--- title: Republican Debate on CBS Had 13 Million Viewers description: More than 13 million viewers tuned in to see Saturday's Republican debate, the most-watched of all nine debates this year. canonical: https://time.com/4224462/republican-debate-ratings-cbs/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-14T20:33:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:41:12.115Z article:section: Politics og:title: CBS Republican Debate Was the Most-Watched of 2016 og:description: It drew 13.5 million viewers og:url: https://time.com/4224462/republican-debate-ratings-cbs/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3498a1f9afad233/69887d920b72e382e66e822b/republican-debate-ratings-cbs.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Republican Presidential Candidates Debate In Greenville, South Carolina og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: CBS Republican Debate Was the Most-Watched of 2016 twitter:description: It drew 13.5 million viewers twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3498a1f9afad233/69887d920b72e382e66e822b/republican-debate-ratings-cbs.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 03:54 video:published: 2016-02-14 section: politics topics: Republican primary debate, Supreme Court vacancy, Justice Scalia, abortion, Second Amendment, ISIS, Iraq war, immigration, border wall, constitutional interpretation genre: debate, news tones: combative, confrontational, assertive emotions: anger (medium), defiance (medium), concern (medium) sentiment: negative audience: US voters, political news followers, primary election observers people: Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama, Jeb Bush, Justice Scalia, Mitch McConnell, George W Bush, Al Gore, Vladimir Putin organizations: Planned Parenthood, ISIS, Univision, Democrats content_suitability: politics [00:00-03:54]; profanity [00:59-01:08]; war [01:50-02:21]; violence [01:50-01:53]; death [00:59-01:08]; hate [02:44-02:51] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # The CBS Republican Debate Was the Most-Watched of 2016 > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=92d3bb02-c432-49c7-98f4-86223bd5a236&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch the Ninth GOP Debate In Less Than Four MInutes [Watch (HLS stream): Watch the Ninth GOP Debate In Less Than Four MInutes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SNLcU0ea.m3u8) (3:54)  _Published 2016-02-14_ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary This video presents excerpts from a Republican presidential primary debate, opening with candidates taking the stage and sparring over claims about Ted Cruz, Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan. It moves to a moment of silence for Justice Scalia and debate over the Supreme Court vacancy, abortion, and the Second Amendment. The remaining segments cover ISIS, Iraq, Vladimir Putin, immigration and the proposed border wall, before closing with the candidates' closing remarks. ## Key points - Candidates clash over claims that Ted Cruz lied about Ben Carson in Iowa and about Planned Parenthood. (00:20) - A speaker says Ronald Reagan was a conservative reform governor for eight years before he became president. (00:44) - The candidates observe a moment of silence for Justice Scalia. (00:59) - A speaker warns that one Supreme Court justice could strike down every state restriction on abortion and reverse the Heller decision. (01:08) - A speaker argues the Constitution should be interpreted as it was originally meant rather than as a living document. (01:37) - A speaker says ISIS must be defeated and that air power should be used before ground troops, with ground troops used if required. (01:50) - A speaker states that the war in Iraq was a big, fat mistake. (02:17) - A speaker pledges to build a wall on the border and says Mexico will pay for it. (02:21) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:59] Opening exchanges and personal attacks. Candidates take the stage and trade accusations of lying, including claims about Ted Cruz, Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan. - [00:59 to 01:37] Scalia's death and Supreme Court stakes. A moment of silence for Justice Scalia leads into debate over the Supreme Court vacancy, abortion rights and gun rights. - [01:37 to 02:17] Constitution, ISIS and Iraq. Speakers discuss constitutional interpretation, the fight against ISIS, Vladimir Putin and the Iraq war. - [02:17 to 03:54] Immigration and closing remarks. The debate turns to immigration, the proposed border wall and the candidates' closing statements. ## Key quotes - [00:12] unidentified speaker: "You are the single biggest liar." - [00:44] unidentified speaker: "Ronald Reagan was a liberal maybe in the 1950s." - [01:37] unidentified speaker: "the constitution is not a living and breathing document." - [02:17] unidentified speaker: "The war in Iraq was a big, fat mistake." - [02:21] unidentified speaker: "The wall will be paid for by Mexico." ## Questions this video answers - What did the candidates say about the Supreme Court vacancy after Justice Scalia's death? [01:08] - How should the United States respond to ISIS according to the speakers? [01:50] - What do the speakers think of the Iraq war? [02:17] - How do the speakers propose handling illegal immigration? [02:21] ## Content suitability - politics [00:00-03:54]: Entire video is a political debate between candidates. - profanity [00:59-01:08]: Strong personal language and insults directed at opponents ('single biggest liar', 'nuts'). - war [01:50-02:21]: Discussion of military action against ISIS and the Iraq war. - violence [01:50-01:53]: Reference to ISIS chopping off heads and describing them as animals. - death [00:59-01:08]: Moment of silence for the recent death of Justice Scalia. - hate [02:44-02:51]: Comments about immigrants that include a claim they are not all rapists, in an immigration context.  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Feb 14, 2016 8:33 PM UTC  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Feb 14, 2016 8:33 PM UTC More than 13 million viewers tuned in to see [Saturday night’s brutal Republican debate](http://time.com/4224330/republican-debate-donald-trump-ted-cruz-brutal/), the most-watched debate of 2016. The six remaining GOP presidential candidates [faced off on stage in Greenville, South Carolina](http://time.com/4224275/republican-debate-transcript-south-carolina-ninth/), exchanging barbs, shouting over each other and questioning each other’s character before the state’s primary. The live [CBS News](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-who-won-the-cbs-news-republican-debate-2016/) showdown between real estate mogul Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Ohio Gov. John Kasich drew 13.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings. **Read More**: [This Was the Least-Watched Republican Debate](http://time.com/4183224/republican-debate-low-ratings-january/) It was the highest-rated debate among adults between the ages of 25 and 54 and Saturday’s top primetime broadcast, figures show. The debate reached its peak audience between 10 p.m and 10:30 p.m. ## Transcript [00:00] Gentlemen, please join us on stage. Well first of all, I [00:04] don't know he knows what I said on Univision because [00:05] he doesn't speak spanish. And second of all, the [00:12] other point that I would make- [ FOREIGN ] Thank you [00:15] for including me in the debate, two questions already. [00:17] This is great. [ LAUGH ] [00:20] I'm sick and tired of Barack Obama blaming my [00:22] brother for all of the problems that he's had. That's a [00:25] matter of principle and I'll- You are the single biggest [00:27] liar. You probably are worse than Jeb Bush. You are [00:30] the single biggest liar. Cuz for a number of weeks now, [00:32] Ted Cruz has just been telling lies. He lied about Ben [00:35] Carson in Iowa. [ APPLAUSE ] He lies about Planned [00:36] Parenthood. [ APPLAUSE ] When you point to his own [00:39] record, he screams liar, liar, liar. Ronald Reagan was [00:44] a liberal maybe in the 1950s. He was a conservative [00:46] reform governor for eight years before he became [00:49] president. And he didn't tear down people like Donald [00:52] Trump is, he tore down the Berlin Wall. I gotta tell you, [00:55] this is just crazy? [ APPLAUSE ] This is just nuts okay? [00:59] Geez man. Please join us and our candidates on our [01:03] stage in a moment of silence for Justice Scalia. We [01:08] are one Justice away from a supreme court that will [01:12] strike down every restriction on abortion adopted by [01:14] the states. We are one justice away from a supreme [01:17] court that will reverse the Heller decision, one of [01:20] Justice Scalia's seminal decisions. that upheld the [01:23] second amendment right to keep and bear arms I [01:25] think it's up to Mitch McConnell and everybody else to [01:27] stop it, it's called delay, delay, delay >>> and [01:30] someone on this stage will get to choose the balance of [01:33] the Supreme Court and it will begin by filling this [01:35] vacancy that's there now. And we need to put people [01:37] on the bench that understand that the constitution is [01:40] not a living and breathing document. It's to be [01:42] interpreted as it was originally meant I thank God all [01:45] the time that it was George W Bush in the White House [01:47] on 9 / 11 and not Al Gore. [ APPLAUSE ] You have to [01:50] knock out ISIS, they're chopping off heads. These are [01:53] animals. Vladimir Putin's not gonna be an ally of the [01:55] United States, the whole world knows this. [ APPLAUSE ] [01:57] It's a simple basic fact. They're not taking out [02:01] [ APPLAUSE ] They're not even attempting to take out [02:03] ISIS. There were not weapons of mass destruction. [02:05] [ CROSSTALK ] [ SOUND ] [ CROSSTALK ] If [02:10] it is required to use ground troops to defeat ISIS, we [02:13] should use them, but we ought to start with using our [02:17] incredible air power advantage. The war in Iraq was a [02:21] big, fat mistake. I will build a wall, remember this The [02:24] wall will be paid for by Mexico. We are not being [02:28] treated right. [ APPLAUSE ] We are not being treated [02:32] properly. I think there has to be consequences for [02:34] violating our immigration laws. The great majority of [02:37] people that come to this country, come because they [02:40] have no other choice. They want to come to provide [02:42] their families. That doesn't mean it's right. Coming [02:44] here legally should be a lot easier than coming here [02:47] illegally. But the motivation? They're not all rapists, as [02:51] you- know- who said. When I announced that I was [02:53] running for President on June 16th, illegal immigration [02:57] wasn't even a subject. You know the Lord made all of [03:00] us special. The Lord wants us to be connected. I [03:04] believe we're part of a very big mosaic. We have this [03:06] manipulation by the political class and by the media, [03:10] telling us who we're supposed to pick and how we're [03:13] supposed to live. We the people are the only people [03:16] who determine that. We need someone with a servant's [03:19] heart, that has a back bone, that isn't gonna focus on [03:22] polls and focus groups. That's gonna focus on the [03:24] American people to keep them safe and secure. Our [03:26] culture is in trouble, wrong is now considered right. [03:29] And right is considered wrong. And all the things that [03:32] once held our families together are now under constant [03:34] assault. Do you want another Washington deal maker? [03:36] Who will do business as usual, cut deals with the [03:40] Democrats, grow government, grow debt, and give up [03:44] our fundamental liberties. We're gonna make our [03:46] country great and we're gonna do the right thing. I'm [03:48] working for you, I'm not working for anybody [03:51] else. Thank you very much. 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