Jeb Bush rose from the political dead, Ben Carson remained an audience favorite and Donald Trump drew the ire — and boos — of the audience during the fourth GOP debate on Fox Business Tuesday.
The Milwaukee showdown, moderated by FBN’s Maria Bartiromo and Neil Cavuto and Wall Street Journal’s Gerard Baker, was the least crowded GOP debate yet — with eight candidates on the primetime stage: real estate mogul Donald Trump, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.
Here are the 5 breakout moments from the televised exchange:
1. Jeb Bush ate his Wheaties
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush seems to have eaten his Wheaties, coming out swinging against both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
“Hillary Clinton has said that Obama’s policies get an A. Really? One in 10 people aren’t working or have given up all together… that’s not an A,” he said. “One in seven people are living in poverty that’s not an A. One in five children are on food stamps. That’s not an A. It may be the best that Hillary Clinton can do, but it’s not the best America can do.”
That line got a big applause from the crowd.
Later, Bush aimed some sarcasm Trump when the mogul tried to shut down Kasich in an argument over immigration by suggesting maybe they should let Jeb Bush talk.
“Thank you, Donald Trump, for letting me speak,” Bush said. “What a generous man you are.”
2. Ben Carson addresses media controversies: Hillary’s a liar, not him
Carson tried to brush off growing questions about the accuracy of his autobiographical statements by attacking likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s trustworthiness.
“I have no problem with being vetted what I do have a problem with is being lied about,” Carson said. “I don’t even mind that so much if they do it with everybody, like people on the other side.
Carson then said Hillary Clinton told her daughter, Chelsea, one thing about Benghazi and another thing to the American people.
“Where I came from the called that a lie,” Carson said. “I think that’s very different than somebody interpreting when I said that I was offered a scholarship to West Point. That’s the words that they used.”
3. Trump loses his cool
A GOP debate can’t officially kick off without Donald Trump insulting someone and the Donald did just that Tuesday at Kasich’s expense.
Kasich began the exchange by criticizing Trump’s plan to deport more than 11 million immigrants without proper documentation.
“It’s a silly argument. It’s not an adult argument,” Kasich said about Trump’s plan. “We all know you can’t pick them up and ship them back across the border.”
Trump shot back that Kasich fell into economic luck in Ohio: “You’re lucky in Ohio that you struck oil.” He went on to cite President Dwight Eisenhower, whom Trump claimed deported 1.5 million immigrants in the 1950s.
The back-and-forth between the two men continued until Trump lost his cool: “I built an unbelievable company worth billions and billions of dollars,” he said. “I don’t have to hear from this guy.”
4. Hillary Clinton really was high-fiving during the debate
At one point, Bush argued that Trump’s plan to deport millions of people illegally in the country is not the American way.
“Even having this conversation sends a powerful signal. They’re doing high fives in the Clinton campaign right now when they hear this,” Bush quipped.
Turns out they were.
At that exact moment, ABC News tweeted, “.@HillaryClinton campaign spokesperson: “We actually are doing high-fives right now.” #GOPDebate.”
5. Trump’s dig at Carly Fiorina lands flat
After Fiorina tried to chime in during a discussion about military force in the Middle East, Trump quipped, “Why does she keep interrupting everybody?”
That line didn’t sit well with the audience, who began booing Trump for what seemed like a good while.