GOP Debate Focuses On ISIS And Not Much Else

NPR

Published December 16, 2015 at 12:40 PM EST

Republican presidential candidate former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (right) speaks as businessman Donald Trump (left) gestures and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (center) looks on during the Republican Presidential Debate, hosted by CNN, at The Venetian Las Vegas on December 15, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)

The top Republican presidential candidates faced off Tuesday night in a two-hour debate that focused largely on the fight against ISIS.

Donald Trump, the leading candidate according to most polls, doubled down on his statements that all foreign Muslims should be temporarily barred from entrance into the United States, but former Florida Governor Jeb Bush pushed back, calling Trump a “chaos candidate.”

Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida faced off on immigration and the National Security Agency’s bulk data collection program, while others on stage jumped right into the heated back-and-forth.

Here & Now’s GOP political analyst Paris Dennard speaks with host Jeremy Hobson about the debate’s highlights and what it may mean as the candidates head into 2016.

Guest

Paris Dennard, Here & Now political analyst and Republican strategist who led outreach to the African-American community for George W. Bush’s administration. He tweets @PARISDENNARD.