--- title: Republican Debate: Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Door' description: It's a welcome olive branch in what has been an incendiary discussion canonical: https://time.com/4092571/republican-debate-immigration/ author: TIME article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-29T16:33:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:39:43.236Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Door' Is a Big, Beautiful Step in the Right Direction og:description: It's a welcome olive branch in what has been an incendiary discussion og:url: https://time.com/4092571/republican-debate-immigration/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd2e78e10877f318d/69886ea02dce014f879e6399/debate-gop4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3600 og:image:height: 2025 og:image:alt: Republican Presidential hopeful Donald Trump (2L) speaks as Marco Rubio (L), Ben Carson (C), Carly Fiorina (2R), and Ted Cruz look on during the CNBC Republican Presidential Debate on Oct. 28, 2015 at the Coors Event Center at the University of Colorado og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Door' Is a Big, Beautiful Step in the Right Direction twitter:description: It's a welcome olive branch in what has been an incendiary discussion twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd2e78e10877f318d/69886ea02dce014f879e6399/debate-gop4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Door' Is a Big, Beautiful Step in the Right Direction > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=7b5ceb3c-c642-4b17-8906-07b95b5c67a7&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch The CNBC GOP Debate in Less Than 4 Minutes [Watch (HLS stream): Watch The CNBC GOP Debate in Less Than 4 Minutes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/8UytvMpk.m3u8) (3:46)  _Published 2015-10-29. Watch The CNBC GOP Debate in Less Than 4 Minutes_ by [Kevin R. Johnson](https://time.com/author/kevin-r-johnson/) ## Kevin R. Johnson Oct 29, 2015 4:33 PM UTC by [Kevin R. Johnson](https://time.com/author/kevin-r-johnson/) ## Kevin R. Johnson Oct 29, 2015 4:33 PM UTC The CNBC Republican debate at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colo., on Wednesday night saw relatively few immigration fireworks. This is a presidential primary season, after all, that has been filled with talk of border fences, more enforcement, deportation campaigns and anti-Latino comments. So it’s a good sign that the [immigration discussion](http://time.com/4091301/republican-debate-transcript-cnbc-boulder/) was relatively tame. Donald Trump seemed to make an effort to distance himself from his previous disparagement of the Mexican people, stating: “I love the Mexican people; I respect the Mexican leaders.” His olive branch on legal immigration could help change the tenor of the discussion. More nuanced then the “Mexicans are criminals” trope, Trump emphasized that while he still wants to build a wall, he supports “a big, fat beautiful door right in the middle of the wall” for legal immigration to the U.S. Time will tell whether this suggestion of greater openness on immigration will have an impact and move the candidates away from the enforcement-only approach that has dominated Republican circles in recent months. Candidates also discussed the H-1B program, which allows skilled workers to come to the U.S. on a temporary basis. Sen. Marco Rubio confirmed his support to expand the program, which members of the tech industry, including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, strongly support, and said that abuses should be punished. Donald Trump, denying that he had ever criticized the program or Rubio’s efforts to expand it, seemed unaware that his [website](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/immigration-reform) states: “Mark Zuckerberg’s personal Senator, Marco Rubio, has a bill to triple H-1Bs that would decimate women and minorities.” But despite this progress, the candidates still didn’t address in a meaningful way the biggest immigration challenge facing the nation: comprehensive immigration reform. What about a true debate—not simply hyperbole and conclusions—about a path to legalization, more legal immigrant visas, better and more focused enforcement, the role of state and local law enforcement agencies in immigration enforcement, the DREAM Act, and many more issues are on the immigration agenda? It is not as if immigration reform has not been on the minds of Republican political leaders. It’s playing a major role in the selection of the next Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Considerable drama over the last week surrounded efforts by conservative Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus to obtain written [assurances](http://www.nationalreview.com/article/426097/paul-ryan-promises-no-immigration-reform-obama-administration) that Rep. Paul Ryan would not allow for a vote on immigration reform while President Barack Obama is in office. The real question is whether no discussion of the true immigration issues in the Republican debate is better than incendiary discussion and exploitation of our baser instincts. At some point, the nation—including Republican political leaders—will need to have a sober, rational, and respectful discussion and debate over comprehensive immigration reform and the immigration future of the U.S. _Kevin R. Johnson is Dean of the University of California, Davis, School of Law and the author of_ [Opening the Floodgates](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0814743099/?tag=timecom-20). ## Transcript Live from the University of Colorado in Boulder, the Republican Presidential Debate. [ APPLAUSE ] My great concern is that we are on the verge, perhaps, of picking someone who cannot do this job. What is your biggest weakness and what are you doing to address it? Well, John, I don't really have any weaknesses that I can think of. [ LAUGH ] I trust people too much. Not really seeing myself in that position until hundreds of thousands of people began to tell me that I needed to do it. Well gee, after the last debate I was told that I didn't smile enough. [ LAUGH ] [ APPLAUSE ] But I'm not worried about my finances, I'm worried about the finances of everyday Americans. [ INAUDIBLE ] who today are struggling in an economy that is producing good paying jobs, while everything else costs more. Whose fault is it that Medicare's broke and out of money, that Social Security broke and out of money, and I say look, it's not Republicans' fault, it's not Democrats' fault, it's your grandparents' fault for having too many damn kids. Tell me what's different between the government and Bernie [ INAUDIBLE ] who sits in prison today for doing less than what the government has done to the people on social security and medicare in this country. Let's tell people the truth. For once let's do that and stop trying to give them some kind of fantasy that's never going to come true. When you signed up for this, this was a six year term. And you should be showing up to work. I mean literally, the Senate, what is it, like a French work week? You get like three days where you have to show up? I don't remember you ever complaining about John McCain's vote record. The only reason why you're doing it now is because we're running for the same position, and someone has convinced you that attacking me is gonna help you. Here's the bottom line. [ APPLAUSE ] My campaign- Would you feel more comfortable if your employees brought guns to work? Yes, I might feel more comfortable. I would say that I would, and I have a permit which is very unusual in New York, a permit to carry. And I do carry on occasion, sometimes a lot. But I like to be unpredictable, so people don't know exactly what you carry. [ LAUGH ] I love Donald Trump. Is a good man I'm wearing a Trump tie tonight. Get over that one. Okay? Wait a sec. Al. We're clearly not having that beer you mentioned. [ LAUGH ] But I'll give you thirty more seconds. But I'll buy you a tequila. Okay, alright. Or even some famous Colorado brownies. I'll give you thirty seconds to respond. Whoa. If somebody put me on their homepage, they did it without my permission. Does that not speak to your vetting process or judgment in any way? It speaks to the fact that I don't know that it's going on. We have 19 trillion dollars in debt, we have people out of work, we have ISIS and Al Qaeda attacking us, and we're talking about fantasy football? Can we stop? [ APPLAUSE ] I'm the only one on this stage that has a plan that would create jobs, cut taxes, balance the budget, and could get it done because I'm realistic. You just don't make promises like this. Why don't we just give a chicken in every pot? You find a Democrat that's for cutting taxes, cutting spending $ 10? I'll give him a warm kiss. I do not want to walk my five grandkids through the charred remains of the once great country called America and say here you go, $ 20 trillion worth of debt, good luck making something out of this mess. I want a government so small I can barely see it. I want a government so small that the individual has a chance to drive and prosper. I may not be your dream candidate just yet but I can assure you I am Hillary Clinton's worst nightmare and in your heart of hearts you cannot wait to see a debate between Hillary Clinton and Carly Fiorina. I will tell you this. 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