Nineteen Republicans eyeing the White House tried to distinguish themselves in the eyes of New Hampshire primary voters Friday and Saturday.
The lineup at the GOP forum included the GOP Tea Party stars of 2010 — Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Marco Rubio of Florida and Rand Paul of Kentucky, each of whom has officially jumped into the race — and other top potential contenders, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
Each potential contender got a chance to present a speech and take a few questions from the audience. Rather than attacking each other, they mostly focused on attacking former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who officially declared her candidacy this week for the Democratic presidential nomination that she lost to then-Sen. Barack Obama in 2008. She also served a term as New York’s junior senator following her eight-year tenure as first lady.
Paul got a standing ovation for criticizing Clinton’s performance during and after the 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that led to the death of four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
“I think her dereliction of duty, her not doing her job … should forever preclude her from holding high office,” Paul said. He also mocked Clinton, saying she’d soon need two planes: “one for her and her entourage and one for her baggage.”
Bush, who like Clinton could be criticized for trying to extend a family political dynasty, pushed back against skeptics of having another Bush in the White House.
“I don’t see any coronation coming my way, trust me,” he said.
The presidential hopefuls were questioned on everything from education to foreign policy to the environment. Asked whether climate change is real or false, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said he believes the climate is changing but said the earth is also “adaptable.”
“We [should] always treat earth as we would as if we were boy scouts at camp,” Huckabee said. “Take care of the campsite, clean up after yourselves. But don’t be so silly as to not enjoy the campsite.”
Rubio, who is of Cuban heritage and speaks Spanish fluently, was asked by an attendee whether steps should be taken to ensure all Americans speak English.
“If you don’t speak English, you’re not going to succeed economically in America,” Rubio replied.
Cruz told the attendees that “on tax reform, we need a simple flat tax and then we need to abolish the IRS.”
The only major potential contender not there was Ben Carson, who cited a scheduling conflict.
