--- title: Republican Debate: Candidates Slam Media description: They repeatedly took aim at the New York Times and other outlets. canonical: https://time.com/4181987/republican-debate-media/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-15T05:04:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T14:09:33.648Z article:section: Politics og:title: Candidates Slam the Media at Republican Debate og:description: "It's the New York Times. They're always wrong." og:url: https://time.com/4181987/republican-debate-media/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86629b1eda8959c7/6988794f0a4a227f2e9c7ecf/republican-presidential-debate-gop-photos-006.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: GOP Presidential Candidates Debate In Charleston og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Candidates Slam the Media at Republican Debate twitter:description: "It's the New York Times. They're always wrong." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86629b1eda8959c7/6988794f0a4a227f2e9c7ecf/republican-presidential-debate-gop-photos-006.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Candidates Slam the Media at Republican Debate  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jan 15, 2016 5:04 AM UTC  Republican presidential candidates, from left, Ohio Governor John Kasich, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Ben Carson and Jeb Bush participate in the Republican presidential debate in North Charleston, S.C. on Jan. 14, 2016. Republican presidential candidates, from left, Ohio Governor John Kasich, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Ben Carson and Jeb Bush participate in the Republican presidential debate in North Charleston, S.C. on Jan. 14, 2016.Scott Olson—Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jan 15, 2016 5:04 AM UTC The Republican presidential candidates slammed the mainstream media [during a debate on Thursday](http://time.com/4179941/republican-debate-charleston-fox/?xid=homepage), repeatedly singling out the New York _Times_ for criticism to the delight of the audience. When a debate moderator asked Donald Trump about a [_Times_ editorial board quoting him](http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/01/07/donald-trump-says-he-favors-big-tariffs-on-chinese-exports/) as favoring a 45 percent tariff on Chinese exports to the United States, the Republican front-runner’s answer was succinct. “It’s the New York _Times_. They’re always wrong,” he said, to laughter and applause, though he later conceded that he was “totally open to a tariff.” Like most debate moderators, the Fox Business Network hosts referenced news articles to bolster the credibility of their questions and justify asking them. But like most Republicans at debates, the candidates fired back with one-liners. Maria Bartiromo asked Ted Cruz about a recent [New York _Times_ report](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/14/us/politics/ted-cruz-wall-street-loan-senate-bid-2012.html) that said he failed to properly disclose $1 million in loans from Goldman Sachs and Citibank during his U.S. Senate race. “Your campaign says it was inadvertent. A million dollars is inadvertent?” Bartiromo said. Cruz responded with a critique of the newspaper. “Well, Maria, thank you for passing on that hit piece on the front page of the New York _Times,”_ Cruz said. “The nice thing about the mainstream media — they don’t hide their views,” he said before referencing a [piece by _Times_ columnist Frank Bruni](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/21/opinion/the-scary-specter-of-ted-cruz.html?%5Fr=0) that compared Cruz to the “body-hopping spirit” featured in the horror movie _It Follows._ **Read More:** [_Here’s the Horror Movie That Ted Cruz Referenced at the GOP Debate_](http://time.com/4181918/ted-cruz-horror-movie-it-follows-republican-debate/) “Yes, I made a paperwork error disclosing it on one piece of paper instead of the other, but if that’s the best hit the New York _Times_ has got, they better go back to the well,” Cruz said. When Trump mentioned a [new NBC/Wall Street _Journal_ national poll](http://time.com/4181801/trump-cruz-republican-poll/?xid=homepage) that showed his lead over Cruz has strengthened, the audience jeered at the mention of both news organizations. “They don’t like the Wall Street _Journal_. They don’t like NBC, but I like the poll,” Trump said. But in at least one instance, Ben Carson was content using the [word of the Wall Street _Journal’_s editorial board](http://www.wsj.com/articles/ben-carson-vs-the-irs-1452213178), alone, to make his point. “I just want to say, you know, last week we released our tax plan and multiple reputable journals, including the Wall Street _Journal_, said ours is the best. Just want to get that out there. 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