Trump lost Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate, and one person deserves more credit for his defeat than anyone else: Carly Fiorina. The former Hewlett-Packard CEO and failed 2010 Senate candidate outshined the entire impressive GOP field. She also proved particularly deft at skewering Trump.
At first, Fiorina bided her time. She wouldn’t directly answer the question whether she’d be comfortable with Donald Trump in charge of America’s nuclear arsenal, but subtly raised questions about his temperament and judgment as she dismissed him as “an entertainer.”
Trump’s response to the question about his temperament was: “Well, first of all, Rand Paul shouldn’t even be on this stage. He’s number 11, he’s got 1 percent in the polls, and how he got up here, there’s far too many people anyway.” (No, Rand Paul hadn’t said anything about Trump at that point in the debate. After Paul pointed out that Trump’s response was a “non sequitur,” Trump suggested Paul was lucky he hadn’t attacked his looks.)
But it wasn’t long until Trump was humiliated by Fiorina. Trump recently said of Fiorina: “Look at that face. Would anyone vote for that?” When asked about Trump’s disparaging comments, Fiorina had a simple and confident reply: “I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said.” For the first time in his campaign, Trump wilted. “She’s got a beautiful face, and she’s a beautiful person,” he said.
It was the most memorable moment of weakness from Trump in Wednesday’s debate, but it was far from the only one. Trump was left dumbfounded when the topic turned to serious policy matters. For example, he blamed Senators Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Rand Paul for not voting to authorize strikes against the Syrian regime. ” I think they had a responsibility,” Trump said.
“I will tell you we have zero responsibility, because let’s remember what the president said,” Rubio replied. “He said the attack he would conduct would be a pinprick.”
“If the United States military is going to be engaged by a commander-in-chief, it should only be engaged in an endeavor to win,” Rubio added. “And we’re not going to authorize use of force if you’re not put in a position where they can win.” Trump had no response.
Jeb Bush’s best moment of the night came in response to Trump’s attack on George W. Bush and the Iraq war. “As it relates to my brother, there’s one thing I know for sure. He kept us safe,” Bush said. “You remember the rubble? You remember the fire fighter with his arms around it? He sent a clear signal that the United States would be strong and fight Islamic terrorism, and he did keep us safe.”
“I don’t know. You feel safe right now? I don’t feel so safe,” Trump shot back.
“That’s because of Barack Obama,” Scott Walker chimed in. “We’ve had a president who called ISIS the J.V. squad, Yemen a success story, Iran a place we can do business with. It’s not because of George W. Bush; it’s because of Barack Obama.”
Walker, who was much more fluid and engaged that he was in the first debate, also got the better of an exchange when Trump wildly overstated budget problems in Wisconsin.
The three-hour debate was a Trump-centric affair: He was asked more questions than any other candidates, and many of the questions the other candidates fielded were about Trump. But some candidates did find ways to shine in their own right.
Carly Fiorina’s comments on Planned Parenthood were powerful and moving. Marco Rubio’s remarks on foreign policy were sharp and polished. Ben Carson was shaky on policy, but he effectively continued the low-key, nice-guy strategy that propelled him to second place after the first debate.
How much will Trump’s weak performance matter? If he were treated by the media like other candidates, it might matter quite a lot. He might face relentless questioning about his crackpot theory that vaccines cause autism. But the media do not treat Donald Trump like other candidates. News networks let Trump set the agenda and cover his speeches live and unfiltered. There are now six more weeks until the next Republican debate, and the media will likely return to around-the-clock Trump coverage unless he’s displaced in the polls.
In the spin room after the debate, I asked RNC chairman Reince Priebus if the decision to reduce the number of debates–originally intended to diminish the media’s ability to shape the race–had actually ceded more power to the media. “Oh, so you’re saying that if we had 150 debates, the media would have less power?” Priebus said. Not exactly, I replied, but maybe a debate every couple of weeks would let voters see candidates other than Donald Trump. Priebus wasn’t having any of it. “Having fewer debates, having some control over the moderators is actually a big coup for our party,” he said.
