Latest / Real Donald Trump Wisdom / DJT Audio Archive: Republican Debate #5 - Las Vegas, Nevada (December 15, 2015)

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DJT Audio Archive: Republican Debate #5 - Las Vegas, Nevada (December 15, 2015) · Real Donald Trump Wisdom

0:04
It's debate night for the Republicans, and we're
0:06
just moments away from the main event. Right
0:11
now, the road to the White House leads straight
0:13
through Las Vegas, and the race is taking a critical
0:16
turn with terror fears front and center. We are
0:20
at war with terrorists, and we will win that
0:22
war. If you go and join ISIS, you are signing
0:25
your death warrant. I'm going to bomb this. Out
0:29
of them. I don't care. Tonight, the top Republican
0:32
candidates in a primetime debate in a campaign
0:35
jolted by the attacks in San Bernardino and Paris.
0:38
ISIS has raised its ugly head again. Donald Trump
0:42
still on top, going to new lengths to show he'd
0:45
be tough on terror. A total and complete shutdown.
0:48
of Muslims entering the United States. We have
0:51
no choice. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio on the rise,
0:56
vying to be the GOP's choice if the frontrunner
0:58
falls. We are seeing the evil of radical Islamic
1:01
terrorism here at home. They're not being contained
1:04
the way the president said. They are growing.
1:06
Ben Carson trying to bounce back, warning that
1:09
America can't fight a politically correct war
1:11
against ISIS. You strangle them. Anything that
1:14
looks like a military vehicle... It's gone. Jeb
1:17
Bush and Chris Christie zeroing in on national
1:20
security, arguing that experience matters in
1:23
dangerous times. We are in the midst of the next
1:25
world war. It's not about the big personalities
1:27
on the stage. It's about leadership. The rest
1:30
of the field looking for a breakout moment, slamming
1:34
President Obama's policies. and using them against
1:36
Hillary Clinton. Mrs. Clinton is as accountable
1:39
for what is going on with ISIS as President Obama.
1:42
We watch the Democrats. They have so many crazy
1:44
ideas. We've come to take our country back. Now,
1:48
the stage is set for the final Republican debate
1:51
this year. This is not a game of risk. We're
1:54
dealing with people who have thirst for innocent
1:57
blood. We're going to bomb the you -know -what
1:59
out of them. The first real votes are just weeks
2:02
away. People are starting to pay attention and
2:04
they're getting closer to making a decision.
2:05
We can't afford to be so nice, folks. And America's
2:08
security is at stake. Welcome to the CNN Facebook
2:34
Republican presidential debate here at the Venetian
2:37
Las Vegas. We have a very enthusiastic audience.
2:42
Everyone is here. They're looking forward to
2:44
a serious and spirited discussion about the security
2:47
of this nation. I'm Wolf Blitzer, your moderator
2:51
tonight. This debate is airing on CNN networks
2:54
here in the United States and around the world
2:56
and on the Salem Radio Network. The nine leading
2:59
candidates, they are here. Let's welcome them
3:02
right now. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. New
3:15
Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Former Florida
3:27
Governor Jeb Bush. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.
3:48
Businessman and real estate developer Donald
3:51
Trump. Retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson. Senator
4:10
Marco Rubio of Florida. Former Hewlett Packard
4:22
CEO Carly Fiorina. And Ohio Governor John Kasich.
4:39
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome these Republican
4:42
candidates for President of the United States.
4:55
This is the final Republican debate before the
4:57
election year begins, and we're taking a moment
5:00
for the photographs of the candidates together
5:02
on this stage. Now, everyone, please rise for
5:06
the national anthem sung by Ayla Brown. I know
7:07
everyone is eager to get started, so candidates,
7:10
please take your places while I explain the ground
7:12
rules for tonight. As moderator, I'll guide the
7:16
discussion and I'll be joined in the questioning
7:18
by Salem Radio Network talk show host Hugh Hewitt
7:21
and CNN's chief political correspondent, Dana
7:24
Bash. We also asked Republicans and independents
7:27
nationwide to share their questions for the candidates.
7:30
We teamed up with Facebook to send a campaign
7:33
camper across the country over the past several
7:36
weeks. Thousands of people stepped inside and
7:39
recorded their questions on video. Millions more.
7:43
have weighed in on facebook candidates i'll try
7:46
to make sure each of you get your fair share
7:48
of questions you'll have a minute and 15 seconds
7:51
to answer and 30 seconds for follow -ups and
7:54
rebuttals i'll give you time to respond if you're
7:57
singled out for criticism our viewers should
8:00
know that we have timing lights that are visible
8:03
to the candidates to warn them when their time
8:05
is up and as the candidates requested a bell
8:09
will sound like this We know you are all eager
8:14
to jump in and debate these important issues,
8:16
so please wait until you're called on. These
8:19
nine Republicans are positioned on stage based
8:22
on their ranking in the recent polls, so let's
8:25
begin right now. I'd like to invite each candidate
8:28
to introduce himself or herself to our audience.
8:31
You'll have one minute first to you, Senator
8:34
Paul. The question is, how do we keep America
8:38
safe from terrorism? Trump says we ought to close
8:42
that. internet thing. The question really is,
8:46
what does he mean by that? Like they do in North
8:48
Korea? Like they do in China? Rubio says we should
8:52
collect all Americans' records all of the time.
8:56
The Constitution says otherwise. I think they're
8:59
both wrong. I think we defeat terrorism by showing
9:02
them that we do not fear them. I think if we
9:05
ban certain religions, if we censor the internet,
9:09
I think that at that point, the terrorists will
9:12
have won. Regime change hasn't won. Toppling
9:16
secular dictators in the Middle East has only
9:19
led to chaos and the rise of radical Islam. I
9:22
think if we want to defeat terrorism, I think
9:25
if we truly are sincere about defeating terrorism,
9:28
we need to quit arming the allies of ISIS. If
9:32
we want to defeat terrorism, the boots on the
9:35
ground, the boots on the ground need to be Arab
9:37
boots on the ground. As commander in chief, I
9:41
will do whatever it takes to defend America.
9:44
But in defending America, we cannot lose what
9:48
America stands for. Today is the Bill of Rights
9:51
anniversary. I hope we will remember that and
9:54
cherish that in the fight on terrorism. Thank
9:56
you, Senator. Governor Kasem. Thank you, Will.
10:00
This last weekend, a friend asked one of my daughters,
10:04
do you like politics? And my daughter said, no,
10:09
I don't. And the reason I don't like it is because
10:11
there's too much fighting. Too much yelling.
10:14
It's so loud, I don't like it. You know, it turned
10:18
to my friend, and I said, you know, she's really
10:21
on to something. And when we think about our
10:23
country and the big issues, Wolf, that we face
10:26
in this country, creating jobs, making sure people
10:29
can keep their jobs, the need for rising wages,
10:32
whether our children, when they graduate from
10:34
college, can find a job. protecting the homeland,
10:38
destroying ISIS, rebuilding defense. These are
10:41
all the things that we need to focus on. But
10:44
we'll never get there if we're divided. We'll
10:46
never get there if Republicans and Democrats
10:48
just fight with one another. Frankly, we are
10:51
Republicans and they are Democrats. But before
10:54
all of that, we're Americans. And I believe we
10:58
need to unify in so many ways to rebuild our
11:01
country, to strengthen our country, to rebuild
11:03
our defense. and for America to secure its place
11:07
in the world for us, for our children, and for
11:10
the next generation. Thank you. Governor Christie.
11:18
Thank you, Wolf. America has been betrayed. We've
11:23
been betrayed by the leadership that Barack Obama
11:25
and Hillary Clinton have provided to this country
11:28
over the last number of years. Think about just
11:31
what's happened today. The second largest school
11:34
district in America, in Los Angeles, closed based
11:38
on a threat. Think about the effect that that's
11:41
going to have on those children when they go
11:45
back to school tomorrow, wondering, filled with
11:48
anxiety about whether they're really going to
11:49
be safe. Think about the mothers who will take
11:53
those children tomorrow morning to the bus stop,
11:55
wondering whether their children will arrive
11:58
back on that bus safe and sound. Think about
12:02
the fathers of Los Angeles who tomorrow will
12:05
head off to work and wonder about the safety
12:08
of their wives. and their children. What has
12:12
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton done to this
12:14
country? That the most basic responsibility of
12:18
an administration is to protect the safety and
12:21
security of the American people. I will tell
12:23
you this. I'm a former federal prosecutor. I
12:26
fought terrorists and won. And when we get back
12:28
in the White House, we will fight terrorists
12:30
and win again, and America will be safe. Ms.
12:38
Fiorina. Like all of you, I'm angry. I'm angry
12:43
at what's happening to our nation. Citizens,
12:46
it's time to take our country back. Bombast and
12:50
insults won't take it back. Political rhetoric
12:53
that promises a lot and delivers little won't
12:56
take it back. All of our problems can be solved.
13:00
All of our wounds can be healed by a tested leader
13:04
who is willing to fight for the character of
13:07
our nation. I have been tested. I have beaten
13:11
breast cancer. I have buried a child. I started
13:14
as a secretary. I fought my way to the top of
13:18
corporate America while being called every B
13:20
-word in the book. I fought my way into this
13:23
election and onto this debate stage while all
13:26
the political insiders and the pundits told me
13:28
it couldn't be done. I've been told no all my
13:32
life, and all my life I've refused to accept
13:34
no as an answer. Citizens, it is time to take
13:40
our country back. from the political class, from
13:43
the media, from the liberal elites. It can be
13:46
done. It must be done. Join me, and we will get
13:50
it done. Governor Bush. Our freedom is under
14:00
attack. Our economy is underwater. The leading
14:04
Democrat is under investigation. And America
14:07
is under the gun to lead the free world to protect
14:10
our civilized way of life. Serious times require
14:14
strong leadership. That's what's at stake right
14:18
now. Regarding national security, we need to
14:21
restore the defense cuts of Barack Obama, to
14:23
rebuild our military, to destroy ISIS before
14:26
it destroys us. Regarding economic security,
14:29
we need to take power and money away from Washington,
14:32
D .C., and empower American families so that
14:35
they can rise up again. Look, America still is
14:39
an exceptional country. We love to lead, and
14:42
we love to win. And we do it when we take on
14:44
any challenge and when we support our friends.
14:49
As president, I will keep you and our country
14:52
safe, secure, and free. Thank you. Senator Rubio.
15:01
Thank you, Wolf. It's really amazing to be back
15:03
in Las Vegas. I spent six years here as a child
15:05
growing up. Not far from where we stand tonight,
15:08
I used to sit in the porch of our home and listen
15:09
to my grandfather tell stories as he smoked one
15:11
of his three daily cigars. One of the things
15:14
my grandfather instilled in me is that I was
15:16
really blessed. because I was a citizen of the
15:18
greatest country in the history of all mankind.
15:21
But there have always been people in American
15:22
politics that wanted America to be more like
15:24
the rest of the world. And in 2008, one of them
15:27
was elected president of this country. And the
15:30
result has been a disaster. Today, you have millions
15:32
of Americans that feel left out and out of place
15:35
in their own country, struggling to live paycheck
15:37
to paycheck, called bigots because they hold
15:39
on to traditional values. And around the world,
15:42
America's influence has declined. While this
15:44
president's destroyed our military, our allies
15:46
no longer trust us, and our adversaries no longer
15:49
respect us. And that is why this election is
15:51
so important. That is why I'm running for president.
15:54
And that's why I'm going to ask you for your
15:55
vote tonight. If you elect me president, we will
15:58
have a president that believes America is the
16:00
greatest country in the world, and we will have
16:02
a president that acts like it. Senator Cruz.
16:13
Thank you, Wolf. America is at war. Our enemy
16:17
is not violent extremism. It is not some unnamed
16:22
malevolent force. It is radical Islamic terrorism.
16:27
We have a president who is unwilling to utter
16:29
its name. The men and women on this stage, every
16:33
one of us, is better prepared to keep this nation
16:36
safe than is Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.
16:42
We need a president who understands the first
16:46
obligation of the commander -in -chief is to
16:48
keep America safe. If I am elected president,
16:53
we will hunt down and kill the terrorists. We
16:57
will utterly destroy ISIS. We will stop the terrorist
17:03
attacks before they occur because we will not
17:06
be prisoners to political correctness. Rather,
17:09
we will speak the truth. Border security is national
17:12
security, and we will not be admitting jihadists
17:16
as refugees. We will keep America safe. Dr. Carson.
17:28
Thank you, Wolf. Please join me for a moment
17:31
of silence and remembrance of the San Bernardino
17:33
victims. Thank you. You know, our country, since
17:41
its inception, has been at war every 15 or 20
17:46
years. But the war that we are fighting now against
17:49
radical Islamic jihadists is one that we must
17:53
win. Our very existence is dependent upon that.
17:57
You know, as a pediatric neurosurgeon, I frequently
17:59
faced... life and death situations and had to
18:04
come up with the right diagnosis, the right plan,
18:07
and execute that plan frequently with other colleagues.
18:11
Right now, the United States of America is the
18:14
patient, and the patient is in critical condition
18:16
and will not be cured by political correctness
18:20
and will not be cured by timidity. And I am asking
18:25
the Congress, which represents the people, to
18:29
declare war on ISIS so that we can begin the
18:33
process of excising that cancer and begin the
18:36
healing process and bring peace, prosperity,
18:39
and safety back to America. Mr. Trump. Thank
18:48
you. I began this journey six months ago. My
18:54
total focus was on building up our military,
18:58
building up our strength, building up our borders,
19:00
making sure that China, Japan, Mexico, both at
19:05
the border and in trade, no longer takes advantage
19:08
of our country. Certainly would never have made
19:12
that horrible, disgusting, absolutely incompetent
19:17
deal with Iran, where they get $150 billion.
19:20
They're a terrorist nation. But I began it talking
19:24
about other things. And those things are things
19:28
I'm very good at. And maybe that's why I'm center
19:31
stage. People saw it. people liked it people
19:34
respected it a month ago things change radical
19:37
islamic terrorism came into effect even more
19:41
so than it has been in the past people like what
19:44
i say people respect what i say and we've opened
19:48
up a very big discussion that needed to be opened
19:52
up thank you very much thank you since you last
20:00
debated americans have witnessed terror attacks
20:02
in paris and san bernardino The FBI director
20:05
says the country now faces the greatest terror
20:09
threat since 9 -11. You all have different approaches
20:12
to keeping the country safe, and that will be
20:14
the focus of tonight's debate. Mr. Trump, as
20:19
you mentioned in your opening statement, part
20:21
of your strategy is to focus in on America's
20:24
borders. To keep the country safe, you say you
20:27
want to temporarily ban non -American Muslims
20:30
from coming to the United States. ban refugees
20:33
fleeing isis from coming here deport 11 million
20:38
people and wall off america's southern border
20:41
is the best way to make america great again to
20:44
isolate it from much of the rest of the world
20:47
we are not talking about isolation we're talking
20:51
about security we're not talking about religion
20:53
we're talking about security our country is out
20:57
of control people are pouring across the southern
21:00
border i will build a wall it'll be a great wall
21:03
people will not come in unless they come in illegally
21:05
drugs will not pour through that wall as far
21:09
as other people like in the migration where they're
21:12
going tens of thousands of people having cell
21:16
phones with isis flags on them i don't think
21:19
so wolf they're not coming to this country and
21:21
if i'm president and if Obama has brought some
21:24
to this country. They are leaving. They're going.
21:27
They're gone. Governor Bush, you called Mr. Trump
21:36
unhinged when he proposed banning non -American
21:39
Muslims from the United States. Why is that unhinged?
21:42
Well, first of all, we need to destroy ISIS in
21:45
the caliphate. That should be our objective.
21:48
The refugee issue will be solved if we destroy
21:51
ISIS there, which means we need to have a no
21:53
-fly zone, safe zones there for refugees, and
21:56
to build a military force. We need to embed our
21:58
forces, our troops, inside the Iraqi military.
22:01
We need to arm directly the Kurds. And all of
22:04
that has to be done in concert with the Arab
22:07
nations. And if we're going to ban all Muslims,
22:09
how are we going to get them to be part of a
22:11
coalition to destroy ISIS? The Kurds are the
22:14
greatest fighting force and our strongest allies.
22:16
They're Muslim. Look, this is not a serious proposal.
22:19
In fact, it will push the Muslim world, the Arab
22:23
world, away from us at a time when we need to
22:25
reengage with them. to be able to create a strategy
22:28
to destroy isis so donald you know is great at
22:31
at the one -liners but he's a chaos candidate
22:35
and he'd be a chaos president he would not be
22:38
the commander -in -chief we need to keep our
22:40
country safe mr trump jeb doesn't really believe
22:53
i'm unhinged he said that very simply because
22:55
he has failed in this campaign it's been a total
22:58
disaster Nobody cares. And frankly, I'm the most
23:02
solid person up here. I built a tremendous company.
23:04
And all I want to do is make America great again.
23:07
I don't want our country to be taken away from
23:10
us. And that's what's happening. The policies
23:12
that we've suffered under other presidents have
23:16
been a disaster for our country. We want to make
23:19
America great again. And Jeb, in all fairness,
23:21
he doesn't believe that. Look, he mentioned me.
23:24
I can bring it. I can talk. This is the problem.
23:27
Banning all Muslims will make it harder for us
23:29
to do exactly what we need to do, which is to
23:32
destroy ISIS. We need a strategy. We need to
23:34
get the lawyers off the back of the war fighters.
23:36
Right now, under President Obama, we've created
23:39
this standard that is so high that it's impossible
23:42
to be successful in fighting ISIS. We need to
23:45
engage with the Arab world to make this happen.
23:47
It is not a serious proposal to say to the people
23:50
that you're asking for their support that they
23:53
can't even come to the country to even engage
23:55
in a dialogue with us. That's not a serious proposal.
23:58
We need a serious leader to deal with this, and
24:01
I believe I'm that guy. Senator Rubio, I'm going
24:04
to go to Senator Rubio and get his thoughts.
24:06
You have said banning Muslims is unconstitutional,
24:09
but according to a recent ABC News Washington
24:12
Post... poll a majority of republicans support
24:15
mr trump's idea why are they wrong well i understand
24:19
why they feel that way because this president
24:21
hasn't kept us safe the problem is we had an
24:23
attack in san bernardino and we were paying attention
24:26
to the most important issue we have faced in
24:27
this country in a decade since 9 11 and then
24:30
all the talk was about this proposal which isn't
24:32
going to happen But this is what's important
24:34
to do. We must deal frontally with this threat
24:36
of radical Islamists, especially from ISIS. This
24:38
is the most sophisticated terror group that has
24:40
ever threatened the world or the United States
24:42
of America. They are actively recruiting Americans.
24:45
The attacker in San Bernardino was an American
24:47
citizen. Born and raised in this country, he
24:49
was a health inspector, had a newborn child,
24:52
and left all that behind to kill 14 people. We
24:55
also understand that this is a group that's growing
24:57
in its governance of territory. It's not just
24:59
Iraq and Syria. They are now a predominant group
25:01
in Libya. They are beginning to pop up in Afghanistan.
25:04
They are increasingly involved now in attacks
25:06
in Yemen. They have Jordan in their sights. This
25:08
group needs to be confronted with serious proposals,
25:11
and this is a very significant threat we face,
25:13
and the president has left us unsafe. He spoke
25:16
the other night to the American people to reassure
25:18
us. I wish he hadn't spoken at all. He made things
25:20
worse because what he basically said was we are
25:22
going to keep doing what we're doing now, and
25:24
what we are doing now is not working. Hugh Hewitt,
25:27
you have a question. Senator Cruz. You've said
25:34
you disagree with Mr. Trump's policy. I don't
25:37
want to cage match. You've tweeted you don't
25:39
want to cage match, but Republican primary voters
25:41
deserve to know. With the kind of specificity
25:44
and responsiveness you delivered in your nine
25:45
Supreme Court arguments, how you disagree with
25:48
Mr. Trump. Will you spell that out with us? Well,
25:51
listen, Hugh, everyone understands why Donald
25:53
has suggested what he has. We're looking at a
25:56
president who's engaged in this doublespeak,
25:59
where he doesn't call radical Islamic terrorism.
26:02
by its name. Indeed, he gives a speech after
26:06
the San Bernardino attack where his approach
26:09
is to try to go after the constitutional rights
26:11
of law -abiding citizens rather than to keep
26:13
us safe. And even worse, President Obama and
26:16
Hillary Clinton are proposing bringing tens of
26:19
thousands of Syrian refugees to this country
26:22
when the head of the FBI has told Congress they
26:25
cannot vet those refugees. I understand why Donald
26:29
made that proposal. I introduced legislation
26:31
in the Senate that I believe is more narrowly
26:33
focused at the actual threat, which is radical
26:36
Islamic terrorism. And what my legislation would
26:38
do is suspend all refugees for three years from
26:43
countries where ISIS or al -Qaeda control substantial
26:46
territory. So you're saying you disagree because
26:49
he's too broad and you have a narrower focus?
26:52
Why do you disagree with him? Well, you know,
26:54
I'm reminded of what FDR's grandfather said.
26:58
He said, all horse thieves are Democrats, but
27:02
not all Democrats are horse thieves. In this
27:07
instance, there are millions of peaceful Muslims
27:10
across the world in countries like India where
27:13
there is not... the problems we are seeing in
27:16
nations that are controlled, have territory controlled
27:19
by Al -Qaeda or ISIS, and we should direct at
27:23
the problem, focus on the problem, and defeat
27:25
radical Islamic terrorism. It's not a war on
27:29
a faith. It's a war on a political and theocratic
27:32
ideology that seeks to murder us. Carly Fiorina,
27:35
this is the Christmas dinner debate. This will
27:41
be the debate that Americans talk about at Christmas,
27:43
and thus far in the first ten minutes. We haven't
27:45
heard a lot about Ronald Reagan's city on a hill.
27:48
We've heard a lot about keeping Americans out
27:49
and keeping Americans safe and everyone else
27:51
out. Is this what you want the party to stand
27:54
for? What I think we need to stand for are solutions.
27:58
I offer myself as a leader to the people of this
28:01
country because I think they're looking for solutions,
28:04
not lawyers arguing over laws or entertainers
28:07
throwing out sound bites that draw media attention.
28:10
We need to solve the problem. To solve the problem,
28:12
we need to do... something here at home and something
28:16
over there in their caliphate. We need to deny
28:18
them territory. But here at home, we need to
28:20
do two fundamental things. Number one, we need
28:23
to recognize that technology has moved on. The
28:26
Patriot Act was signed in 2001, roughly. The
28:30
iPhone was invented in 2007. The iPad was invented
28:34
in 2011. Snapchat and Twitter, all the rest of
28:40
it. have been around just for several years.
28:43
Technology has moved on and the terrorists have
28:45
moved on with it. Let me tell you a story. Soon
28:47
after 9 -11, I got a phone call from the NSA.
28:50
They needed help. I gave them help. I stopped
28:53
a truckload of equipment. I had it turned around.
28:56
It was escorted by the NSA into headquarters.
28:59
We need the private sector's help because government
29:02
is not innovating. Technology is running ahead
29:06
by leaps and bounds. The private sector will
29:08
help, just as I helped after 9 -11. But they
29:12
must be engaged, and they must be asked. I will
29:15
ask them. I know them. Governor Christie. Americans
29:22
are clearly more afraid today than at any time
29:25
since 9 -11 as you mentioned in your opening
29:28
statement today in Los Angeles 650 schoolchildren
29:31
didn't go to 650 ,000 schoolchildren didn't go
29:34
to school because of an email threat this two
29:38
weeks after an attack killed 14 people in San
29:42
Bernardino is this the new normal and if so what
29:46
steps would you take as president of the United
29:48
States to ensure that fear does not paralyze
29:52
America. Wolf, unfortunately, it's the new normal
29:55
under Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The fact
29:59
is that if you listen to Hillary Clinton the
30:00
other day, what she said to the American people
30:03
was, as regards to ISIS, my strategy would be
30:05
just about the same as the president's. Just
30:09
about the same as the president's? We have people
30:12
across this country who are scared to death.
30:16
Because I can tell you this, as a former federal
30:19
prosecutor, If a Center for the Developmentally
30:22
Disabled in San Bernardino, California, is now
30:26
a target for terrorists, that means everywhere
30:29
in America is a target for these terrorists.
30:33
Now, I spent seven years of my life in the immediate
30:36
aftermath of September 11th doing this work,
30:38
working with the Patriot Act, working with our
30:41
law enforcement, working with the surveillance
30:42
community to make sure that we keep America safe.
30:45
What we need to do, Wolf, is restore those tools
30:47
that have been taken away. by the president and
30:50
others. Restore those tools to the NSA and to
30:53
our entire surveillance and law enforcement community.
30:55
We need a president who's going to understand
30:57
what actionable intelligence looks like and act
30:59
on it. And we need a president and a cabinet
31:03
who understands that the first and most important
31:06
priority of the president of the United States
31:07
is to protect the safety and security of Americans.
31:09
As someone who has done it, I will make sure
31:12
it gets done again. Thank you. Governor Kasich.
31:17
One of the killers in San Bernardino was an American
31:20
who was not on anyone's watch list. How are you
31:23
going to find that radicalized person and stop
31:26
another such attack? Well, first of all, Wolf,
31:30
I said last February that we needed to have people
31:34
on the ground, troops on the ground, in a coalition
31:37
similar to what we had in the first Gulf War.
31:40
I remember when the Egyptian ambassador to the
31:43
United States stood in the Rose Garden and pledged
31:45
Arab... commitment to removing Saddam Hussein
31:48
from Kuwait. Before we came out here tonight,
31:51
I am told the Saudis have organized 34 countries
31:55
who want to join in the battle against terrorism.
31:58
First and foremost, we need to go and destroy
32:01
ISIS. And we need to do this with our Arab friends
32:04
and our friends in Europe. And when I see they
32:07
have a climate conference over in Paris, they
32:10
should have been talking about destroying ISIS
32:12
because they are involved in virtually every
32:14
country. You know, across this world. Now, you
32:18
destroy ISIS in a coalition, you get joint intelligence
32:23
with our European friends, and then here at home,
32:26
there are things called the Joint Terrorism Task
32:28
Force, headed by the FBI and made up of local
32:32
law enforcement, including state police. They
32:35
need the tools, and the tools involve encryption,
32:38
where we cannot hear what they're even planning.
32:40
And when we see red flags... a father, a mother,
32:44
a neighbor who says, we've got a problem here,
32:46
then we have to give law enforcement the ability
32:48
to listen so they can disrupt these terrorist
32:51
attacks before they occur. We can do this, but
32:55
we've got to get moving. Pay me now or pay me
32:58
a lot more later. This is the direction we need
33:00
to go. Thank you. Dana Bash, you have the next
33:03
question. A crucial question is how to balance
33:06
surveillance with privacy and keeping Americans
33:08
safe. Senator Cruz, you voted for a bill that
33:12
President Obama signed into law just this past
33:14
June that made it harder for the government to
33:16
access Americans' phone records. In light of
33:19
the San Bernardino attack, was your vote a mistake?
33:22
Well, Dana, the premise of your question is not
33:25
accurate. I'm very proud to have joined with
33:27
conservatives in both the Senate and the House
33:29
to reform how we target bad guys. And what the
33:33
USA Freedom Act did is it did two things. Number
33:36
one, it ended the federal government's bulk collection
33:39
of phone metadata of millions of law -abiding
33:42
citizens. But number two, and the second half
33:44
of it that is critical, it strengthened the tools
33:48
of national security and law enforcement to go
33:50
after terrorists. It gave us greater tools, and
33:53
we are seeing those tools work right now in San
33:56
Bernardino. And in particular, what it did...
33:59
is the prior program only covered a relatively
34:01
narrow slice of phone calls. When you had a terrorist,
34:04
you could only search a relatively narrow slice
34:07
of numbers, primarily landlines. The USA Freedom
34:10
Act expands that, so now we have cell phones,
34:13
now we have internet phones, now we have the
34:15
phones the terrorists are likely to use, and
34:18
the focus of law enforcement is on targeting
34:20
the bad guys. You know what? The Obama administration
34:22
keeps getting wrong. is whenever anything bad
34:25
happens, they focus on law -abiding citizens
34:28
instead of focusing on the bad guys. We need
34:30
to focus on radical Islamic terrorists, and we
34:33
need to stop them before they carry out acts
34:35
of terror. Thank you. Senator Rubio, Senator
34:38
Cruz is right. There was bipartisan support for
34:40
that, but you voted against it. So is Senator
34:43
Cruz wrong? He is, and so are those that voted
34:45
for it. There were some that voted for it because
34:47
they wanted to keep it alive, and they were afraid
34:48
the whole program would expire. Here's the world
34:50
we live in. This is a radical jihadist group
34:53
that is increasingly sophisticated in its ability,
34:56
for example, to radicalize American citizens,
34:58
in its ability to exploit loopholes in our legal
35:00
immigration system, in its ability to capture
35:03
and hold territory in the Middle East, as I outlined
35:05
earlier, in multiple countries. This is not just
35:08
the most capable, it is the most sophisticated
35:09
terror threat we have ever faced. We are now
35:12
at a time when we need more tools, not less tools.
35:14
And that tool we lost, the metadata program,
35:16
was a valuable tool that we no longer have at
35:18
our disposal. Senator Cruz? Well, you know, I
35:22
would note that Marco knows what he's saying
35:24
isn't true. You know, Mark Levin wrote a column
35:26
last week that says that the attack ads his super
35:29
PAC is running that are saying the same thing,
35:31
that they are knowingly false and they are in
35:34
fact Alinsky -like attacks like Barack Obama.
35:37
And the reason is simple. What he knows is that
35:40
the old program covered 20 to 30 percent of phone
35:43
numbers to search for terrorists. The new program
35:46
covers nearly 100 percent. That gives us greater
35:49
ability to stop acts of terrorism. And he knows
35:52
that that's the case. Dana, may I interject?
35:55
Let me be very careful in answering this because
35:58
I don't think national television in front of
35:59
15 million people is the place to discuss classified
36:02
information. So let me just be very clear. There
36:04
is nothing that we are allowed to do under this
36:06
bill that we could not do before. This bill did,
36:10
however, take away a valuable tool. that allowed
36:12
the National Security Agency and other intelligence
36:16
agencies to quickly and rapidly access phone
36:19
records and match them up with other phone records
36:21
to see who terrorists have been calling. Because
36:24
I promise you, the next time there is an attack
36:26
on this country, the first thing people are going
36:28
to want to know is, why didn't we know about
36:30
it and why didn't we stop it? And the answer
36:32
better not be because we didn't have access to
36:35
records or information that would have allowed
36:37
us to identify these killers before they attacked
36:39
us. Senator Paul, I know this is for you, for
36:50
increased surveillance by law enforcement. You
36:53
call that hogwash. Why is that hogwash? You know,
36:57
I think Marco gets it completely wrong. We are
37:00
not any safer through the bulk collection of
37:02
all Americans' records. In fact, I think we're
37:04
less safe. We get so distracted by all of the
37:07
information, we're not spending enough time getting
37:09
specific immigration, specific information on
37:13
terrorists. The other thing is, is the one thing
37:15
that might have stopped Senator Bernardino, that
37:17
might have stopped 9 -11, would have been stricter
37:19
controls on those who came here. And Marco has
37:21
opposed at every point increased security, border
37:25
security for those who come to our country. On
37:27
his Gang of Eight bill, He would have liberalized
37:30
immigration, but he did not, and he steadfastly
37:33
opposed any new border security requirements
37:36
for refugees or students. Last week, I introduced
37:40
another bill saying we need more security. We
37:43
need more scrutiny. Once again, Marco opposed
37:45
this. So Marco can't have it both ways. He thinks
37:48
he wants to be this, oh, I'm great and strong
37:50
on national defense, but he's the weakest of
37:52
all the candidates on immigration. He is the
37:54
one for an open border that is leaving us defenseless.
37:57
If we want to defend the country, we have to
37:59
defend against those who are coming in. And Marco
38:01
has more of an allegiance to Chuck Schumer and
38:05
to the liberals than he does to conservative
38:06
policy. i want to thank rand for another 30 seconds
38:16
because number one what he's pointing to is a
38:18
bill last week that amendment he voted for that
38:20
only 10 people voted for you know why because
38:22
it's not focused on terrorists it would have
38:24
banned anyone from coming here someone from taiwan
38:26
would not have been able to come here as a tourist
38:28
number two this program this metadata program
38:31
is actually more strict than what a regular law
38:34
law enforcement agency has now if a regular law
38:37
enforcement agency wants your phone records all
38:39
they have to do is issue a subpoena But now the
38:41
intelligence agency is not able to quickly gather
38:44
records and look at them to see who these terrorists
38:46
are calling. And the terrorist that attacked
38:48
us in San Bernardino was an American citizen,
38:50
born and raised in this country. And I bet you
38:53
we wish we would have had access to five years
38:55
of his records so we could see who he was working
38:57
with. Governor Christie, you heard the report.
39:01
Governor Christie, I'll come to you in a minute.
39:03
Since I was mentioned in the question, can I
39:05
respond? Go ahead, please. Marco still misunderstands
39:09
the immigration issue. What I put forward was
39:12
an amendment that would have temporarily halted
39:14
immigration from high -risk terrorist countries,
39:16
but it would have started it up, but I want them
39:18
to go through global entry, which is a program
39:20
where we do background checks. The thing is,
39:22
is that every terrorist attack we've had since
39:24
9 -11 has been legal immigration. Marco wants
39:28
to expand that. I want more rules, more scrutiny,
39:31
and to defend the country, you have to defend
39:33
the border. Senator, we're going to talk about
39:35
immigration in a while. You heard Senator Paul,
39:42
Senator Cruz talk about how important it is to
39:46
protect Americans' privacy, even in a time of
39:48
grave danger. What's wrong with that? Listen,
39:51
I want to talk to the audience at home for a
39:53
second. If your eyes are glazed over like mine,
39:55
this is what it's like to be on the floor of
39:57
the United States Senate. I mean, endless debates
40:00
about how many angels on the head of a pin from
40:02
people who've never had to make a consequential
40:04
decision in an executive position. The fact is,
40:08
for seven years, I had to make these decisions
40:10
after 9 -11. Make a decision about how to proceed
40:13
forward with an investigation or how to pull
40:14
back, whether you use certain actionable intelligence
40:17
or whether not to. And yet they continue to debate
40:19
about this bill and the subcommittee and what
40:21
nobody in America cares about. that what they
40:23
care about is are we gonna have a president who
40:25
actually knows what they're doing to make these
40:28
decisions and for the seven years afterwards
40:30
New Jersey was threatened like no other region
40:32
in this country and what we did was we took actions
40:35
within the Constitution to make sure that law
40:38
enforcement had all the information they needed
40:40
we prosecuted two of the biggest terrorism cases
40:42
in the world and stopped Fort Dix from being
40:44
attacked by six American radicalized Muslims
40:47
from a mosque in New Jersey because we worked
40:50
with the Muslim American community to get intelligence
40:52
and we used the Patriot Act to get other intelligence
40:55
to make sure we did those cases. This is the
40:57
difference between actually having been a federal
40:59
prosecutor, actually doing something, and just
41:01
spending your life as one of a hundred debating
41:03
it. Let's talk about how we do this, not about
41:06
which bill each one of these guys likes more.
41:09
The American people don't care about that. Thank
41:11
you. Dr. Carson, you're in favor of monitoring
41:19
mosques and schools where there is anti -American
41:22
sentiment. What do you consider anti -American?
41:26
But first of all, let me just complain a little
41:28
bit. This is the first time I've spoken, and
41:30
several people have had multiple questions, so
41:33
please try to pay attention to that. Now, as
41:36
far as monitoring is concerned, my point is we
41:42
need to make sure that any place, I don't care
41:45
whether it's a mosque, a school, a supermarket,
41:49
you know a theater it doesn't matter if there
41:51
are a lot of people getting there engaging and
41:54
radicalizing activities then we need to be suspicious
41:58
of it we have to get rid of all this pc stuff
42:01
and and people are worried about somebody's going
42:04
to say that i'm islamophobic or what have you
42:07
This is craziness because we are at war. That's
42:11
why I ask Congress, go ahead and declare the
42:13
war. We need to be on a war footing. We need
42:15
to understand that our nation is in grave danger.
42:19
You know, what the Muslim Brotherhood said in
42:22
the explanatory memorandum that was discovered
42:25
during the Holy Land Foundation trial is that
42:28
they will take advantage of our PC attitude to
42:33
get us. And we have to be better than this. We
42:35
have to be smarter than they are. Dr. Carson,
42:37
who was right in that little debate we just heard
42:39
between Senator Rubio and Senator Paul? I think
42:44
you have to ask them about that. I don't want
42:48
to get in between them. Let them fight. Wolf.
42:51
Wolf. Hold on one second. We have a lot more
42:54
to come, and everybody's going to have their
42:55
full opportunities. Governor Bush, six days after
43:00
9 -11, your brother visited a mosque and said,
43:03
quote, Islam is peace. The conversation tonight
43:06
is about banning Muslims and surveillance of
43:10
mosques. Are President Bush's words still relevant
43:13
in today's Republican Party? They are relevant
43:16
if we want to destroy ISIS, if we want to destroy
43:19
radical Islamic terrorism. We can't disassociate
43:22
ourselves from peace -loving Muslims. If we expect
43:26
to do this on our own, we will fail. But if we
43:29
do it in unison with people... who also are at
43:32
risk and threatened by Islamic radical terrorism
43:35
will be far more successful. Look, the FBI has
43:38
the tools necessary to monitor un -American activities
43:41
in our country. It goes on. We shouldn't even
43:44
be talking about it, to be honest with you, out
43:46
in the public. Of course they have those capabilities,
43:48
and we should make sure that we give the FBI,
43:51
the NSA, our intelligence communities, all the
43:54
resources they need to keep us safe. But the
43:57
main thing we should be focused on is a strategy
43:59
to destroy ISIS. And I laid out a plan at the
44:01
Reagan Library before the tragedy of Paris and
44:04
before San Bernardino to do just that. It requires
44:07
leadership. It's not filing an amendment and
44:09
calling it success. It is developing a strategy,
44:13
leading the world, funding it to make sure that
44:16
we have a military that's second to none, and
44:18
doing the job in making sure that we destroy
44:21
ISIS there. That's how you keep America safe.
44:24
Ms. Fiorina. as you pointed out you were a ceo
44:28
in silicon valley on 9 11. companies there they
44:31
say they won't help the fbi now crack encrypted
44:34
communications from isis should they be forced
44:38
to you know listening to this conversation let
44:41
me just say we have a lot of argument about laws
44:45
but none of it solves the problem let's examine
44:48
what happened why did we miss the sarnaev brothers
44:53
Why did we miss the San Bernardino couple? It
44:56
wasn't because we had stopped collecting metadata.
44:59
It was because, I think, as someone who comes
45:01
from the technology world, we were using the
45:03
wrong algorithms. This is a place where the private
45:06
sector could be helpful because the government
45:08
is woefully behind the technology curve. But
45:11
secondly, secondly... The bureaucratic processes
45:15
that have been in place since 9 -11 are woefully
45:18
inadequate as well. What do we now know? That
45:21
DHS vets people by going into databases of known
45:25
or suspected terrorists. And yet we also know
45:28
that ISIS is recruiting people who are not in
45:31
those databases. So, of course, we're going to
45:33
miss them. And then we now learn that DHS says,
45:36
no, we can't check their social media. For heaven's
45:39
sakes, every parent in America is checking social
45:41
media, and every employer is as well. but our
45:43
government can't do it. The bureaucratic procedures
45:46
are so far behind. Our government has become
45:49
incompetent, unresponsive, corrupt. And that
45:52
incompetence, ineptitude, lack of accountability
45:55
is now dangerous. It is why we need a different
45:59
kind of leadership in the White House that understands
46:01
how to get bureaucracies competent again. But
46:04
my question was, should these Silicon Valley
46:07
companies... be forced to cooperate with the
46:10
fbi they do not need to be forced they need to
46:14
be asked to bring the best and brightest the
46:18
most recent technology to the table i was asked
46:21
as a ceo i complied happily and they will as
46:24
well but they have not been asked that's why
46:27
it cost billions of dollars to build an obama
46:30
website that failed because the private sector
46:33
wasn't asked mr trump You recently suggested
46:43
closing that Internet up, those were your words,
46:46
as a way to stop ISIS from recruiting online.
46:49
Are you referring to closing down actual portions
46:52
of the Internet? Some say that would put the
46:55
U .S. in line with China and North Korea. Well,
46:59
look, this is so easy to answer. ISIS is recruiting
47:03
through the Internet. ISIS is using the Internet
47:06
better than we are using the Internet, and it
47:09
was our idea. What I wanted to do is I wanted
47:12
to get our brilliant people. from Silicon Valley
47:15
and other places and figure out a way that ISIS
47:19
cannot do what they're doing. You talk freedom
47:22
of speech. You talk freedom of anything you want.
47:24
I don't want them using our Internet to take
47:27
our young, impressionable youth and watching
47:30
the media talking about how they're masterminds.
47:33
These are masterminds. They shouldn't be using
47:34
the word mastermind. These are thugs. These are
47:37
terrible people in ISIS, not masterminds. And
47:40
we have to change it from every standpoint. but
47:43
we should be using our brilliant people our most
47:46
brilliant minds to figure a way that isis cannot
47:50
use the internet and then on second we should
47:53
be able to penetrate the internet and find out
47:56
exactly where isis is and everything about isis
47:59
and we can do that if we use our good people
48:02
let me follow up mr trump so are you open to
48:07
closing parts of the internet I would certainly
48:11
be open to closing areas where we are at war
48:14
with somebody. I sure as hell don't want to let
48:17
people that want to kill us and kill our nation
48:20
use our Internet. Yes, sir, I am. Thank you.
48:23
Governor Kasich, is shutting down any part of
48:26
the Internet a good idea? No, I don't think it
48:29
is. And I want to go back to two other issues.
48:31
One is the metadata. We know we have to hold
48:34
this data for a longer period of time. And, you
48:37
know, in a lot of ways, Chris is right. Look,
48:39
what a president has to do is stake a position.
48:41
We don't want to err on the side of having less.
48:44
We want to err on the side of having more. That's
48:46
good for our families. In addition to that, Wolf,
48:49
there is a big problem. It's called encryption.
48:52
And the people in San Bernardino were communicating
48:55
with people who the FBI had been watching. But
48:59
because their phone was encrypted, because the
49:02
intelligence officials could not see. who they
49:06
were talking to, it was lost. We have to solve
49:09
the encryption problem. It is not easy. A president
49:12
of the United States, again, has to bring people
49:15
together, have a position. We need to be able
49:17
to penetrate these people when they are involved
49:20
in these plots and these plans, and we have to
49:23
give the local authorities the ability to penetrate
49:26
the disrupt. That's what we need to do. Encryption
49:29
is a major problem, and Congress has got to deal
49:32
with this, and so does the president, to keep
49:34
us safe. Thank you, Governor. The fight against
49:36
radical Islamic terrorists and ISIS has been
49:39
called the war of our time, so let's talk about
49:42
how each of you, as Commander -in -Chief, would
49:45
fight this war and win it. Senator Cruz, you
49:49
have said you would, quote, carpet bomb ISIS
49:52
into oblivion, testing whether, quote, sand can
49:55
glow in the dark. Does that mean leveling the
49:59
ISIS capital of Raqqa in Syria, where there are
50:02
hundreds of thousands of civilians? What it means
50:05
is using overwhelming air power to utterly and
50:08
completely destroy ISIS. To put things in perspective,
50:12
in the first Persian Gulf War, We launched roughly
50:15
1 ,100 air attacks a day. We carpet bombed them
50:18
for 37 days, saturation bombing, after which
50:22
our troops went in and in a day and a half mopped
50:25
up what was left of the Iraqi army. Right now,
50:28
Obama is launching between 15 and 30 air attacks
50:31
a day. It is photo -op foreign policy. We need
50:34
to use overwhelming air power. We need to be
50:37
arming the Kurds. We need to be fighting and
50:40
killing ISIS where they are. And let me go back
50:42
to the earlier discussion a minute ago. It's
50:44
not a lack of competence that is preventing the
50:47
Obama administration from stopping these attacks.
50:50
It is political correctness. We didn't monitor
50:53
the Facebook posting of the female San Bernardino
50:56
terrorist. because the Obama DHS thought it would
50:59
be inappropriate. She made a public call to jihad,
51:03
and they didn't target it. The Tsarnaev brothers,
51:05
the elder brother made a public call to jihad,
51:08
and the Obama administration didn't target it.
51:10
Nidal Hasan communicated with Anwar al -Awlaki,
51:14
a known radical cleric, asked about waging jihad
51:17
against his fellow soldiers. The problem is,
51:20
because of political correctness, the Obama administration,
51:24
like a lot of folks here, want... to search everyone's
51:28
cell phones and emails and not focus on the bad
51:31
guys and political correctness is killing people
51:33
thank you to be clear senator cruz would you
51:38
carpet bomb iraqa the isis capital where there
51:41
are a lot of civilians yes or no you would carpet
51:45
bomb where isis is not a city but the location
51:48
of the troops you use air power directed and
51:50
you have embedded special forces to direct the
51:52
air power but the object isn't to level a city
51:56
The object is to kill the ISIS terrorists to
51:59
make it... Listen, ISIS is gaining strength because
52:02
the perception is that they're winning, and President
52:05
Obama fuels that perception. That will change
52:08
when militants across the globe see that when
52:12
you join ISIS... that you are giving up your
52:17
life, you are signing your death warrant, and
52:19
we need a president who is focused on defeating
52:21
every single ISIS terrorist and protecting the
52:25
homeland, which should be the first priority.
52:27
Thank you, Senator. Senator Rubio, you've been
52:30
critical of Senator Cruz's strategy. You say
52:32
his voting record doesn't match his rhetoric.
52:35
Why? Well, let me begin by saying that we have
52:38
to understand who ISIS is. ISIS is a radical
52:40
Sunni group. They cannot just be defeated through
52:42
airstrikes. airstrikes are a key component of
52:45
defeating them but they must be defeated on the
52:46
ground by a ground force and that ground force
52:49
must be primarily made up of sunni arabs themselves
52:51
sunni arabs that reject them ideologically and
52:54
confront them militarily we will have to embed
52:57
additional american special operators alongside
52:59
them to help them with training to help them
53:02
conduct special missions and to help improve
53:04
the airstrikes the airstrikes are important but
53:07
we need to have an air force capable of it and
53:09
because of the budget cuts we are facing in this
53:10
country We are going to be left with the oldest
53:12
and the smallest air force we have ever had.
53:15
We have to reverse those cuts, in addition to
53:17
the cuts to our Navy and in addition to the cuts
53:19
to our Army as well. And beyond that, I would
53:21
say we must win the information war against ISIS.
53:24
Every war we have ever been involved in has had
53:26
a propaganda informational aspect to it. ISIS
53:29
is winning the propaganda war. They are recruiting
53:31
people, including Americans, to join them with
53:34
the promise that they are joining this great
53:35
apocalyptic movement that is going to defeat
53:37
the West. We have to show what life is really
53:39
like in ISIS territory, and we have to show them
53:42
why ISIS is not invincible by going out and conducting
53:44
these attacks and publicizing them to those who
53:47
they recruit. Because I asked the question, Senator,
53:50
because you said this. You said he, referring
53:53
to Senator Cruz, voted against the Defense Authorization
53:56
Act every year that it came up. And I assume
53:58
that if he voted against it, he would veto it
54:01
as president. That's the bill that funds our
54:04
troops. That is accurate. Three times he voted
54:06
against the Defense Authorization Act, which
54:08
is a bill that funds the troops. It also, by
54:10
the way, funds the Iron Dome and other important
54:12
programs. And I have to assume that if you vote
54:14
against it in the Senate, you would also veto
54:16
it as president. by the way, a budget that is
54:20
called the containment budget. And it is a budget
54:22
that would radically reduce the amount of money
54:24
we spend on our military. You can't carpet bomb
54:26
ISIS if you don't have planes and bombs to attack
54:28
them with. And if we continue those cuts that
54:30
we're doing now, not to mention additional cuts,
54:33
we are going to be left with the oldest and the
54:35
smallest air force this country has ever had.
54:37
And that leaves us less safe. Senator Cruz. Well,
54:40
you know, Marco has continued these attacks,
54:43
and he knows they're not true. Yes, it is true
54:45
that I voted against the National Defense Authorization
54:47
Act because when I campaigned in Texas, I told
54:51
voters in Texas that I would oppose the federal
54:54
government having the authority to detain U .S.
54:57
citizens permanently with no due process. I have
55:00
repeatedly supported an effort to take that out
55:02
of that bill, and I honored that campaign commitment.
55:05
But more broadly, you know, the notion Marco
55:07
is suggesting that somehow he also has tossed
55:10
more than a few insults this direction. Let's
55:14
be absolutely clear. ISIS and radical Islamic
55:20
terrorism will face no more determined foe than
55:24
I will be. We will utterly destroy them by targeting
55:28
the bad guys. And one of the problems with Marco's
55:31
foreign policy is he is far too often supported.
55:35
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama undermining
55:38
governments in the Middle East that have helped
55:40
radical Islamic terrorists. We need to focus
55:42
on killing the bad guys, not getting stuck in
55:45
Middle Eastern civil wars that don't keep America
55:48
safe. Senator Rubio. Yeah, let me, three points
55:50
of distinction. The first is, if you're an American
55:52
citizen and you decide to join up with ISIS,
55:54
we're not going to read you your Miranda rights.
55:56
You're going to be treated as an enemy combatant,
55:58
a member of an army attacking this country. Number
56:03
two. We do need our defense capabilities. It
56:07
is a fact that the cuts we are facing today and
56:09
the cuts that Senator Cruz would have supported
56:10
would leave us with an even smaller Air Force
56:13
and a smaller Navy than the one we are going
56:14
to be left with. And the final point that I would
56:16
make is Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's strategy
56:19
is to lead from behind. It sounds like what he's
56:21
outlining is not to lead at all. We cannot continue
56:24
to outsource foreign policy. We must lead. We
56:26
are the most powerful nation in the world. We
56:28
need to begin to act like it again. We're going
56:30
to have much more on this, but I want to move
56:33
now back to Mr. Trump. This legislation on indefinite
56:38
detention deserves a little more attention. We
56:39
have a lot to discuss. I want to move to Mr.
56:41
Trump right now. We have a question on this war
56:45
against ISIS and how you would fight and win
56:47
this war. Here is the question from Facebook.
56:50
Listen to this. I'm Josh Jacob from Georgia Tech.
56:54
Recently, Donald Trump mentioned that we must
56:56
kill the families of ISIS members. However, this
56:58
violates the principle of distinction between
57:00
civilians and combatants in international law.
57:02
So my question is, how would intentionally killing
57:05
innocent civilians set us apart from ISIS? Mr.
57:08
Trump, we have to be much tougher. We have to
57:11
be much stronger than we've been. We have people
57:14
that know what's going on. You take a look at
57:16
just the attack in California the other day.
57:18
There were numerous people, including the mother,
57:20
that knew what was going on. They saw a pipe
57:22
bomb sitting all over the floor. They saw ammunition
57:25
all over the place. They knew exactly what was
57:26
going on. When you had the World Trade Center
57:29
go, people were put into planes that were friends,
57:33
family, girlfriends. and they were put into planes,
57:36
and they were sent back for the most part to
57:38
Saudi Arabia. They knew what was going on. They
57:40
went home, and they wanted to watch their boyfriends
57:43
on television. I would be very, very firm with
57:46
families. And frankly, that will make people
57:48
think, because they may not care much about their
57:51
lives, but they do care, believe it or not, about
57:54
their families' lives. Donald, this is not...
57:56
Governor Bush, Governor Bush. This is another
57:59
example of the lack of seriousness. Look, this
58:03
is... This is troubling because we're at war.
58:05
They've declared war on us, and we need to have
58:08
a serious strategy to destroy ISIS. But the idea
58:11
that that is a solution to this is just crazy.
58:14
It makes no sense to suggest this. Look, two
58:17
months ago, Donald Trump said that ISIS was not
58:21
our fight, just two months ago. He said that
58:23
Hillary Clinton would be a great negotiator with
58:26
Iran, and he gets his foreign policy experience
58:29
from the shows. That is not a serious kind of
58:33
candidate. We need someone that thinks this through,
58:36
that can lead our country to safety and security.
58:39
Mr. Trump, look, the problem is we need toughness.
58:46
Honestly, I think Jeb is a very nice person.
58:49
He's a very nice person, but we need tough people.
58:51
We need toughness. We need intelligence, and
58:53
we need tough. Jeb said when they come across
58:55
the southern border, they come as an act of love.
58:58
You said on September 30th that ISIS was not
59:00
a factor. Am I talking or are you talking, Jeb?
59:02
I'm talking right now. I'm talking. You can go
59:04
back. You're not talking. You interrupted me,
59:07
Jeb. September 30th, you said it. Are you going
59:08
to apologize, Jeb? No. Am I allowed to finish?
59:10
Yeah, one at a time. Excuse me. Am I allowed
59:12
to finish? Go ahead, Mr. Trump. So, again, I
59:16
know you're trying to build up your energy yet,
59:18
but it's not working very well. Look, look, look.
59:22
We need a toughness. We need strength. We're
59:25
not respected as a nation anymore. We don't have
59:29
that level of respect that we need. And if we
59:31
don't get it back fast, we're just going to go
59:34
weaker, weaker, and just disintegrate. We can't
59:37
allow that to happen. We need strength. We don't
59:40
have it. When Jeb comes out and he talks about
59:42
the border, and I saw it, and I was witness to
59:44
it, and so was everyone else, and I was standing
59:46
there. They come across as an act of love. He's
59:49
saying the same thing right now with radical
59:52
Islam. And we can't have that in our country.
59:54
just won't work. We need strength. Governor Bush.
59:58
Donald, you're not going to be able to insult
1:00:00
your way to the presidency. That's not going
1:00:02
to happen. And I do have the strength. Leadership
1:00:08
is not about attacking people and disparaging
1:00:14
people. Leadership is about creating a serious
1:00:16
strategy to deal with the threat of our time.
1:00:19
And I laid out that strategy before the attacks.
1:00:23
uh in paris and before the attacks in san bernardino
1:00:25
and it is the way that the of the way forward
1:00:28
we need to increase our military spending we
1:00:30
need to deal with a no -fly zone in syria a safe
1:00:33
zone we need to focus on building a military
1:00:36
that is second to none so that we can destroy
1:00:38
islamic terror with jeb's attitude we will never
1:00:40
be great again that i can tell you we will never
1:00:43
be great again all right hugh hugh hugh at adenabash
1:00:45
hugh go ahead with the next question dr carson
1:00:49
um You mentioned in your opening remarks that
1:00:54
you're a pediatric neurologist surgeon. Neurosurgeon.
1:00:59
Neurosurgeon. And people admire and respect and
1:01:02
are inspired by your life story, your kindness,
1:01:04
your evangelical core support. We're talking
1:01:07
about ruthless things tonight. Carpet bombing,
1:01:10
toughness, war. And people wonder, could you
1:01:13
do that? Could you order airstrikes that would
1:01:15
kill innocent children by not the scores, but
1:01:18
the hundreds and the thousands? Could you wage
1:01:20
war? as a commander in chief well interestingly
1:01:24
enough you should see the eyes of some of those
1:01:27
children when i say to them we're going to have
1:01:31
to open your head up and take out this tumor
1:01:34
they're not happy about it believe me and they
1:01:37
don't like me very much at that point but later
1:01:40
on they love me sometimes you i sound like him
1:01:43
uh lynn you know later on you know They really
1:01:51
realize what's going on. And by the same token,
1:01:54
you have to be able to look at the big picture
1:01:57
and understand that it's actually merciful if
1:02:02
you go ahead and finish the job rather than death
1:02:07
by a thousand pricks. So you are okay with the
1:02:10
deaths of thousands of innocent children and
1:02:13
civilians? It's like... You got it. That is what
1:02:19
war... Can you be as ruthless as Churchill was
1:02:23
in prosecuting the war against the Nazis? Ruthless
1:02:26
is not necessarily the word I would use, but
1:02:29
tough, resolute, understanding what the problems
1:02:32
are, and understanding that the job of the President
1:02:36
of the United States is to protect the people
1:02:38
of this country and to do what is necessary in
1:02:41
order to get it done. Senator Paul, you said
1:02:47
ISIS grew stronger because of the hawks in your
1:02:50
party. Do you really think that Republicans have
1:02:53
fueled the rise of ISIS? I think that by arming
1:02:58
the allies of ISIS, the Islamic rebels against
1:03:00
Assad, that we created a safe space or made that
1:03:03
space bigger for ISIS to grow. I think those
1:03:06
who have wanted regime change have made a mistake.
1:03:09
When we toppled Qaddafi in Libya, I think that
1:03:12
was a mistake. I think ISIS grew stronger. We
1:03:14
have a failed state, and we are more at risk.
1:03:17
I'd like to also go back to, though, another
1:03:19
question, which is, is Donald Trump a serious
1:03:21
candidate? The reason I ask this is, if you're
1:03:26
going to close the Internet, realize, America,
1:03:29
what that entails. That entails getting rid of
1:03:31
the First Amendment, okay? It's no small feat.
1:03:34
If you are going to kill the families of terrorists,
1:03:38
realize that there's something called the Geneva
1:03:41
Convention we're going to have to pull out of.
1:03:43
It would defy every norm that... America so when
1:03:47
you ask yourself whoever you are that think you're
1:03:50
going to support Donald Trump think do you believe
1:03:53
in the Constitution are you going to change the
1:03:55
Constitution so they can kill us but we can't
1:04:06
kill them that's what you're saying and as far
1:04:09
as the internet is concerned I'm not talking
1:04:11
about closing the internet I'm talking about
1:04:13
parts of Syria parts of Iraq where Isis is spotting
1:04:18
it. Now, you could close it. What I like even
1:04:20
better than that is getting our smartest and
1:04:23
getting our best to infiltrate their internet
1:04:26
so that we know exactly where they're going,
1:04:29
exactly where they're going to be. I like that
1:04:31
better. But we have to... Who would be... I just
1:04:37
can't imagine somebody booing. These are people
1:04:39
that want to kill us, folks. And you're objecting
1:04:43
to us infiltrating their conversations? I don't
1:04:46
think so. I don't think so. which is you saying
1:04:55
that ISIS grew stronger because of hawks in your
1:04:59
party. And do you think that your own party,
1:05:02
the people who you're describing, are responsible
1:05:04
for the rise of ISIS? I think that if you believe
1:05:07
in regime change, you're mistaken. In 2013, we
1:05:11
put 600 tons of weapons, us, Saudi Arabia, and
1:05:14
Qatar, into the war against Assad. By pushing
1:05:18
Assad back, we did create a safe space. We had
1:05:21
people coming to our Foreign Relations Committee
1:05:22
and saying, oh, we need to arm the allies of
1:05:25
al -Qaeda. They are still saying this. It is
1:05:28
a crazy notion. This is the biggest debate we
1:05:31
should be having tonight is, is regime change
1:05:33
a good idea? Has it been a good idea? There are
1:05:37
still people, the majority on the stage, they
1:05:39
want to topple Assad. And then there will be
1:05:41
chaos, and I think ISIS will then be in charge
1:05:44
of Syria. Senator, we're going to talk about
1:05:45
regime change in a bit, but Governor Kasich,
1:05:47
would you like to respond to Senator Paul? Yeah,
1:05:50
let me just suggest to everybody, and I hear,
1:05:52
last February, I said we needed to have people
1:05:55
on the ground in a coalition with Europe and
1:05:58
our allies. This is not going to get done just
1:06:03
by working with the Sunnis, and it is not going
1:06:07
to get done if we just embed a few people. We
1:06:10
have to go massively like we did in the first
1:06:13
Gulf War, where we destroyed Saddam's ability
1:06:16
to take Kuwait. We need to have a coalition that
1:06:21
will stand for nothing less than the total destruction
1:06:24
of ISIS, and we have to be the leader. We can't
1:06:27
wait for anybody else. I served on the Armed
1:06:30
Services Committee for 18 years, and we must
1:06:33
lead or the job won't get done, unfortunately,
1:06:36
for our country. Thank you, Governor. Senator
1:06:38
Rubio. Let's continue this conversation. This
1:06:42
is a critically important issue. I hope at some
1:06:43
point you're going to ask me my strategy for
1:06:45
defeating ISIS. We have a lot of time, Ms. Fiorina.
1:06:49
I want to get Senator Rubio right now. one of
1:06:52
the aspects of your strategy you say the only
1:06:55
way to defeat isis is with ground forces made
1:06:58
up primarily of sunni arab forces those arab
1:07:01
nations though as you well know they've conducted
1:07:04
less than five percent of the airstrikes and
1:07:07
actually none since august what makes you think
1:07:10
They are willing to fight on the ground if they're
1:07:13
not even willing to fight from the air. Well,
1:07:15
they most certainly will have to be worked on
1:07:16
to provide more than what they are doing now.
1:07:18
There's no doubt about it. And there's one major
1:07:20
reason why they have not been willing to be a
1:07:22
broader part of the coalition. And that is they
1:07:24
have lost complete trust and confidence in this
1:07:26
president. This president cut a deal with their
1:07:28
mortal enemy, the Shia, in Iran. And this is
1:07:31
the reason why they no longer trust this president
1:07:33
and are willing to work alongside them. But they
1:07:35
have as much invested in this as we do. In fact,
1:07:37
more so. For it is the king of Saudi Arabia they
1:07:39
want to behead first. It's the king of Jordan
1:07:41
that they want to dethrone. They want to go into
1:07:44
Egypt, like the way they've already gone into
1:07:46
Libya. And on another point we need to talk about,
1:07:48
Assad is one of the main reasons why ISIS even
1:07:50
exists to begin with. Assad is a puppet of Iran.
1:07:53
And he has been so brutal towards the Sunni within
1:07:56
Syria that he created the space that led for
1:07:59
the people of Syria themselves to stand up and
1:08:01
try to overthrow him. That led to the chaos,
1:08:04
which allowed ISIS to come in and take advantage
1:08:06
of that situation and grow more powerful. And
1:08:09
the fact that this president led from behind
1:08:10
meant there were no alternative groups on the
1:08:12
ground to be empowered, leaving ISIS the prime
1:08:15
operating space they needed to become the force
1:08:17
they have now become. Thank you, Senator. Stand
1:08:20
by. Ms. Fiorina, the former Defense Secretary
1:08:24
Bob Cates says the chances of getting Sunni Arab
1:08:27
forces on the ground to get the job done, his
1:08:30
words... chances very remote what's your strategy
1:08:34
well first i'll just point out that talking tough
1:08:37
is not the same as being strong and to wage war
1:08:41
we need a commander -in -chief who has made tough
1:08:43
calls in tough times and stood up to be held
1:08:46
accountable over and over not first -term senators
1:08:49
who never made an executive decision in their
1:08:51
life One of the things I would immediately do,
1:08:54
in addition to defeating them here at home, is
1:08:56
bring back the warrior class, Petraeus, McChrystal,
1:09:00
Mattis, Keene, Flynn. Every single one of these
1:09:03
generals I know, every one was retired early
1:09:06
because they told President Obama things that
1:09:09
he didn't want to hear. We must have Sunni Arabs
1:09:12
involved in this coalition. We must commit leadership,
1:09:15
strength, support, and resolve. I'll just add
1:09:19
that Margaret Thatcher, One said, if you want
1:09:22
something talked about, ask a man. If you want
1:09:26
something done, ask a woman. Thank you. Governor
1:09:34
Christie, what's your strategy? Well, you know,
1:09:38
you sit up here and you listen to this stuff
1:09:40
and you think that so many of these people have
1:09:42
had so much to do in this national debate. They
1:09:45
talk like they were bystanders. You know, we
1:09:47
talk about our military being degraded over time.
1:09:49
And yet we've had folks on the stage who have
1:09:52
been a part of Congress who have participated.
1:09:55
in sequester who participated in the degrading
1:09:58
of this military over time. And that's why I
1:10:02
think people get so frustrated with Washington,
1:10:04
D .C. now. That's why they're so angry with the
1:10:06
electorate, so angry with everybody who's involved
1:10:09
in government in Washington, D .C. Because if
1:10:11
you listen to the folks up here, you would think
1:10:13
that they weren't even there, that they had nothing
1:10:15
to do with this. This is the difference between
1:10:17
being a governor and being in a legislature.
1:10:20
See, because when something doesn't work in New
1:10:22
Jersey, they look at me. Say, why didn't you
1:10:25
get done? Why didn't you do it? You have to be
1:10:26
responsible and accountable. And so on ISIS,
1:10:29
let's be clear. The president needs to be a force
1:10:32
that is trusted in the world. And on this, I
1:10:35
agree with Marco. You know, this president's
1:10:38
not trusted. If you're the king of Jordan, if
1:10:41
you're in the royal family in Saudi Arabia, and
1:10:43
he's made this deal with Iran, which gives them
1:10:45
$150 billion to wage a war and try to extend
1:10:48
their... uh empire across the middle east why
1:10:52
would you want to do it now but i will tell you
1:10:54
this when i stand across from king hussein of
1:10:56
jordan i say to him you have a friend again sir
1:10:59
who will stand with you to fight this fight he'll
1:11:01
change his mind dr carson what's your strategy
1:11:04
so first first of all i've been talking about
1:11:09
this for over a year we have to destroy their
1:11:13
caliphate because that gives them legitimacy
1:11:15
to go ahead with the global jihad we have to
1:11:19
take their energy because they are the ISIS is
1:11:23
the richest terrorist organization there is take
1:11:26
their oil shut down all the mechanisms whereby
1:11:29
they can disperse money because they go after
1:11:32
disaffected individuals from all over the place
1:11:35
and they are able to pay them that makes a difference
1:11:38
as far as the command centers are concerned in
1:11:42
Raqqa and to a lesser degree Mosul cut those
1:11:45
off Do the same kind of thing that we did with
1:11:47
Sinjar a few weeks ago, working with our embedded
1:11:51
special forces with the Kurds, shut off the supply
1:11:54
route, soften them up, then we go in with special
1:11:57
ops followed by our Air Force to take them over.
1:12:00
Those are things that work. But also... This
1:12:04
whole concept of boots on the ground, we've got
1:12:07
a phobia about boots on the ground. If our military
1:12:10
experts say we need boots on the ground, we should
1:12:13
put boots on the ground and recognize there will
1:12:15
be boots on the ground, and they'll be over here,
1:12:17
and they'll be their boots if we don't get them
1:12:19
out of there now. Thank you. Everyone, stand
1:12:22
by. We're only just beginning coming up. Which
1:12:26
candidates on this stage tonight want to move
1:12:28
U .S. foreign policy in a dramatically new direction?
1:12:32
We'll be right back. Back to the CNN Facebook
1:12:53
Republican presidential debate here at the Venetian
1:12:57
Las Vegas. The war against ISIS will pose many
1:13:00
new challenges for the next commander in chief.
1:13:03
The last two presidents pursued a Middle East
1:13:05
policy that supported toppling dictators to try
1:13:09
to promote democracy. Senator Cruz, you have
1:13:13
said the world would be safer today if Saddam
1:13:16
Hussein were still in power in Iraq, Muammar
1:13:19
Gaddafi ruled Libya. and Hosni Mubarak ruled
1:13:22
Egypt. So would it be your policy to preserve
1:13:25
dictatorships rather than promoting democracy
1:13:28
in the Middle East? Well, if I believe in an
1:13:31
America -first foreign policy, that far too often
1:13:35
President Obama and Hillary Clinton, and unfortunately
1:13:38
more than a few Republicans, have gotten distracted
1:13:41
from the central focus of keeping this country
1:13:44
safe. So let's go back to the beginning of the
1:13:46
Obama administration, when Hillary Clinton and
1:13:48
Barack Obama led NATO in toppling the government
1:13:52
in Libya. And they did it because they wanted
1:13:54
to promote democracy. A number of Republicans
1:13:57
supported them. The result of that, and we were
1:13:59
told then that there were these moderate rebels
1:14:03
that would take over. Well, the result is Libya
1:14:06
is now a terrorist war zone run by jihadists.
1:14:10
Move over to Egypt. Once again, the Obama administration,
1:14:14
encouraged by Republicans, toppled Mubarak, who
1:14:17
had been a reliable ally of the United States,
1:14:21
of Israel, and in its place, Morsi and the Muslim
1:14:23
Brotherhood came in, a terrorist organization.
1:14:26
And we need to learn from history. These same
1:14:31
leaders... Obama, Clinton, and far too many Republicans
1:14:35
want to topple Assad. Assad is a bad man. Gaddafi
1:14:38
was a bad man. Mubarak had a terrible human rights
1:14:41
record. But they were assisting us, at least
1:14:44
Gaddafi and Mubarak, in fighting radical Islamic
1:14:48
terrorists. And if we topple Assad, the result
1:14:51
will be ISIS will take over Syria, and it will
1:14:54
worsen U .S. national security interests. And
1:14:57
the approach... Instead of being a Woodrow Wilson
1:15:00
democracy promoter, we ought to hunt down our
1:15:03
enemies and kill ISIS rather than creating opportunities
1:15:07
for ISIS to take control of new countries. Thank
1:15:10
you, Senator. Senator Rubio, you supported the
1:15:13
removal of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. Now that
1:15:16
country is in turmoil as ISIS is clearly growing
1:15:19
there. Senator Cruz says you haven't learned
1:15:22
your lesson. Do you have any regrets? for supporting
1:15:25
President Obama's intervention in Libya. To begin
1:15:29
with, Muammar Gaddafi and the revolt against
1:15:31
Gaddafi was not started by the United States.
1:15:33
It was started by the Libyan people. And the
1:15:35
reason why I argue we needed to get involved
1:15:37
is because he was going to go one way or the
1:15:38
other. And my argument then was proven true,
1:15:41
and that is the longer that civil war took, the
1:15:43
more militias would be formed and the more unstable
1:15:46
the country would be after the fact. As far as
1:15:48
Muammar Gaddafi is concerned, by the way, Muammar
1:15:50
Gaddafi is the man that killed those Americans
1:15:52
over Lockerbie, Scotland. Muammar Gaddafi is
1:15:55
also the man that bombed that cafe in Berlin
1:15:57
and killed those Marines. And you want to know
1:15:59
why Muammar Gaddafi started cooperating on his
1:16:01
nuclear program? Because we got rid of Saddam
1:16:03
Hussein. And so he got scared that he would be
1:16:06
next, and that's why he started cooperating.
1:16:08
Look, we will have to work around the world with
1:16:10
less than ideal governments. The government in
1:16:12
Saudi Arabia is not a democracy, but we will
1:16:14
have to work with them. The government in Jordan
1:16:16
is not perfect, but we will have to work with
1:16:18
them. But anti -American dictators like Assad,
1:16:21
who help Hezbollah, who help get those IEDs into
1:16:24
Iraq, if they go, I will not shed a tear. Senator
1:16:27
Cruz? Well, it's more than not shedding a tear.
1:16:33
It's actively getting involved to topple a government.
1:16:37
And we keep hearing from President Obama and
1:16:39
Hillary Clinton and Washington Republicans that
1:16:42
they're searching for these mythical moderate
1:16:44
rebels. It's like a purple unicorn. They never
1:16:46
exist. These moderate rebels end up being jihadists.
1:16:51
And I'll tell you whose view on Assad is the
1:16:53
same as mine. It's Prime Minister Netanyahu.
1:16:55
Prime Minister Netanyahu has said Israel doesn't
1:16:58
have a dog in that fight because Assad is a puppet
1:17:00
of Iran, a Shia, radical Islamic terrorist. But
1:17:04
at the same time, Prime Minister Netanyahu doesn't
1:17:07
want to see Syria governed by ISIS. And we need
1:17:10
to focus on American interests, not on global
1:17:14
affairs. Everybody stand by for a moment. Governor
1:17:17
Kasich, go ahead. I don't understand this thing
1:17:19
about Assad. He has to go. Assad is aligned with
1:17:22
Iran and Russia. The one thing we want to prevent
1:17:25
is we want to prevent Iran being able to extend
1:17:28
a Shia crescent all across the Middle East. Assad's
1:17:32
got to go. And there are moderates there. There
1:17:34
are moderates in Syria who we should be supporting.
1:17:38
I do not support a civil war. I don't want to
1:17:40
be policeman of the world. But we can't back
1:17:43
off of this. And let me tell you, at the end,
1:17:45
the Saudis have agreed to put together a coalition
1:17:48
inside of Syria to stabilize that country. He
1:17:51
must go. It will be a blow to Iran and to Russia.
1:17:54
We're going to talk about Assad in a moment.
1:17:56
Mr. Trump, are Americans safer with dictators
1:17:59
running the world in the Middle East? In my opinion.
1:18:07
Go ahead, Mr. Trump. In my opinion, we've spent
1:18:10
$4 trillion trying to topple various people.
1:18:16
that frankly if they were there and if we could
1:18:18
have spent that four trillion dollars in the
1:18:20
united states to fix our roads our bridges and
1:18:23
all of the other problems our airports and all
1:18:26
of the other problems we have we would have been
1:18:28
a lot better off i can tell you that right now
1:18:31
we have done a tremendous disservice not only
1:18:34
to the middle east we've done a tremendous disservice
1:18:37
to humanity the people that have been killed
1:18:39
the people that have been wiped away and for
1:18:42
what it's not like we had victory it's a mess
1:18:45
The Middle East is totally destabilized, a total
1:18:49
and complete mess. I wish we had the $4 trillion
1:18:53
or $5 trillion. I wish it was spent right here
1:18:58
in the United States on our schools, hospitals,
1:19:00
roads, airports, and everything else that are
1:19:02
all falling apart. Thank you. Wow, that is exactly
1:19:05
what President Obama said. Go ahead. that's exactly
1:19:10
what president obama has said i'm amazed to hear
1:19:13
that from a republican presidential candidate
1:19:15
but let's just start let's just start with who
1:19:17
got it wrong who really got it wrong Hillary
1:19:21
Clinton has gotten every foreign policy challenge
1:19:23
wrong. The gimmicky red reset button with Vladimir
1:19:26
Putin. Recall that she called Bashar al -Assad
1:19:29
a positive reformer. And then she opened an embassy.
1:19:33
And then later she said over and over and over
1:19:35
again, Bashar al -Assad must go, although she
1:19:37
wasn't prepared to do anything about it. Recall
1:19:40
that Hillary Clinton was all for toppling Muammar
1:19:42
Gaddafi, then didn't listen to her own people
1:19:44
on the ground. And of course, when she lied about
1:19:47
the terrorist attack in Benghazi, she invited
1:19:49
more. terrorist attacks. Thank you. Mr. Trump.
1:19:53
Well, there's nothing to respond to. People feel
1:19:55
differently. I mean, the fact is Benghazi was
1:19:57
a disaster because of Libya. Everything just
1:20:00
fell into place. It could not have been worse.
1:20:03
What do we have now? We have nothing. We've spent
1:20:06
$3 trillion and probably much more. They have
1:20:08
no idea what we spent. thousands and thousands
1:20:11
of lives we have nothing wounded warriors all
1:20:14
over the place who i love we have nothing for
1:20:17
it and by the way and ben said incorrectly and
1:20:21
i i'm not saying this is a knock because this
1:20:23
is one of the finest men you're not going to
1:20:25
find a finer man but i've been talking about
1:20:27
oil for three years i've been saying take the
1:20:30
oil take the oil i didn't say just vomit i said
1:20:33
take it and use it and distribute it so that
1:20:37
the wounded warriors and people But I've been
1:20:39
saying this now for many years. Now, all of a
1:20:41
sudden, everybody's saying, take the oil. It
1:20:43
wasn't so fashionable to take the oil six months
1:20:46
ago. I've been saying it for years. Dr. Carson,
1:20:48
Dr. Carson, is the Middle East better off with
1:20:54
dictators? No one is ever better off with dictators.
1:20:59
But there comes a time, you know, when you're
1:21:02
on an airplane, they always say. in case of an
1:21:06
emergency oxygen mask will drop down put yours
1:21:08
on first and then administer help to your neighbor
1:21:10
we need oxygen right now and we need to start
1:21:14
thinking about the needs of the american people
1:21:16
before we go and try to solve everybody else's
1:21:19
problems the fact of the matter is the middle
1:21:21
east has been in turmoil for thousands of years
1:21:26
uh for us to think that we're going to go in
1:21:28
there and fix that with a couple of little bombs
1:21:31
and and a few little declarations is relatively
1:21:35
foolish governor bush governor bush look i think
1:21:38
we're focusing on hold on hold on governor bush
1:21:40
here's the question you said getting rid of saddam
1:21:42
hussein in your words was a pretty good deal
1:21:45
in light of what has happened in iraq do you
1:21:48
still feel that way i do and i think the lessons
1:21:50
learned are that we have to have a strategy to
1:21:52
get in and a strategy to get out which means
1:21:55
that you create a stable situation this president
1:21:58
and this is what the focus ought to be it's not
1:22:00
the differences between us it's barack obama
1:22:03
does not believe americans leadership in the
1:22:04
world is a force for good he does not believe
1:22:07
that our strength is is a place where security
1:22:10
can take place he leads from behind He creates
1:22:13
an environment that now we're creating the most
1:22:15
unstable situation we've had since the World
1:22:18
War II era. The focus ought to be on the simple
1:22:20
fact that Hillary Clinton wants to double down
1:22:22
on a failed foreign policy, and we need to be
1:22:25
united to defeat that, because we're going to
1:22:27
be in a place that is far less secure than it
1:22:29
is today. You agree? Senator Paul, Senator Paul,
1:22:32
Senator Paul was getting rid of Saddam Hussein
1:22:37
a pretty good deal. These are the fundamental
1:22:40
questions of our time, these foreign policy questions,
1:22:43
whether or not regime change is a good idea or
1:22:45
a bad idea. I don't think because I think the
1:22:48
regime change was a bad idea, it means that Hussein
1:22:51
was necessarily a good idea. There's often variations
1:22:55
of evil on both sides of the war. What we have
1:22:58
to decide is whether or not regime change is
1:23:01
a good idea. It's what the neoconservatives have
1:23:04
wanted. It's what the vast majority of those
1:23:06
on the stage want. They still want regime change.
1:23:09
They want it in Syria. They wanted it in Iraq.
1:23:11
They wanted it in Libya. It has not worked. Out
1:23:14
of regime change, you get chaos. from the chaos
1:23:17
you've seen repeatedly, the rise of radical Islam.
1:23:20
So we get this profession of, oh my goodness,
1:23:23
they want to do something about terrorism, and
1:23:26
yet they're the problem, because they allow terrorism
1:23:28
to arise out of that chaos. Thank you, Senator.
1:23:32
Hugh Hewitt, go ahead. Wolf, the question of
1:23:37
whether we should be toppling dictatorships is
1:23:42
asking the wrong question. We should be defeating...
1:23:45
our enemies. So the problem with defeating...
1:23:47
Senator, we're going to get to you. Wait your
1:23:49
turn. We have two hours debate. We'll have plenty
1:23:51
of time. Let Hugh ask his question. Well, but
1:23:53
let me explain. The focus should be on defeating
1:23:56
our enemies. So, for example, a regime we should
1:23:59
change is Iran because Iran has declared war
1:24:03
on us. But we shouldn't be toppling regimes that
1:24:06
are fighting radical Islamic terrorists and that
1:24:09
are helping... These are the rules all of you
1:24:11
agree to. Hugh, go ahead with your question.
1:24:13
mr trump yes we are talking about the most important
1:24:15
thing that's why it's heated and it's you're
1:24:17
okay with mr assad staying in power but you're
1:24:20
also in favor of winning if he stays in power
1:24:22
iran is winning hezbollah is winning uh iran
1:24:26
is winning in in yemen they are winning everywhere
1:24:29
if they're winning how can we be winning i think
1:24:33
assad is a bad guy very bad guy All right? Lots
1:24:37
of people killed. I think we're backing people
1:24:39
we have no idea who they are. The rebels. We
1:24:41
call them the rebels. The patriotic rebels. We
1:24:44
have no idea. A lot of people think you that
1:24:45
they're ISIS. We have to do one thing at a time.
1:24:49
We can't be fighting ISIS and fighting Assad.
1:24:52
Assad is fighting ISIS. He's fighting ISIS. Russia
1:24:54
is fighting now ISIS. And Iran is fighting ISIS.
1:24:57
We have to do one thing at a time. We can't go
1:25:00
and I watched Lindsey Graham. He said, I've been
1:25:02
here for 10 years fighting. Well, he'll be there
1:25:04
with that thinking for another 50 years. He won't
1:25:06
be able to solve the problem. We have to get
1:25:09
rid of ISIS first. After we get rid of ISIS,
1:25:12
we'll start thinking about it. But we can't be
1:25:14
fighting Assad. And when you're fighting Assad,
1:25:17
you're fighting Russia, you're fighting Iran,
1:25:19
you're fighting a lot of different groups. But
1:25:20
we can't be fighting everybody at one time. Governor
1:25:23
Christie, is he right? Because if we step back,
1:25:27
Iran goes nuclear. Is Donald Trump right? Well,
1:25:30
I think we have to focus, Hugh, on exactly what
1:25:32
the priorities are. And to me, what I've always
1:25:35
said is that the president has set up an awful
1:25:38
situation through his deal with Iran. Because
1:25:41
what his deal with Iran has done is empowered
1:25:42
them and enriched them. And that's the way ISIS
1:25:46
has been created and formed here. ISIS is created
1:25:49
and formed because of the abuse that Assad and
1:25:53
his Iranian sponsors have rained down on the
1:25:56
Sunnis in Syria. And so when we empower Iran,
1:25:59
this is why this president and when Hillary Clinton
1:26:02
says her. theory against ISIS will be just about
1:26:05
the same as the president, then get ready for
1:26:07
more unrest and more murder and more violence
1:26:10
in the Middle East. We need to focus our attention
1:26:12
on Iran, because if you miss Iran, you're not
1:26:14
going to get ISIS. The two are inextricably connected
1:26:18
because one causes the other. Senator Paul, let
1:26:20
me ask you, you heard Governor Kasich say Assad
1:26:23
must go. Do you agree? No, I think it's a huge
1:26:26
mistake. I think regime change in Syria, I've
1:26:29
been saying this for several years now. in 2013
1:26:32
when we first went in i said you're going to
1:26:34
give arms to the allies of al -qaeda to radical
1:26:36
jihadists that's crazy but the other thing i
1:26:39
said is the great irony is you'll be back fighting
1:26:41
against your own weapons had assad been bombed
1:26:44
when he used chemical weapons two years ago isis
1:26:47
would be in charge of all of syria now we have
1:26:49
to have a more realistic foreign policy and not
1:26:52
a utopian one where we say oh we're going to
1:26:55
spread freedom and democracy and everybody in
1:26:57
the middle east is going to love us In foreign
1:27:04
policy, you have to know how to pick and choose.
1:27:07
There's no way, if Saddam had not had weapons
1:27:10
of mass destruction, I would have gone. Because
1:27:13
I don't believe that U .S. should be involved
1:27:15
directly in civil wars. I oppose the U .S. involvement
1:27:18
in Lebanon. We ended up having to withdraw our
1:27:21
Marines after our barracks were blown up. There's
1:27:23
a difference between Iraq, where you have Sunni,
1:27:27
Shia, and Kurds. put together after First World
1:27:30
War by the Western powers. It doesn't work. It
1:27:33
needs to break up into three parts. And finally,
1:27:36
you, in regard to Syria, understand that Assad
1:27:41
is an ally of Iran who wants to extend that Shia
1:27:45
radicalism all the way across the Middle East.
1:27:48
He has to go. And for the Russians, frankly,
1:27:51
it's time that we punch the Russians in the nose.
1:27:53
They've gotten away with too much in this world,
1:27:55
and we need to stand up against them. Not just
1:27:58
there, but also in Eastern Europe, where they
1:28:01
threaten some of our most precious allies. Let's
1:28:03
continue with Russia right now. We have another
1:28:06
question from Facebook. Listen and watch. My
1:28:10
name is Ashley Toffol. Ms. Fiorina, in November
1:28:13
you said that you would not talk to Vladimir
1:28:15
Putin after you were elected because you would
1:28:17
be communicating from a position of weakness.
1:28:19
Do you believe that it is feasible to not communicate
1:28:20
with another world leader, and do you think that
1:28:22
that also is a sign of weakness? This is the
1:28:25
arena. As you know, U .S. and Russian warplanes,
1:28:27
they're flying all over Syria right now. With
1:28:29
so many lives on the line, is this a good time
1:28:32
for the United States not to talk to Putin? I
1:28:35
didn't say I would cut off all communication
1:28:36
with Putin. What I said was, as president of
1:28:39
the United States, now is not the time to talk
1:28:41
with him. Reagan walked away at Reykjavik. There
1:28:44
is a time and a place for everything. There is
1:28:46
a time and a place for talk, and there is a time
1:28:49
and a place for action. I know Vladimir Putin.
1:28:51
He respects strength. He lied to our president's
1:28:55
face, didn't bother to tell him about warplanes
1:28:58
and troops going into Syria. We need to speak
1:29:01
to him from a position of strength. So as commander
1:29:03
-in -chief, I will not speak to him until we've
1:29:06
set up that no -fly zone, until we've... gathered
1:29:09
our Sunni Arab allies and begun to deny ISIS
1:29:12
territory until I've called the Supreme Leader
1:29:14
of Iran and told him, new deal. new deal we the
1:29:18
united states of america are going to cut off
1:29:20
the money flow which we can do which we don't
1:29:22
need anyone's permission or collaboration to
1:29:24
do and i will not speak to him personally until
1:29:27
we've rebuilt the sixth fleet a little bit right
1:29:29
under his nose rebuilt the missile defense program
1:29:32
in poland right under his nose and conducted
1:29:34
a few military exercises in the baltic states
1:29:36
and let us remember one other thing hillary clinton
1:29:41
and barack obama are responsible for the growth
1:29:44
of ISIS because they precipitously withdrew from
1:29:47
Iraq in 2011 against the advice of every single
1:29:50
general and for political expediency. It's not
1:29:53
these people up here. It's Hillary Clinton. Thank
1:29:56
you, Ms. Fiorina. Governor Christie, if the U
1:30:00
.S. imposed a no -fly zone over Syria and a Russian
1:30:04
plane encroached, invaded that no -fly zone,
1:30:07
would you be prepared to shoot down that Russian
1:30:09
plane and risk war with Russia? not only are
1:30:12
we prepared to do it i would do it a no -fly
1:30:14
zone means a no -fly zone wolf that's what it
1:30:18
means see maybe maybe because i'm from new jersey
1:30:22
i just have this kind of plain language hangout
1:30:24
but i would make very clear i would not talk
1:30:26
to vladimir putin in fact i would talk to vladimir
1:30:28
putin a lot and i'd say to him listen mr president
1:30:31
There's no -fly zone in Syria. You fly in, it
1:30:34
applies to you. And yes, we would shoot down
1:30:36
the planes of Russian pilots if, in fact, they
1:30:38
were stupid enough to think that this president
1:30:41
was the same feckless weakling that the president
1:30:44
we have in the Oval Office is right now. Senator
1:30:49
Paul. Senator Paul, I want you to respond to
1:30:54
what we just heard from Governor Christie. If
1:30:57
there was a no -fly zone, you say that potentially
1:31:00
could lead to World War III. Why? Well, I think
1:31:03
if you're in favor of World War III, you have
1:31:05
your candidate. You know, here's the thing. My
1:31:11
goodness, what we want in a leader is someone
1:31:13
with judgment, not someone who is so reckless
1:31:16
as to stand on the stage and say, yes, I'm jumping
1:31:19
up and down. I'm going to shoot down Russian
1:31:21
planes. Russia already flies in that airspace.
1:31:25
It may or may not be something we're in love
1:31:27
with the fact that they're there, but they were
1:31:29
invited by Iraq and by Syria to fly in that airspace.
1:31:33
If we announce we're going to have a no -fly
1:31:35
zone, and others have said this, Hillary Clinton's
1:31:37
also for it, it is a recipe for disaster. It's
1:31:41
a recipe for World War III. We need to confront
1:31:43
Russia from a position of strength, but we don't
1:31:47
need to confront Russia from a point of recklessness
1:31:50
that would lead to war. This is something, this
1:31:53
type of judgment, you know, it's having that
1:31:56
kind of judgment, who you would appoint and how
1:31:58
you're going to conduct affairs, that is incredibly
1:32:00
important. I mean, I think when we think about
1:32:02
the judgment of someone who might want World
1:32:04
War III, we might think about someone who might
1:32:06
shut down a bridge because they don't like their
1:32:08
friends. They want to get a Democrat. So I think
1:32:13
we need to be very careful about that. Governor
1:32:15
Christie. Well, I'll tell you what reckless is.
1:32:18
What reckless is is calling Assad a reformer.
1:32:21
What reckless is is allowing Russia to come into
1:32:24
Crimea and Ukraine. What reckless is is inviting
1:32:26
Russia into Syria to team with Iran. That is
1:32:30
reckless, and the reckless people are the folks
1:32:33
in the White House right now. Barack Obama and
1:32:35
Hillary Clinton are the reckless people. And
1:32:38
if you think that a no -fly zone is a reckless
1:32:40
policy, you're welcome to your opinion. But how's
1:32:42
it working so far? As we have 250 ,000 Syrians
1:32:45
murdered, slaughtered, millions running around
1:32:47
the world, running for their lives, it's not
1:32:50
working. We need to try something else, and that
1:32:51
is not reckless. Let's go back to you and Dana.
1:32:56
Governor Bush. Commander -in -Chief, question.
1:32:59
You said that Mr. Trump is not qualified to be
1:33:02
president because he's not qualified to deal
1:33:03
with Vladimir Putin. Why are you better qualified
1:33:06
to deal with Vladimir Putin than Mr. Trump? Because,
1:33:08
first of all, I know what I don't know. I know
1:33:12
what I don't know. I would seek out, as I have,
1:33:14
the best advice that exists. I won't get my information
1:33:17
from the shows. I don't know if that's Saturday
1:33:20
morning or Sunday morning. I don't know which
1:33:22
one. I will seek out the best advice. And I will
1:33:25
create a strategy, and I will persuade the American
1:33:27
people what the role of America should be. I've
1:33:30
laid out a policy of rebuilding our military.
1:33:33
All of the talk that we're saying here, most
1:33:36
of which I agree on, frankly, is a much stronger
1:33:39
military. We now have a lack of readiness that
1:33:42
is quite scary. We have planes that Harry Truman
1:33:46
inaugurated, the B -52. We have the Navy has
1:33:49
been gutted and decimated. The readiness of the
1:33:51
Marines is way down. If we're serious about America's
1:33:54
leadership in the world, then we need to make
1:33:56
sure that we have the back of the armed forces.
1:33:58
The Armed Forces Radio is here listening to this
1:34:00
today. I hope they know that if I'm president,
1:34:03
I'll be a commander -in -chief, not an agitator
1:34:05
-in -chief or a divider -in -chief, that I will
1:34:07
lead this country in a way that will create greater
1:34:10
security and greater safety. leads Jeb Bush,
1:34:22
Governor Bush, down a road by starting off virtually
1:34:26
all of the questions, Mr. Trump this, Mr. I think
1:34:29
it's very sad. And frankly, I watch, I think
1:34:32
it's very sad. And frankly, I watched the first
1:34:36
debate. And the first long number of questions
1:34:39
were, Mr. Trump said this, Mr. Trump said that,
1:34:42
Mr. Trump. These poor guys, although I must tell
1:34:45
you, Santorum, good guy. Governor Huckabee, good
1:34:49
guy. They were very nice, and I respect them
1:34:51
greatly. But I thought it was very unfair that
1:34:54
virtually the entire early portion of the debate
1:34:57
was Trump this, Trump that, in order to get ratings,
1:35:00
I guess. In order to get ratings, I guess. I
1:35:03
just think it's very unprofessional. Excuse me.
1:35:05
I think it's very unprofessional. But it wasn't
1:35:08
CNN. It was me. I watched you last night for
1:35:09
60 minutes. I think it's very unprofessional.
1:35:12
It's not CNN. It's not CNN. It's America's watching
1:35:15
you. It's America's watching you. I was mentioned
1:35:19
so I can bring up something, I think, right?
1:35:21
Look, the simple fact is, if you think this is
1:35:23
tough and you're not being treated fairly, imagine
1:35:25
what it's going to be like dealing with Putin
1:35:27
or dealing with President Xi. or dealing with
1:35:30
the Islamic terrorism that exists. This is a
1:35:32
tough business to run for president. You're a
1:35:34
tough guy, Jeb. And we need to have a leader
1:35:37
that is principled. You're never going to be
1:35:39
president of the United States by insulting your
1:35:41
way to the presidency. Let's see, I'm at 42 and
1:35:42
you're at 3, so so far I'm doing better. Doesn't
1:35:44
matter. So far I'm doing better. You know, you
1:35:47
started off over here, Jeb. You're moving over
1:35:49
further and further. Pretty soon you're going
1:35:51
to be off the end. This doesn't do a thing to
1:35:54
solve the problem. It doesn't do a thing to solve
1:35:57
the problem. It sounds more and more what my
1:36:00
daughter said that I said in the beginning. All
1:36:02
the fighting and arguing is not advancing us.
1:36:05
It is not the way we're going to strengthen our
1:36:08
country. We will strengthen our country when
1:36:10
we come together. And look, you've got Rand Paul,
1:36:13
you've got Ted Cruz, you've got Marco. You've
1:36:15
got a lot of people on this stage that have studied
1:36:17
these issues. You know what a leader does? A
1:36:20
leader has a sound program, has a good policy,
1:36:24
and then brings people together to solve problems.
1:36:27
Guess what? Both in Congress and balancing the
1:36:31
budget, in an Ohio fixing the economy. And by
1:36:33
the way, we talk about defense. The first thing
1:36:36
we better get going is strengthening our economy.
1:36:39
Because if we don't have a strong economy, we
1:36:41
can't pay for all of this. And the world wants
1:36:44
us to be able to function from strength, believe
1:36:47
it or not. Get our economy going. Get these people
1:36:51
together in a room. We can fix this, ladies and
1:36:54
gentlemen. We don't have to fight all the time.
1:36:56
It can be done, and we will be great when we
1:36:59
join together. Thank you, you. Dr. Carson, Commander
1:37:03
-in -Chief question again. You've been the head
1:37:05
of neurosurgery for a big hospital. You're on
1:37:07
a lot of boards of a lot of companies. You've
1:37:08
traveled the world. You're going traveling again
1:37:10
next week. But does that prepare you to command
1:37:12
troops from Djibouti to... japan troops from
1:37:16
afghanistan to iraq to be in charge of the men
1:37:18
and women watching on armed service network tonight
1:37:20
well you know there's a there's a false narrative
1:37:24
that only the political class has the the wisdom
1:37:30
and the ability to be commander -in -chief but
1:37:33
if you go back and you study the design of our
1:37:36
country it's really designed for the citizen
1:37:39
statesman and we need to be talking about Where
1:37:43
does your experience come from? You know, and
1:37:46
I've had a lot of experience building things,
1:37:49
organizing things, you know, a national scholarship
1:37:54
program. One of the things that you'll notice
1:37:56
if you look through my life is that I don't do
1:37:59
a lot of talking. I do a lot of doing. And really
1:38:03
it says more about a person than how much they
1:38:06
talk. And then some people say you're weak because,
1:38:10
you know, you're not loud and you're not. boisterous
1:38:13
and you're not rude but the fact of the matter
1:38:16
is look and see what I've done and that speaks
1:38:20
volumes about strength. Thank you Dr. Carson.
1:38:25
We've been talking tonight about programs and
1:38:28
policy proposals that you all have to keep Americans
1:38:30
safe and it's a big discussion on the campaign
1:38:33
trail also about border security and immigration
1:38:37
so let's talk about immigration. Senator Rubio,
1:38:39
you co -authored a bill with Democrats two years
1:38:43
ago that allowed a path to citizenship for undocumented
1:38:46
immigrants do you still support that path to
1:38:50
citizenship which means giving those immigrants
1:38:52
rights like the right to vote yeah immigration
1:38:55
is not an issue that i read about in the newspaper
1:38:57
or watch a documentary on pbs or cnn it's an
1:39:01
issue i've lived around my whole life my family
1:39:03
are immigrants my wife's family are immigrants
1:39:05
all of my neighbors are immigrants i see every
1:39:07
aspect of this problem the good the bad and the
1:39:10
ugly and here's what we learned in 2013. The
1:39:13
American people don't trust the federal government
1:39:14
to enforce our immigration laws. And we will
1:39:17
not be able to do anything on immigration until
1:39:19
we first prove to the American people that illegal
1:39:21
immigration is under control. And we can do that.
1:39:24
We know what it takes to do that. It takes at
1:39:26
least 20 ,000 more additional border agents.
1:39:28
It takes completing those 700 miles of fencing.
1:39:31
It takes a mandatory e -verify system and a mandatory
1:39:34
entry -exit tracking system to prevent visa overstays.
1:39:38
After we've done that, the second thing we have
1:39:40
to do is reform and modernize the legal immigration
1:39:42
system. And after we've done those two things,
1:39:45
I think the American people are going to be very
1:39:47
reasonable with what do you do with someone who's
1:39:49
been in this country for 10 or 12 years, who
1:39:51
hasn't otherwise violated our laws because if
1:39:53
they're a criminal, they can't stay. They'll
1:39:55
have to undergo a background check, pay a fine,
1:39:57
start paying taxes. And ultimately, they'll be
1:40:00
given a work permit, and that's all they're going
1:40:01
to be allowed to have for at least 10 years.
1:40:03
But you can't even get to that third step until
1:40:05
you've done the other two things. And that was
1:40:07
the lesson we learned in 2013. There is no trust
1:40:10
that the federal government will enforce the
1:40:11
law. They will not support you until they see
1:40:13
it done first. Senator, you haven't answered
1:40:16
the question. You just described a very long
1:40:19
path, but does that path end? at citizenship?
1:40:23
I've answered that question repeatedly. I am
1:40:24
personally open after all of that has happened.
1:40:26
And after 10 years in that probationary status
1:40:29
where all they have is a work permit, I personally
1:40:31
am open to allowing people to apply for a green
1:40:33
card. That may not be a majority position in
1:40:35
my party, but that's down the road. You can't
1:40:37
even begin that process until you prove to people,
1:40:40
not just pass a law that says you're going to
1:40:42
bring illegal immigration under control. You're
1:40:44
going to have to do it and prove to people that
1:40:46
it's working. And that was the lesson of 2013.
1:40:48
And it's more true today than it was then. After
1:40:51
a migratory crisis on the border with minors
1:40:53
coming over that you're seeing start up again
1:40:55
now? After all these executive orders the president
1:40:58
has issued? More than ever, we need to prove
1:41:00
to people that illegal immigration is under control.
1:41:02
Thank you, Senator. Senator Cruz. Senator Cruz,
1:41:08
on the campaign trail, Senator Rubio has said
1:41:10
that his immigration plan isn't that different
1:41:11
from yours. Is that true? Well, he has attempted
1:41:15
to muddy the waters, but I think anyone that
1:41:18
watched the battle that we had, you know, there
1:41:20
was a time for choosing, as Reagan put it. where
1:41:23
there was a battle over amnesty and and some
1:41:26
chose like senator rubio to stand with barack
1:41:28
obama and chuck schumer and support a massive
1:41:31
amnesty plan others chose to stand with jeff
1:41:35
sessions and steve king and the american people
1:41:37
and secure the border and let me mention this
1:41:39
issue is actually directly connected to what
1:41:41
we've been talking about Because the front line
1:41:44
with ISIS isn't just in Iraq and Syria. It's
1:41:47
also in Kennedy Airport and the Rio Grande. Border
1:41:50
security is national security. And, you know,
1:41:53
one of the most troubling aspects of the Rubio
1:41:56
-Schumer Gang of Eight bill was that it gave
1:41:58
President Obama blanket authority to admit refugees,
1:42:01
including Syrian refugees, without mandating
1:42:04
any background checks whatsoever. Now, we've
1:42:07
seen what happened in San Bernardino. When you're
1:42:09
letting people in when the FBI can't vet them,
1:42:12
It puts American citizens at risk. And I tell
1:42:16
you, if I'm elected president, we will secure
1:42:20
the border. We will triple the border patrol.
1:42:23
We will build a wall that works, and I'll get
1:42:26
Donald Trump to pay for it. I'll build it. Thank
1:42:31
you. Senator Rubio, please. Yeah, a couple points.
1:42:34
In 2013, we had never faced a crisis like the
1:42:36
Syrian refugee crisis now. Up until that point,
1:42:39
a refugee meant someone fleeing oppression, fleeing
1:42:41
communism, like it is in my community. As far
1:42:44
as Ted's record, I'm always puzzled by his attack
1:42:46
on this issue. Ted, you support legalizing people
1:42:49
who are in this country illegally. Ted Cruz supported
1:42:52
a 500 % increase in the number of H -1B visas,
1:42:55
the guest workers that are allowed into this
1:42:57
country. And Ted supports doubling the number
1:42:59
of green cards. So I think what's important for
1:43:01
us to understand is there is a way forward on
1:43:03
this issue that we can bring our country together
1:43:05
on. And when I'm president, I will do it. And
1:43:07
it will begin by bringing illegal immigration
1:43:09
under control and proving it to the American
1:43:11
people. Dana. Senator Cruz. Look, I understand
1:43:15
that Marco wants to raise confusion. It is not
1:43:18
accurate, what he just said, that I supported
1:43:20
legalization. Indeed, I led the fight against
1:43:24
his legalization and amnesty bill. And, you know,
1:43:27
there was one commentator that put it this way,
1:43:29
that for Marco to suggest our record's the same...
1:43:32
It is like suggesting the fireman and the arsonist
1:43:35
have the same record because they're both at
1:43:36
the scene of the fire. He was fighting to grant
1:43:39
amnesty and not to secure the border. I was fighting
1:43:42
to secure the border. And this also goes to trust.
1:43:46
Listen, on campaign trails. Candidates all the
1:43:49
time make promises. You know, Marco said he learned
1:43:52
that the American people didn't trust the federal
1:43:54
government. He campaigned in Florida promising
1:43:57
to lead the fight against amnesty. He campaigned
1:44:00
promising to lead the fight against amnesty.
1:44:02
Does Ted Cruz rule out ever legalizing people
1:44:10
that are in this country illegally now? I have
1:44:13
never supported legalization. I have never supported
1:44:16
legalization, and I do not intend to support
1:44:18
legalization. And let me tell you how you do
1:44:20
this. This is why the nation is fed up with the
1:44:24
political class. We have been talking about this
1:44:26
for 25 years. We're going to get to you on this.
1:44:29
Go ahead, Senator Cruz. Sorry, you haven't gotten
1:44:30
to me. This is why the nation is fed up with
1:44:32
the political class. What you do is you enforce
1:44:36
the law. I've laid out a very, very detailed...
1:44:38
immigration plan on my website tedcruz .org it's
1:44:42
11 pages existing federal law and in particular
1:44:45
the question of what to do with people who are
1:44:47
here now you enforce the law that means you stop
1:44:50
the obama administration's policy of releasing
1:44:53
criminal illegal aliens do you know how many
1:44:55
illegal aliens bill clinton deported 12 million
1:44:59
do you know how many illegal aliens george w
1:45:01
bush deported 10 million we can enforce the laws
1:45:05
and if we secure the border That solves the problem.
1:45:09
And as president, I will solve this problem and
1:45:12
secure the border. Mr. Trump, you like to say
1:45:14
that you restarted this conversation in the campaign.
1:45:17
I think I did. So who do you side with? Who do
1:45:20
you side with in this? Senator Rubio or Senator
1:45:22
Cruz? I have a very hard -line position. We have
1:45:24
a country or we don't have a country. People
1:45:27
that have come into our country illegally. They
1:45:30
have to go. They have to come back in through
1:45:31
a legal process. I want a strong border. I do
1:45:34
want a wall. Walls do work. You just have to
1:45:36
speak to the folks in Israel. Walls work. If
1:45:38
they're properly constructed, I know how to build.
1:45:41
Believe me, I know how to build. But I feel a
1:45:44
very, very strong bind, and really I'm bound
1:45:48
to this country. We either have a border or we
1:45:50
don't. People can come into the country. We welcome
1:45:53
people to come in, but they have to come in legally.
1:45:56
Thank you. Governor Bush, listening to this.
1:46:00
Do you think this is the tone, this immigration
1:46:02
debate, that Republicans need to take to win
1:46:05
back Hispanics into your party, especially states
1:46:09
like where we are in Nevada that has a pretty
1:46:11
large Hispanic community? No, it isn't, but it's
1:46:15
an important subject to talk about for sure,
1:46:17
and I think people have good ideas on this. Clearly,
1:46:20
we need to secure the border. Coming here legally
1:46:22
needs to be a lot easier than coming here illegally.
1:46:24
If you don't have that, you don't have the rule
1:46:26
of law. We now have a national security consideration,
1:46:29
public health issues. We have an epidemic of
1:46:32
heroin overdoses in all sorts, all places in
1:46:35
this country because of the ease bringing heroin
1:46:37
in. We have to secure the border. It is a serious
1:46:40
undertaking. And yeah, we do need more fencing.
1:46:43
And we do need to use technology. And we do need
1:46:46
more border control. And we need to have better
1:46:48
cooperation, by the way, with local law enforcement.
1:46:51
There are 800 ,000 cops on the beat. They ought
1:46:54
to be trained to be the eyes and ears for law
1:46:56
enforcement, for the threat against terror, as
1:46:58
well as for immigration. This is a serious challenge.
1:47:02
And if we can get it right, yeah, we'll start
1:47:04
winning votes again. The real problem isn't anybody
1:47:07
on this stage. the real problem is barack obama
1:47:10
has had six years to advocate a position to fix
1:47:14
this and he's done nothing the congress has funded
1:47:16
these programs of building more fencing and doing
1:47:19
all this and he hasn't done it he wants to maintain
1:47:21
it as a wedge issue and so does hillary clinton
1:47:23
republicans need to fix it and when we do we'll
1:47:26
be better off governor thank you very much dr
1:47:28
carson you recently visited a refugee camp in
1:47:33
jordan and you deemed it your words really quite
1:47:36
nice saying the people there didn't want to come
1:47:38
to the united states do you think these camps
1:47:41
are a long -term solution to the problem of syrian
1:47:44
refugees well it was very interesting having
1:47:47
an opportunity to talk to the syrians themselves
1:47:49
and i asked them what do you want what is your
1:47:52
supreme desire their supreme desire was to be
1:47:56
settled back in their own country i said what
1:47:59
can americans and other countries do they said
1:48:01
support the efforts of those who are trying to
1:48:05
provide safety for us, including the Jordanians.
1:48:08
Of course, they had a brand new hospital, for
1:48:10
instance, that was unstaffed because there wasn't
1:48:13
enough money to do it. But here's what's really
1:48:15
neat. If you go into Hasakah province in northeastern
1:48:21
Syria, that's an area that's as big as Lebanon.
1:48:25
It's controlled by the Kurds, the Christians,
1:48:27
and the moderate Sunnis. And there are airstrips
1:48:30
and hotels. You could settle a lot of people
1:48:33
there. All we would have to do is be willing
1:48:36
to provide them with some weaponry, some defensive
1:48:40
weaponry. And we seem to be afraid to give the
1:48:42
Kurds weaponry. We like to send it for some strange
1:48:45
reason through Baghdad, and then they only get
1:48:48
a tenth of it. And if we would support them,
1:48:51
we have a perfect ideal there. We don't need
1:48:54
to set this up as we either take a bunch of refugees.
1:48:58
who will be infiltrated with terrorists, I guarantee
1:49:00
you, for them not to be, to be terrorist malpractice.
1:49:03
And we need to choose the right choice, not these
1:49:08
false choices. Senator Paul, you oppose letting
1:49:11
in Syrian refugees at this time into the United
1:49:14
States. The U .S. has already accepted 2 ,000
1:49:17
Syrian refugees, including 13 living here in
1:49:20
Las Vegas right now. Would you send them back?
1:49:23
What would you do with these people? You know,
1:49:26
I think we need to set the record straight on
1:49:27
this because I think Marco misspoke about the
1:49:30
bill. On the Gang of Eight bill, there was no
1:49:34
provisions really for extra scrutiny or safety
1:49:37
for refugees. At the time the bill came up, two
1:49:40
Iraqi refugees came to my hometown, Bowling Green,
1:49:43
Kentucky. Their fingerprints were on a bomb from
1:49:46
Iraq. They were in the database, but we didn't
1:49:48
pick them up. we relocated them here put them
1:49:50
in government housing got them on food stamps
1:49:52
and we began providing for them but we didn't
1:49:54
have adequate security on the gang of eight bill
1:49:57
on marco's bill we had an opportunity there was
1:50:00
a conservative consensus for an amendment i put
1:50:04
forward called trust but verify that would have
1:50:06
strengthened border security on both refugees
1:50:09
students and those coming here and marco cited
1:50:12
and was I guess more sympathetic to Chuck Schumer
1:50:15
and to the president than he was to conservative
1:50:17
principles. But this goes directly to national
1:50:19
defense. And if he wants to run as a national
1:50:21
defense conservative, he's got to explain why
1:50:25
he hasn't stepped up to support border security.
1:50:28
Senator Rubio. As he's just admitted, the reason
1:50:32
why those refugees were allowed in is because
1:50:34
they messed up in how they used the actual database.
1:50:36
They should have known they didn't because they
1:50:37
didn't run the actual law as it exists now. It
1:50:40
didn't work well. As far as the refugees are
1:50:42
concerned, it's not that America doesn't want
1:50:44
to accept refugees, Wolf. It's that we may not
1:50:46
be able to, because this is an issue we have
1:50:48
to be 100 % right on. If we allow 9 ,999 Syrian
1:50:52
refugees into the United States, and all of them
1:50:54
are good people, but we allow one person in who's
1:50:56
an ISIS killer, we just get one person wrong.
1:50:59
We've got a serious problem. And there is not
1:51:01
a single person in the national defense apparatus
1:51:03
of this country that can guarantee you we're
1:51:05
going to be 100 % right. And that's why, as president,
1:51:07
I'll take this very seriously. Senator Paul,
1:51:10
you didn't answer the question about the 2 ,000
1:51:11
Syrian refugees who are already here in the United
1:51:14
States. Will you send them back or let them stay?
1:51:18
what my bill would do would be only for refugees
1:51:20
going forward so i haven't taken a position on
1:51:22
sending anyone home but i have taken the position
1:51:25
that we have a lot of problems here in our country
1:51:27
and that one of the things that we do charity
1:51:30
is about giving your own money charity isn't
1:51:32
giving someone else's money to put everyone on
1:51:34
government housing and food stamps and bring
1:51:36
them in from around the world i think is a mistake
1:51:38
to give of your own money i've given to my church
1:51:41
my church has helped people that came from bosnia
1:51:43
that's a good thing but we shouldn't have a program
1:51:46
where we just say that we're going to take care
1:51:48
of the world's refugees nobody in the middle
1:51:51
east is doing anything saudi arabia qatar kuwait
1:51:54
all the gulf nations are doing nothing they need
1:51:56
to step up and we have another we have another
1:51:58
question we have another question from facebook
1:52:02
let's listen My name is Carla Hernandez. I'm
1:52:06
from the University of Texas at Austin. And my
1:52:08
question is directed to all the candidates. If
1:52:11
the Bible clearly states that we need to embrace
1:52:14
those in need and not fear, how can we justify
1:52:16
not accepting refugees? Governor Christie, you
1:52:20
say there should be a pause in allowing new refugees
1:52:22
to come in to the United States, including orphans
1:52:26
under the age of five. What do you say to Carla?
1:52:29
What I say to Carla is that the first job of
1:52:31
the president of the United States is to protect
1:52:32
your safety and your security and the security
1:52:35
and safety of your family. And this debate stops
1:52:38
with me in the discussions with the FBI director.
1:52:41
Now, listen, I'm a former federal prosecutor.
1:52:43
I know Jim Comey. We've worked together. He was
1:52:46
the U .S. attorney in Manhattan when I was the
1:52:47
U .S. attorney in New Jersey. And when Jim Comey
1:52:50
gets up before Congress and says we cannot effectively
1:52:53
vet these people, for me as president, that's
1:52:55
the end of the conversation. We have to put America's
1:52:59
security first. The American people, we on this
1:53:04
stage need to open our ears. We need to open
1:53:07
our ears. The American people are not whispering
1:53:08
to us. They're screaming to us. And they're screaming
1:53:11
to us that it's our job to actually make this
1:53:13
government work. It's so dysfunctional under
1:53:15
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. It's so ineffective.
1:53:18
It's so ineffectual. that the american people
1:53:21
say we don't trust them to do anything anymore
1:53:23
so i'm not going to let syrian refugees any syrian
1:53:26
refugees in this country and it was widows and
1:53:28
orphans by the way and we now know from watching
1:53:30
the san bernardino attack that women can commit
1:53:33
heinous heinous acts against humanity just the
1:53:37
same as men can do it and so i don't back away
1:53:39
from that position for a minute when the fbi
1:53:41
director tells me that he can vet those people
1:53:43
then we'll consider it and not a moment before
1:53:45
because your safety and security is what's most
1:53:47
important to me governor casey You know, obviously,
1:53:53
as president of the United States, we've got
1:53:55
to keep the people safe. That's first and foremost.
1:53:58
But as governor of Ohio, I have an obligation
1:54:00
to keep the 11 .5 million people in Ohio safe.
1:54:04
And we've been very effective with our Joint
1:54:06
Terrorism Task Force being able to make busts.
1:54:09
In fact, we just made one three, four weeks ago
1:54:11
against a person who was favorable to ISIS living
1:54:15
in Akron. But let me tell you what's interesting
1:54:17
about the administration. We had Central American
1:54:21
minors that were placed in Ohio, and we never
1:54:24
knew a thing about it. We didn't know where they
1:54:26
were. And in fact, we know now that some of them,
1:54:29
there is a case going on where some of them may
1:54:31
have been human trafficked. So when the administration
1:54:34
tells me we have a great vetting process, the
1:54:37
proof's in the pudding. They sent these minors
1:54:39
to us. Our schools were disrupted. We didn't
1:54:42
know where they were. And bad things happened
1:54:44
to them. And now they tell me that we ought to
1:54:47
be able to admit these Syrian refugees. So, Wolf,
1:54:50
look, people have accused me at times of having
1:54:52
too big of a heart. You know, and that's okay.
1:54:55
But I have to also say I must keep the people
1:54:58
of my state safe. So we take a pause. Thank you,
1:55:00
Governor. There is much more coming up. We are
1:55:03
only just beginning. Coming up, what other global
1:55:06
hotspots await the next president of the United
1:55:09
States? welcome back to the cnn facebook republican
1:55:32
presidential debate we're here at the venetian
1:55:35
las vegas tonight we've been focusing in a lot
1:55:37
on the middle east but let's turn to some other
1:55:39
world threats that you will potentially face
1:55:42
as commander in chief ms fiorina candidates here
1:55:46
have called the north korean leader kim jong
1:55:48
-un a maniac who is mentally unstable last week
1:55:52
he said he now has a hydrogen bomb if you're
1:55:55
elected president what would you do about kim
1:55:58
jong -un Well, first, Kim Jong -un is a dangerous
1:56:02
leader, without a doubt. And both Republican
1:56:05
and Democrat administrations have been completely
1:56:08
ineffective in dealing with him. So we must continue
1:56:12
to isolate him. We will need China as part of
1:56:15
that strategy. China is a rising adversary. So
1:56:19
one of the things we have to do if we want China's
1:56:21
support is to push back on China. They, too,
1:56:24
recognize one thing. strength and their own economic
1:56:27
interest. I have done business in China for 25
1:56:30
years, so I know that in order to get China to
1:56:33
cooperate with us, we must first actually retaliate
1:56:36
against their cyber attacks so they know we're
1:56:39
serious. We have to push back on their desire
1:56:41
to control the trade route through the South
1:56:43
China Sea, through which flows $5 trillion worth
1:56:46
of goods and services every year. We cannot let
1:56:49
them control the disputed islands, and we must
1:56:51
work with the Australians, the South Koreans,
1:56:54
the Japanese, and the Philippines. to contain
1:56:56
China. And then we must ask for their support
1:56:59
and their help with North Korea. Because believe
1:57:02
it or not, China is as concerned about Kim Jong
1:57:05
-un as we are. Dr. Carson, what would you do
1:57:08
about Kim Jong -un? Well, I definitely believe
1:57:12
that he's unstable. And I do, in fact, believe
1:57:14
that China has a lot more influence with him
1:57:16
than we do. But we also recognize that North
1:57:20
Korea is in severe financial straits. And they
1:57:26
have decided to use their resources to build
1:57:29
their military rather than to feed their people
1:57:31
and to take care of the various humanitarian
1:57:33
responsibilities that they have. We can capitalize
1:57:36
upon that. You know, we should use our economic
1:57:39
power in lots of different ways. I think we can
1:57:42
use that in order to keep Putin contained because
1:57:45
he's a one -horse show, energy. And we have an
1:57:49
abundance of energy, but we have archaic energy
1:57:52
exploitation rules. We need to get rid of those,
1:57:54
allow ourselves to... really make Europe dependent
1:57:58
on us and other parts of the world dependent
1:58:00
on us for energy, put him back in his little
1:58:02
box where he belongs. And, you know, we need
1:58:05
to be doing lots of other things with the resources
1:58:08
that we have. So economic power works just as
1:58:12
well as military power, perhaps even better.
1:58:14
And speaking of that, our military needs to be
1:58:16
upgraded. You know, you look at things like our
1:58:19
Ohio -class submarines. They're 25 years old.
1:58:21
Our Minuteman III missiles, they are 34 years
1:58:24
old. B -52 bombers 50 years. So, you know, if
1:58:29
we don't get the military right, nothing else
1:58:31
matters. Thank you, Dr. Carson. Dana and Hugh,
1:58:33
you have some questions as well. Governor Christie,
1:58:36
you've said if China launches a cyber attack
1:58:38
against the U .S., on your watch, quote, they're
1:58:41
going to see cyber warfare like they have never
1:58:43
seen before. What exactly would that response
1:58:46
look like? Well, what it would look like is we
1:58:49
have one of the great advantages of America being
1:58:51
the open society that we are, is we're not hiding
1:58:54
things from the American people. But China every
1:58:56
day is conducting business in a way that it hides
1:58:59
things from their people. So if they want to
1:59:01
come in and attack all the personnel records
1:59:03
in the federal government, which they've done,
1:59:06
and which they now have my Social Security number
1:59:08
and my fingerprints, as well as maybe some other
1:59:10
folks who are on this stage, the fact is they
1:59:12
need to be fought back on. And what we need to
1:59:15
do is go with the things that are most sensitive
1:59:17
and most embarrassing to them, that they're hiding,
1:59:19
get that information, and then put it out in
1:59:21
public. let the chinese people start to digest
1:59:23
how corrupt the chinese government is how they
1:59:26
steal from the chinese people and how they're
1:59:28
enriching oligarchs all throughout china they
1:59:31
need to understand that and we need to take those
1:59:34
type of steps this president has seen personnel
1:59:37
records of people who have sacrificed for the
1:59:39
american people and for the federal government
1:59:41
stolen by the chinese and he's done nothing in
1:59:44
return this is why this is why i said at the
1:59:47
beginning that this administration, Barack Obama
1:59:49
and Hillary Clinton, through their foreign policy,
1:59:51
have betrayed the American people because the
1:59:53
weakness they've displayed has led to Putin's
1:59:55
incursions in the Middle East and in Eastern
1:59:58
Europe and has led to significant problems in
2:00:01
the Middle East as well and the death and murder
2:00:03
of lots of folks. Governor Bush, what you just
2:00:06
heard from Governor Christie, are you concerned
2:00:07
that that could really escalate with China, that
2:00:10
they would retaliate and, for example, as the
2:00:12
NSA has said, attack the U .S. and maybe its
2:00:16
power grid, which the Chinese have the capability
2:00:18
to do? I completely agree with Chris. And this
2:00:21
administration has been so lax. Think about it.
2:00:24
Hillary Clinton's using a private server for
2:00:27
where classified information goes by. This is
2:00:31
a serious administration. The president receives
2:00:35
an inspector general's report that the Office
2:00:38
of Personnel Management could be hacked into.
2:00:40
They have antiquated firewalls. Twenty -three
2:00:42
million files are in the hands of the Chinese,
2:00:45
allegedly, including, by the way, members of
2:00:47
the press, it turns out, last week. Maybe that's
2:00:50
the only part that's good news so that you guys
2:00:53
can get a feel for what it's like now to see
2:00:55
this type of attack. This is something we have
2:00:58
to have the best defensive capabilities. We need
2:01:00
to coordinate all of our efforts with the private
2:01:02
sector. We need to give them liability relief
2:01:05
so that we can do that. And offensively, we need
2:01:07
to have capability second to none. We need to
2:01:10
create a situation where they know that there
2:01:12
will be adverse impacts if they continue to do
2:01:15
what they're doing. They'll respect that. They'll
2:01:17
respect the United States that is serious about
2:01:19
protecting our infrastructure. If we don't do
2:01:22
it, we'll continue to see exactly what's happening,
2:01:25
not just from the Chinese, by the way, the Russians
2:01:27
and rogue actors, including ISIS. This is a serious
2:01:30
part of the 21st century. uh security challenge
2:01:34
that we face mr trump dr carson just referenced
2:01:40
the single most important job of the president
2:01:42
the command the control and the care of our nuclear
2:01:44
forces and he mentioned the triad the b -52s
2:01:47
are older than i am the missiles are old the
2:01:49
submarines are aging out it's an executive order
2:01:52
it's a commander -in -chief decision what's your
2:01:54
priority among our nuclear triad well first of
2:01:56
all i think we need somebody absolutely that
2:01:59
we can trust who's totally responsible who really
2:02:03
knows what he or she is doing that is so powerful
2:02:06
and so important. And one of the things that
2:02:09
I'm frankly most proud of is that in 2003, 2004,
2:02:14
I was totally against going into Iraq. because
2:02:18
you're going to destabilize the middle east i
2:02:20
called it i called it very strongly and it was
2:02:22
very important but we have to be extremely vigilant
2:02:26
and extremely careful when it comes to nuclear
2:02:28
nuclear changes the whole ball game frankly i
2:02:31
would have said get out of syria get out if we
2:02:33
didn't have the power of weaponry today the power
2:02:36
is so massive that we can't just leave areas
2:02:40
that 50 years ago or 75 years ago we wouldn't
2:02:43
care it was hand -to -hand combat The biggest
2:02:46
problem this world has today is not President
2:02:48
Obama with global warming, which is inconceivable,
2:02:52
this is what he's saying. The biggest problem
2:02:54
we have today is nuclear, nuclear proliferation,
2:02:57
and having some maniac, having some madman go
2:03:01
out and get a nuclear weapon. That's, in my opinion...
2:03:06
That is the single biggest problem that our country
2:03:09
faces right now. The three legs of the triad,
2:03:11
though, do you have a priority? Because I want
2:03:12
to go to Senator Rubio after that and ask him.
2:03:14
I think to me nuclear is just the power, the
2:03:16
devastation is very important to me. Senator
2:03:19
Rubio, do you have a response? I do. First, let's
2:03:22
explain to people at home who the triad, what
2:03:23
the triad is. Maybe a lot of people haven't heard
2:03:25
that terminology before. The triad is our ability
2:03:27
of the United States. to conduct nuclear attacks
2:03:29
using airplanes, using missiles launched from
2:03:32
silos or from the ground, and also from our nuclear
2:03:34
subs. Ability to attack. And it's important.
2:03:37
All three of them are critical. It gives us the
2:03:39
ability at deterrence. Now, some have become
2:03:41
more critical than others. For example, the submarines.
2:03:43
And that's the Ohio -class submarine that needs
2:03:45
to be modernized. The air component also needs
2:03:48
to be modernized. The B -52, as someone earlier
2:03:51
pointed out, is an outdated model that was flown
2:03:53
by the grandparents of people that are flying
2:03:55
it now. And we need a serious modernization program
2:03:58
as well on our siloed launch missiles. All three
2:04:01
are critical for the defense. Thank you, Senator
2:04:03
Rubio. Some of you on this stage have questioned
2:04:06
whether your opponents have the temperament,
2:04:08
the right temperament, to be in control of the
2:04:10
nuclear codes. Dana, you have a question on this.
2:04:13
Mr. Trump. Just this weekend, you said Senator
2:04:16
Cruz is not qualified to be president because
2:04:19
he doesn't have the right temperament and acted
2:04:21
like a maniac when he arrived in the Senate.
2:04:23
But last month, you said you were open to naming
2:04:26
Senator Cruz as your running mate. I did. So
2:04:29
why would you be willing to put somebody who's
2:04:31
a maniac one heartbeat away from the president?
2:04:33
But I've gotten to know him over the last three
2:04:34
or four days. He has a wonderful temperament.
2:04:36
He's just fine. Don't worry about it. Okay. Senator
2:04:46
Cruz. You have not been willing to attack Mr.
2:04:50
Trump in public, but you did question his judgment
2:04:53
in having control of America's nuclear arsenal
2:04:57
during a private meeting with supporters. Why
2:04:59
are you willing to say things about him in private
2:05:01
and not in public? Dana, what I said in private
2:05:05
is exactly what I'll say here, which is that
2:05:07
the judgment that every voter is making of every
2:05:09
one of us up here. is who has the experience,
2:05:12
who has the vision, who has the judgment to be
2:05:15
commander -in -chief. That is the most important
2:05:17
decision for the voters to make. That's a standard
2:05:19
I'm held to, and it's a standard everyone else
2:05:22
is held to. And I will note, you know, in the
2:05:23
whole course of this discussion about our foreign
2:05:27
policy threats, it actually illustrates the need
2:05:29
for clarity of focus. You know, my daughters,
2:05:33
Caroline and Catherine, came tonight. They're
2:05:35
seven and five. And you think about the Los Angeles
2:05:37
schools canceling their schools today. And every
2:05:41
parent is wondering, how do we keep our kids
2:05:42
safe? We need a commander -in -chief who does
2:05:45
what Ronald Reagan did with communism, which
2:05:48
is he set out a global strategy to defeat Soviet
2:05:51
communism. I'm answering the question, Dana.
2:05:54
He directed all of his forces to defeating communism.
2:05:57
One of the things we've seen here is how easy
2:06:00
it is for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to
2:06:02
get distracted from dealing with radical Islamic
2:06:05
terrorism. They won't even call it by its name.
2:06:08
We need a president who stands up, number one,
2:06:10
and says we will defeat ISIS, and number two,
2:06:12
says the greatest national security threat facing
2:06:16
America is a nuclear Iran, and we need to be
2:06:19
focused on defeating radical Islamic terrorists.
2:06:22
I just want to clarify, what you're saying right
2:06:25
now is you do believe Mr. Trump has the judgment
2:06:27
to be commander -in -chief. What I'm saying,
2:06:29
Dana, is that is a judgment for every voter to
2:06:32
make. What I can tell you is all nine of the
2:06:35
people here. would make an infinitely better
2:06:37
commander -in -chief than Barack Obama or Hillary
2:06:40
Clinton. And there is a real danger, Dana, when
2:06:48
people get distracted. I'm answering the question,
2:06:50
Wolf. There's a real danger when people get distracted
2:06:53
by peripheral issues. They get distracted by
2:06:56
democracy building. They get distracted about
2:06:58
military conflicts. We need to focus on defeating
2:07:02
jihadism. ISIS and Iran have declared war on
2:07:06
America and we need a commander -in -chief who
2:07:08
will do everything necessary to keep our children
2:07:11
safe. And I will do everything necessary to keep
2:07:13
our children safe. Thank you, Senator. We're
2:07:15
a month and a half away now from the first real
2:07:18
test. Who will be the Republican presidential
2:07:20
nominee? Hugh, you have a question. Mr. Trump,
2:07:23
my listeners tell me again and again they're
2:07:25
worried that Hillary Clinton will win the White
2:07:27
House because you run as an independent. Are
2:07:29
you ready to reassure Republicans tonight that
2:07:31
you will run as a Republican and abide by the
2:07:33
decision of the Republicans? I really am. I'll
2:07:36
be honest. I really am. I mean, people have been
2:07:38
putting me to correction. I really am. I could
2:07:41
have won. Dr. Carson. Excuse me. Can I just finish?
2:07:48
Oh, please. I've gained great respect for the
2:07:52
Republican leadership. I've gained great respect
2:07:54
for many, and I'm going to even say all, I mean,
2:07:56
in different forms, for the people on the dais.
2:07:59
No, in different forms. In different forms. But
2:08:01
I have great respect for the people I've met
2:08:04
through this process. I've never done this process
2:08:06
before. I've never been a politician. I mean,
2:08:08
for the last six months, I've been a politician.
2:08:10
But I will tell you, I am totally committed to
2:08:13
the Republican Party. I feel very honored to
2:08:16
be the frontrunner. I think I'll do very well
2:08:20
if I'm chosen. If I'm so fortunate to be chosen,
2:08:23
I think I'll do very well. Polls have come out
2:08:24
recently saying I would beat Hillary. I will
2:08:26
do everything in my power to beat Hillary Clinton.
2:08:29
I can promise you that. Dr. Carson, Mr. Trump
2:08:32
just committed to stay the distance regardless
2:08:34
of the result. How about you? Well, you know,
2:08:37
the statement that I made last week that I would
2:08:40
leave the party was contingent upon whether,
2:08:45
in fact, the party... acts like they have in
2:08:49
the past, with a lot of subterfuge and dishonesty,
2:08:53
or like they're going to act now, because I spoke
2:08:57
to Reince Priebus, and he assured me that the
2:08:59
Washington Post right or had it all wrong, and
2:09:04
that they're not going to be engaging in anything
2:09:06
to thwart the will of the people. That's why
2:09:08
I got into this race, as a member of We the People,
2:09:12
to try to bring some honesty and integrity back
2:09:14
to the process. All right, candidates, we have
2:09:16
more coming up when we come back. Everyone will
2:09:20
have an opportunity to explain why this particular
2:09:23
candidate, each of you on the stage, believes
2:09:25
he or she should be the Republican presidential
2:09:28
nominee. Now it's time for the closing statements
2:09:50
from the candidates. Each one has 30 seconds.
2:09:53
Senator Paul. The greatest threat to our national
2:09:56
security is our debt. We borrow a million dollars
2:10:00
a minute. And whose fault is it? Well, frankly,
2:10:04
it's both parties' fault. You have those on the
2:10:07
right who clamor and say, oh, we must spend anything
2:10:09
on the military. And those on the left who say
2:10:12
the same for domestic welfare. But what most
2:10:15
Americans don't realize... is there's an unholy
2:10:18
alliance. They come together. There's a secret
2:10:20
handshake. We spend more money on everything.
2:10:22
And we are not a stronger nation if we go further
2:10:25
into debt. We are not projecting power from bankruptcy
2:10:28
court. To me, there is no greater threat than
2:10:32
our debt. I'm the only fiscal conservative on
2:10:34
the stage because I'm willing to hold the line
2:10:36
on all spending. I hope you'll consider me in
2:10:39
the election. Thank you very much. No Republican
2:10:47
has ever been elected President of the United
2:10:49
States without winning Ohio. Let me give you
2:10:52
a little tip on how you win Ohio. It's reform,
2:10:56
it's hope, it's growth, it's opportunity, and
2:11:00
it's security. The people of Ohio are the people
2:11:04
of America. The people of America are reflected
2:11:06
in Ohio. Our message has to be big and bold and
2:11:11
positive and connect, not just with people's
2:11:14
heads. but also connect with their hearts. If
2:11:17
we do it, we will beat Hillary Clinton, and we
2:11:20
will run the White House, and we will strengthen
2:11:23
and fix America. I promise you. Governor Christie,
2:11:28
on September 10, 2001, I was named chief federal
2:11:31
prosecutor in New Jersey, and on September 11,
2:11:34
2001, my wife and my brother, who are in the
2:11:36
audience tonight, went through the World Trade
2:11:38
Center to their offices just blocks away from
2:11:40
the Trade Center. I lost touch with them for
2:11:42
six hours that day and praying that they were
2:11:45
alive. Luckily, they were sent home. But many
2:11:47
of our friends and others in our neighborhood
2:11:50
lost their lives that day. Terrorism, radical
2:11:53
jihadist terrorism, is not theoretical to me.
2:11:55
It's real. And for seven years, I spent my life
2:11:59
protecting our country against another one of
2:12:01
those attacks. You won't have to worry when I'm
2:12:03
president of the United States whether that can
2:12:05
be done, because I've already done it. I want
2:12:07
the chance to do it again to protect you. your
2:12:10
children, and your families. If you give me the
2:12:12
chance and give me your vote, I will protect
2:12:14
America from the wars that are being brought
2:12:16
to our doorstep. Ms. Fiorito. I, too, remember
2:12:23
September 11th. I remember immediately putting
2:12:26
into place security procedures all throughout
2:12:29
our company that did business in 170 countries
2:12:33
where we thought corporate interests would be
2:12:35
attacked next. To take our country back, to keep
2:12:39
our nation safe, we have to begin. by beating
2:12:43
hillary clinton we need to unify our party we
2:12:48
need to be better than our government which 75
2:12:51
of the american people now think is corrupt and
2:12:54
incompetent they're right we need to be better
2:12:56
than our politics 80 think we have a professional
2:12:58
political class of both parties that cares more
2:13:02
about its power position and privilege than actually
2:13:04
on getting anything done we need to unify our
2:13:07
party we need a real conservative in the white
2:13:10
house And we need to beat Hillary Clinton to
2:13:13
take our country back and keep our nation safe.
2:13:15
I can. I am. And together, if you join me, we
2:13:20
will take our country back. Governor Bush, ask
2:13:27
yourself, which candidate will keep you and our
2:13:29
country safer, stronger, and freer? Hillary Clinton
2:13:33
has aligned herself with Barack Obama on ISIS,
2:13:36
Iran, and the economy. It's an alliance doomed
2:13:38
to fail. My proven record suggests... And my
2:13:42
detailed plans will fortify our national and
2:13:45
economic security. And my proven record as governor
2:13:47
will give you a sense that I don't make false
2:13:50
promises. I deliver real results. For America
2:13:54
to be safe and sound, I ask for your support.
2:13:57
Thank you all very much. Senator Rubio. Thank
2:14:00
you. As we near the end of this year, we enter
2:14:03
one of the most important elections in a generation.
2:14:05
For what's at stake in this election is not simply
2:14:08
what party is going to be in charge. but our
2:14:10
very identity as a people and as a nation. For
2:14:13
over 200 years, this has been a special country,
2:14:15
a unique place where anyone from anywhere can
2:14:17
achieve anything. But now millions of Americans
2:14:20
feel like they're being left behind, insecure
2:14:22
in their future and unsafe in the face of terrorism.
2:14:26
This election is about electing a president that
2:14:28
will restore our economic vibrancy so that the
2:14:30
American dream can expand to reach more people
2:14:33
and change more lives than ever before. and rebuild
2:14:36
our military and our intelligence programs so
2:14:38
that we can remain the strongest nation on earth.
2:14:40
Tonight, I ask you for your vote. If you do this,
2:14:44
we will rebuild this country, and together we
2:14:47
will usher in a new American century, the greatest
2:14:49
era in the history of this great land. Senator
2:14:53
Cruz. Judgment, strength, clarity, and trust.
2:15:03
Barack Obama has said he doesn't believe in American
2:15:05
leadership or America winning. He is wrong. America
2:15:09
can win again, and we will win again. Ronald
2:15:13
Reagan reignited the American economy, rebuilt
2:15:17
the military, bankrupted the Soviet Union, and
2:15:20
defeated Soviet communism. I will do the same
2:15:23
thing, cutting taxes, cutting regulation, unleashing
2:15:26
small businesses, and rebuilding the military
2:15:29
to defeat radical Islamic terrorism. Our strategy
2:15:32
is simple. We win, they lose. We've done it before,
2:15:36
and we can do it again. Dr. Carson, I've been
2:15:43
fortunate enough to travel to 58 different countries,
2:15:46
and I thank God every day that I was born in
2:15:49
this country, the most exceptional country that
2:15:52
the world has ever known. And I want to make
2:15:55
sure that we preserve that exceptionalism for
2:15:58
the next generation. My mother told me if I worked
2:16:01
hard and I really believed in American principles
2:16:05
and I believed in God. anything is possible i
2:16:08
believe that is true and that's why i'm not anxious
2:16:10
to give away american values and principles for
2:16:13
the sake of political correctness mr trump our
2:16:19
country doesn't win anymore we don't win on trade
2:16:24
we don't win on the military we can't defeat
2:16:28
isis we're not taking care of our great people
2:16:31
the veterans we're not taking care of them We
2:16:35
have to change our whole way. Our health care
2:16:37
system is a disaster. It's going to implode in
2:16:40
2017, just like you're sitting there. Doesn't
2:16:43
work. Nothing works in our country. If I'm elected
2:16:47
president, we will win again. We will win a lot.
2:16:51
And we're going to have a great, great country,
2:16:53
greater than ever before. Thank you. Thanks to
2:16:58
all the Republican presidential... candidates.
2:17:01
That does it for this Republican presidential
2:17:03
debate. On behalf of everyone at CNN, we want
2:17:06
to thank the candidates, Facebook, the Republican
2:17:09
National Committee, and the Venetian Las Vegas.
2:17:11
My thanks also to Hugh Hewitt and Dana Bash.
2:17:14
We especially want to wish everyone a very Merry
2:17:18
Christmas, Happy Holidays, especially to our
2:17:20
soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marine protecting
2:17:23
our nation around the world. Anderson Cooper
2:17:26
picks up our coverage of tonight's debate right
2:17:29
now. Anderson.