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.
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“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.