--- title: Republican Debate: Why Donald Trump Will Still Dominate description: Even if he's not on stage, his presence will be felt. canonical: https://time.com/4197580/republican-debate-donald-trump-iowa/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-28T04:08:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T19:39:22.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Why Trump Will Still Dominate the Republican Debate og:description: Even if he's not on stage. og:url: https://time.com/4197580/republican-debate-donald-trump-iowa/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79b46c8273c6e179/69887b29cd1bbaf49f6ff2b2/republican-presidential-debate-gop-jan-28-photos-10.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3245 og:image:height: 1825 og:image:alt: Donald Trump honors veterans ahead of the Iowa Caucus og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Trump Will Still Dominate the Republican Debate twitter:description: Even if he's not on stage. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79b46c8273c6e179/69887b29cd1bbaf49f6ff2b2/republican-presidential-debate-gop-jan-28-photos-10.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump's Shadow Looms Large Over Fox News Debate > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: Watch The Republican Debate in Under 4 Minutes [Watch (HLS stream): Watch The Republican Debate in Under 4 Minutes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/yAWlwSjX.m3u8) (3:34)  _Published 2016-01-29. GOP Debate-012816-v1_ by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/) and [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) Updated: Dec 13, 2023 7:39 PM UTCPublished: Jan 28, 2016 4:08 AM UTC  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is applauded at a special event to benefit veterans organizations at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan 28, 2016. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is applauded at a special event to benefit veterans organizations at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan 28, 2016. Larry W. Smith—EPA by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/) and [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) Updated: Dec 13, 2023 7:39 PM UTCPublished: Jan 28, 2016 4:08 AM UTC Donald Trump didn’t show up for [Thursday night’s Fox News debate](http://www.foxnews.com/live-coverage/fox-news-google-gop-debate). That didn’t mean he wasn’t the star yet again. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush called him “a little teddy bear.” Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida called him “the greatest show on earth.” Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said his personal insults were befitting “a maniac.” Donald Trump, meanwhile, was across town, getting ready for his own campaign events after boycotting the debate [amid a feud with Fox News host Megyn Kelly](http://Megyn Kelly Unfazed By Trump Drama). It made for a split-screen duel just five days before Iowans kick off the race for the Republicans’ presidential nomination. For his rivals, it’s a long-awaited moment to get their message across without the bombastic front-runner, but also an unpredictable opportunity as they remain locked in their own wars to be the best Trump alternative. Cruz, the second-place candidate, was quickly put on the defensive as hungry rivals looked to eat into his lead without his greatest challenger on stage. Perhaps hoping to get in on a piece of the media-bashing boost that Trump was enjoying, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas criticized the debate hosts for goading his rivals into assessing his record. “If you guys ask one more mean question, I may have to leave the stage,” Cruz threatened. Not missing a beat, Rubio followed up to invite scrutiny. “Don’t worry. I’m not leaving the stage no matter what you ask me.” At other points in the debate, the Fox News anchors were ready to keep the candidates in line. “No. No, no, no,” host Megyn Kelly said as Ohio Gov. John Kasich tried to break in. He yielded. “You’re a good man, Gov. Kasich.” Cruz, too, kept criticizing the moderators. Host Chris Wallace seemed nonplussed. “It is a debate, sir,” Wallace said. The moderators kept the questions coming, covering a lot of the familiar issues after six previous debates. But the candidates’ polish is far improved from their first meeting back in August, and advisers to the campaigns recognize that this might be their final chance to make an impression with Iowans.  Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images Jim Watson—AFP/Getty ImagesRepublican Presidential candidate Texas Sen. Ted Cruz lat the Republican presidential debate Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, in Des Moines, Iowa. For Trump, the decision to skip the debate is a high-risk gamble depriving him of a high-profile platform to make his closing case to caucus-goers in Iowa. He’s betting that the announcement will only burnish his go-it-his-own-way credentials. But it will also allow Trump’s rivals to beat up on him without the deterrent that has protected him over the first six debates—Trump’s unmatched ability to counter-punch on stage. Cruz is not the only candidate anxious about additional incoming from the other candidates. Rubio will face a host of candidates who see his rise in Iowa as an obstacle to theirs in New Hampshire. “It probably means the target on our back just got a little bit bigger, but at the same time it means that we’re going to have a lot more opportunity for Marco to get his message out,” said Rubio adviser Todd Harris. Meanwhile, Bush’s campaign is celebrating the news as an opportunity for their wonkish candidate to make his case without Trump on stage. “It gives us more time at the microphone and more time to talk about answers to substantive issues that Iowa voters are demanding right now,” said David Kochel, a senior adviser to Jeb Bush’s campaign. “I think as you approach these voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, the campaign needs to be more serious and needs to be about things people care about. As the nomination gets turned over from the pundits to voters I think the voters want to hear from leaders who have accomplishment and records and results and they want to hear about that.” **Read More:** [_Bush Mocks Trump Decision to Skip Debate_](http://time.com/4196843/donald-trump-jeb-bush-debate/) Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul sought to use the Trump-less debate as an opportunity to reignite the support of their fading coalitions, with the former hoping for more speaking time and the latter lavishing in his return to the main stage. With small, but loyal constituencies, they are looking to win over some more converts in the final stretch. For the three governors, Bush, Kasich and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the debate is their first step toward trying to force a breakout moment before their showdown in the Granite State, but will be far less consequential than the Feb. 6 contest there 72 hours before polls close. ## Transcript Welcome to the seventh Republican presidential debate. I'm a maniac and everyone on this stage is stupid, fat and ugly. And Ben, you're a terrible surgeon. [ LAUGH ] Now that we've gotten the Donald Trump portion out of the way. [ LAUGH ] He's an entertaining guy, he's the greatest show on earth. I have not insulted Donald personally and I don't intend to. I kind of Donald Trump, he was a little teddy bear to me. I want to thank Everyone here for showing the men and women of Iowa the respect, to show up and make the case to the people of this state and people of the country why each of us believe we would make the best Commander- in- Chief. I've been held accountable for six years of the Governor of New Jersey. And with a Democratic legislature, I've gotten conservative Things done. That is exactly what I'll do as a president of United States. The ball collection of your phone data. The invasion of your privacy did not stop one terrorist attack. I don't think you have to give up your liberty for a fall sense of security. We cannot fix these things in this country. The sole security, the boarder Balancing the budget. Getting wages to grow faster. Unless we lead as conservatives, but we also invite people in from the other party. We need people who think out of the box, and can solve problems. The last four questions have been, Rand please attack Ted. Marco please attack Ted. Chris please attack Ted. Jeb please attack Ted. It is a debate, sir. If you guys ask one more mean question I may have to leave the stage. You cannot destroy ISIS with a military that's being diminished. When I'm President we are rebuilding the U. S. military because the world is a safer and a better place. When America's the strongest military in the world. You claim it is tough talk to discuss carpet bombing. It is not tough talk. It is a different fundamental military strategy than what we've seen from Barack Obama. We need to arm directly to Kurds, embed our troops with the Iraqi military, re- engage with the Sunni tribal leaders, get the lawyers off the damn backs of the military once and for all. Arming the allies of ISIS will make the situation worse. Then what we really need to do is defeat ISIS, but if you defeat Assad, what you will wind up with is a larger and more powerful ISIS that occupies that space. If there were someplace in this country where radical Jihadists are planning to attack the United States, we will go after them wherever they are, and if we capture them alive, They are going to Guantanamo. And if you wanna defend the country, it begins with border security, and this is where I've had my disagreement with Senator Rubio. You can't be in favor of defending us against Islam, radical Islam, if you're not for border security. I will support law Law enforcement and we will stop radical terrorist attacks in this country by supporting out intelligence community and our law enforcement community. We need to stop allowing political correctness to dictate our policies. We are a nation of immigrants. As such, everyone is welcome, from any race, any country, any religion if they wanna be Americans. We are not gonna round up and deport 12 million people but we are not gonna go around handing out citizenship cards either. Nations will have to make a choice. They can do business with Iran or they can do business with America. And I am very confident that they're going to choose America before they choose the Iranian economy. If we find out they're developing a nuclear weapon and we know how to get to it We're gonna go take it out. What we need to do is make sure that the war on drugs is equal protection under the law and that we don't unfairly incarcerate another generation of young African American males. Get rid of Planned Parenthood funding for the United States of America. [ APPLAUSE ] Bernie Sanders is a socialist. I think Bernie Sanders is a good candidate for president of Sweden. Hillary Clinton is disqualified from being the Commander and Chief of the United States. 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