--- title: Republican Debate: Why Donald Trump Can’t Lose description: The billionaire's rivals came at him hard on Thursday night during their last debate before Super Tuesday, yet little changed in the race. canonical: https://time.com/4238371/republican-debate-donald-trump-won-lost/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-26T05:35:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:49:29.152Z article:section: Politics og:title: Why Donald Trump Can’t Lose og:description: His rivals came at him hard during their last debate before Super Tuesday. og:url: https://time.com/4238371/republican-debate-donald-trump-won-lost/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc75249d5e07feb42/69887f41a988ca20b46b6c16/rtx28n6m.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 og:image:alt: Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at the debate sponsored by CNN for the 2016 Republican U.S. presidential candidates in Houston og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Donald Trump Can’t Lose twitter:description: His rivals came at him hard during their last debate before Super Tuesday. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc75249d5e07feb42/69887f41a988ca20b46b6c16/rtx28n6m.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Donald Trump Can’t Lose > 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. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=68c21765-a93d-467c-9184-fdff0b47b0f6&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch the Tenth Republican Debate In Less Than Three Minutes [Watch (HLS stream): Watch the Tenth Republican Debate In Less Than Three Minutes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/GCycSNfJ.m3u8) (2:57)  _Published 2016-02-26_ by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/) and [Zeke J Miller / Houston](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) Feb 26, 2016 5:35 AM UTC by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/) and [Zeke J Miller / Houston](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) Feb 26, 2016 5:35 AM UTC Donald Trump’s history in business and politics is pocked with bankruptcies and fraud allegations, illegal immigrants on his payroll and donations to Democrats from his checkbooks. All were used against him during Thursday night’s debate, but it’s entirely possible none of it mattered. Trump has comfortable leads in the polls heading toward Super Tuesday, just five days away, and his campaign so far has weathered all kinds of bad news. After months of leading the pack, Trump seems immune to those who would challenge him on positions and statements that, for anyone else, should have proved disqualifying. That didn’t stop Florida Sen. Marco Rubio from using the last debate before voters cast ballots on Tuesday in 12 states to directly challenge the billionaire. Rival Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, too, came for Trump, but from the right. It was clear that Rubio was pitching a message that would help him survive a fight in his home state of Florida and perhaps battle toward a muddled nominating convention, while Cruz was looking at March 1 contests, including at home in Texas. It made for a remarkable night of television, but might once again prove that the typical rules of politics do no matter in a year when a former reality TV host who promises mass deportations emerge a favorite among Christian conservatives in South Carolina and among Hispanics in Nevada. **Read More:** [_Ted Cruz Fades on Home Turf_](http://time.com/4238324/republican-debate-ted-cruz-houston/) Trump has tapped into a frustration among voters, and he has won three states so far with his pledge to round up the estimated 11 million immigrants in the country illegally. “Look at our borders. They’re like Swiss cheese,” Trump said in the debate’s opening moments, continuing his rhetoric that many in the GOP’s Establishment fret will turn off a generation of Hispanic voters. The tense minute quickly escalated with Trump and Rubio shouting over each other. It was a snapshot that encapsulated not just this campaign but also the fight happening inside the broader GOP about its posture toward the growing immigrant population that conservatives will need to win over if ever they are to retake the White House. Rubio, who helped write a bipartisan immigration bill that Cruz opposed, said Trump’s rhetoric doesn’t line up with his record. “A lot of these positions are new to him,” Rubio said, before showing sharp elbows. “You have brought in over a thousand people from all over the world to take those jobs instead,” he said of Trump’s companies. “You’re the only person on stage who has been fined for hiring people illegally.” **Read More:** [_Rubio Asked Republican Debate Audience to Fact-Check Trump on Google_](http://time.com/4238272/rubio-trump-google-it/) Trump said they were part-time workers during the hottest months of the year. “I’ve hired people. No one up here has hired people,” Trump said. He then returned to his signature pledge to build a wall along the United States’ border with Mexico. Rubio had a quip ready: “You’ll be using illegal immigrant labor to do it.” Cruz, too, made a play against Trump, but from a more conservative corner. Cruz repeatedly challenge Trump on his health care policy, accusing him supporting socialized medicine. “Who would pay?” Cruz repeatedly demanded of the man standing next to him. Trump, true to form, refused to answer, interrupted and pointed to his polling leads as answers. “I understand rules are very hard for you,” Cruz said in a condescending tone. “I’m relaxed. You’re the basketcase,” Trump shot back. For any other candidate, the anti-Trump pile-on would have made for a miserable night. Yet Trump left the stage largely in one piece, even sticking around to do interviews on CNN. Trump fought Rubio to a draw, and that was enough for the GOP front-runner to leave the stage still in the pole position heading toward March 1 voting. On that date, 12 states—Alaska to Georgia—have their nominating contests and award 624 delegates to the nominating convention. It will be the biggest day on the calendar in terms of delegates, and one that will either show Republicans coalescing around an alternative to Trump, or Trump continuing his unstoppable march to the nomination. **Read More:** [_Here Are the News Stories Mentioned at the GOP Debate_](http://time.com/4238273/republican-debate-donald-trump-polish-workers-vicente-fox/) Trump seemed to mock his rivals for even trying to block him. “They were doing very badly in the polls,” Trump said of his rivals after the debate that saw Rubio and Cruz gang up on him. “I’ve dealt with the toughest people in the world over my lifetime. I’ve dealt with much tougher.” Yet the attacks against him, coming in close quarters on stage in Houston, were the toughest he’s faced yet during a debate. He brushed many of them off as lies, even as rival campaigns were happy to provide news articles backing up the attacks. In many cases, the earlier articles were even more brutal than what the candidates themselves had to say. Trump all but shrugged off the criticism and responded with insults. “I watched him meltdown and it was one of the saddest thing I’ve ever seen,” Trump said of Rubio. Taken as political theater, it was a preview of how the Democrats might run against Trump should he prevail as the nominee. Piling on seldom works against Trump, especially coming so late. Rubio’s moves were likely to inspire hope among the party’s donors, who are increasingly moving toward him, but there are limits to what one night of television can do to combat a political movement led by an unpredictable mogul. “It was a sorely needed concentrated attack on Trump, but its effectiveness will be measured more by the execution beyond just this debate,” said Kevin Madden, a Republican strategist. “Rubio needs to take this approach every day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week from here on out.” ## Transcript We're live here at the University of Houston for the tenth Republican Presidential Debate. We're getting record- setting numbers. I think I have something to do with that. We are building a new Republican Party. On the stage tonight there are two descendants of immigrants of Cuban origin and an African American. We are the party of diversity, not the Democratic Party. [ APPLAUSE ] We have always welcomed legal immigrants, but I think it is a mistake To forgive those who break the law to allow them to become US citizens. So you're the only person on the stage that's ever been fined for hiring people to work on your projects illegally. You hired some workers from Poland. No, no I'm the only one on the stage that's hired people. You haven't hired anybody. [ LAUGH ] If you wanna know who actually will secure the borders and follow through, you ought to ask who has a record before they were a candidate for President. The problem with President Reagan Is we didn't get in there and actually finish the border. The wall just got ten feet taller believe me. [ APPLAUSE ] If you build the wall the way he build Trump towers, he'll be using illegal immigrant labor to do it. [ APPLAUSE ] Justice Roberts was strongly recommended and pushed by Ted. Justice Roberts gave us Obamacare might as well be called Robert's care. If you're small business owner Donald Trump's socialized medicine, putting the government in charge of your healthcare would kill more jobs than Obamacare. I'll tell you this- Senator. As President I will repeal every word of Obamacare. Thank you. We're gonna have private health care. But I will not allow people to die on the sidewalks and the streets of our country if I'm President. You may let it and you may be find with it. So does the government pay for everyone's healthcare? I'm not fine with it Keep kicking the can down the road, we're gonna face this sooner or later. But I would love to see regime change in North Korea. Kim Jong- un is an unstable person. If he ever shoots a missile at us it will be the last thing he ever does. The next President of the United States will not be able to serve four to eight years without dealing with the national debt. It is not a question of if, it is a question of when we have a debt crisis I've got a plan to take to Washington, and I will have it there in the first hundred days and it will include shipping welfare, education, transportation, Medicaid and job training back to us, so we can begin to in the States to be the laboratories of innovation. ANd that is what this country needs, jobs, jobs and jobs! [ APPLAUSE ] I'm asking you tonight, America. To join hands with me to heal, inspire, and revive America. If not us, who, and if not now, when? I will hit the ground running, and we will get America moving again. The time for games is over. I know you've had a lot of choices to make, but now it's time to narrow it down and I'm asking you to get behind me. There's several deal makers on this stage, but there's only one person who's consistently stood up to both parties, fighting for the American people against Against the Washington deal. I will get it done. Politicians will never ever get it done and we will make America great again. Thank you. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4238371/republican-debate-donald-trump-won-lost/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4238371/republican-debate-donald-trump-won-lost/"},"headline":"Why Donald Trump Can’t Lose","datePublished":"2016-02-26T05:35:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-05T08:49:29.152Z","description":"'It was a sorely needed concentrated attack on Trump'","url":"https://time.com/4238371/republican-debate-donald-trump-won-lost/","keywords":["Debates","2016 Election","Sen. Marco Rubio","ted cruz","Donald Trump","john kasich","Dr. Benjamin S. 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