--- title: Republican Debate: Read Full Text of the Twelfth Debate description: Here is the full text. canonical: https://time.com/4255181/republican-debate-transcript-twelfth-cnn-miami/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-11T04:39:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2024-01-24T13:00:13.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Read the Full Transcript of the Twelfth Republican Debate og:description: Here is the full text. og:url: https://time.com/4255181/republican-debate-transcript-twelfth-cnn-miami/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5364d93d2e9a709f/69888a9cf887dc3d26e94ffc/republican_debate_florida.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Republican Presidential Candidates Debate In Miami Area og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read the Full Transcript of the Twelfth Republican Debate twitter:description: Here is the full text. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5364d93d2e9a709f/69888a9cf887dc3d26e94ffc/republican_debate_florida.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read the Full Transcript of the Twelfth Republican Debate in Miami > Sponsored content. 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Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=371c7e8d-f142-4d41-a781-f46ecb593ce2&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: CNN Republican Debate: Watch The Republican Debate In Under Four Minutes [Watch (HLS stream): CNN Republican Debate: Watch The Republican Debate In Under Four Minutes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/uVpZQXdg.m3u8) (3:55)  _Published 2016-03-11_ by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Updated: Jan 24, 2024 1:00 PM UTCPublished: Mar 11, 2016 4:39 AM UTC by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Updated: Jan 24, 2024 1:00 PM UTCPublished: Mar 11, 2016 4:39 AM UTC The four Republican presidential candidates met for their 12th debate in Miami Thursday. CNN hosted the debate featuring real estate mogul Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. The moderator was CNN anchor Jake Tapper. Here is a partial transcript. --- > “” --- ## Transcript We want to have free trade but fair trade. If all we do is sell things to each other, we can only sell to 5 % of the people on earth. We're driving jobs overseas. But we clearly have to control our borders. We can't have people just walking in. Right now we're bringing in far too many low skilled workers. What that is doing is driving down The wages of hard working Americans. Anyone who tells you that social security can stay the way it is, is lying. 83 % of the federal budget in less than five years will all be spent on Medicare, Medicaid, the interest on the debt. I want to make America great again and I want to leave Social Security. As is. Hillary Clinton says she'll cut waste fraud and abuse if only we had smarter people in Washington that would fix the problem. You know what, that is the statement of a liberal who doesn; t understand government is the problem. Now there are more 18 year olds who believe they have a better chance of seeing a UFO than a social security check. We're all in this together We're gonna come up with solutions, we're gonna find the answers to things and so far I cannot believe how civil it's been up here. I am different in one primary respect and that's trade. And the effect of a 45 % tariff would be when you go the store, when you go to Walmart, when you're shopping for your kids, the prices you pay. Go up 45 %. The 45 % tax is a threat. I was not a tax it was a threat. You are paying the tax. It's not China that pays the tax. We'll build our factories here and we'll make our own products. And that's the way it should be done. Last night you told CNN " Islam hates us ." Did you mean all 1. 6 billion Muslims? I mean a lot of them. I know that a lot of people find appeal in the things Donald says cuz he says what people wish they could say. The problem is presidents can't just say anything they want. The people who represent radical Islam, they want to destroy everything that we're about and other Muslims who don't share their view. They have no laws, they have no rules, they have no regulation. And they chop off heads. They drown 40, 50, 60 people at a time. And we're working on a different set of parameters. If we capture any of these terrorists alive, they're not gonna have the right to remain silent. And they're not gonna go to a courtroom in Manhattan, they're gonna go to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and we will find out everything they know, [ APPLAUSE ] And we'll do so legally. [ APPLAUSE ] There's nobody on this stage that's more pro- Israeli than I am. The policy Donald is outlined, I don't know if he realizes is an anti- Israeli policy. There is no peace deal possible with the Palestinians at this moment. There just isn't. I would love for a relationship between Cuba and the United States to change, but it will require Cuba to change at least its government. I don't agree with President Obama. I do agree that something should be Should take place after 50 years it's enough time folks. And you know what passing those laws what impact it would have on the environment? Zero. Because China is still gonna be polluting. And India is still gonna be polluting. You can have a strong environmental Policy at the same time that you have strong economic growth. They are not inconsistent with one another. There is some anger. There's also great love for the country. It's a beautiful thing in many respects, but I certainly do not condone that at all, Jake. There are people out there who are worried about their jobs. You can either pray on that and be negative about it, or you can tell people That these things can be fixed. I think I'm gonna have the delegates, okay? I think. [ APPLAUSE ] Let's see what happens. If we nominate Donald Trump, Hillary wins. That's what an incredible nation we have. That the son of a bartender, and the son of a mailman and the son of a dishwasher and a successful businessman can all stand on this stage competing. Sometimes being positive isn't all that interesting, but it's very interesting to my family and my children and so many supporters that I meet all across the country. We will do whatever it takes to ensure that our children inherit from us what we inherited from our parents. Embrace these millions of people that now, for the first time ever, love The Republican Party and unify. Be smart and unify. 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