Ted Cruz attempted to fill a Donald Trump-shaped void in the Fox News debate Thursday night by hurling insults toward the others on the stage.
“I’m a maniac and everyone else on this stage is stupid, fat and ugly. And Ben [Carson] you are a terrible surgeon,” Cruz said in jest after fielding the first question from the Fox News moderators at the debate.
“Now that we’ve gotten the Donald Trump portion out of the way,” Cruz joked, “I want to thank everyone here for showing … up” and making the case to the state and country for why they should be commander in chief.
Trump decided to skip the debate amid a feud with Fox News and questioned whether he would get a fair shake from moderator Megyn Kelly. He is holding a rival event down the street in Des Moines aimed at supporting veterans.
Cruz is currently second in the Washington Examiner‘s presidential power rankings. Trump is in first place.
