Republican Presidential candidate Marco Rubio (R) who picked up a major endorsement from popular S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley Wednesday, traded shots with fellow Sen. Ted Cruz during CNN's Republican presidential town hall event. Ben Carson was also part of the event. Thursday's town hall will feature John Kasich, Jeb Bush and Donald Trump. Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI |
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GREENVILLE, S.C., Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio used the stage very differently Wednesday at CNN's Republican presidential town hall.
The two men have been going after each other for days heading into Saturday's primary in South Carolina, but decided to use their time on the town hall stage alone differently. The Texas senator took the tone of a prosecutor while the Florida candidate tried to utilize his personal story. Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson largely stayed out of the fracas.
Cruz used his time to take shots at fellow candidate Donald Trump, telling moderator Anderson Cooper he "laughed out loud" when he found out about Trump's cease-and-desist letter to stop the Cruz campaign from running an ad featuring the billionaire in a 1999 interview declaring support for abortion rights.
"It is quite literally the most ridiculous theory I've ever heard," Cruz said.
Meanwhile Rubio, who a few hours earlier picked up a major endorsement from popular S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley, echoed Trump's accusations that Cruz was lying about him, saying there was "no other word" for it.
"It's about your record, you've gotta clear it up," he said. "These things are disturbing and they need to be addressed."
Cruz said during his turn on stage, "Both Donald Trump and Marco Rubio are following this pattern -- that whenever anyone points to their actual record ... they start screaming liar, liar, liar."
When he wasn't taking shots at fellow candidates, Rubio talked about being taunted as a child for being Cuban-American, but said he would never return there as president unless it was a "free Cuba." His statement came hours after it was announced President Barack Obama was scheduled to visit the country within weeks.
Meanwhile, Carson, whose poll numbers have dwindled since he was a strong second behind Trump last fall, said Obama should nominate a replacement for the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
"I probably would take the opportunity to nominate someone. Doesn't necessarily mean that person will be acted on or confirmed," he said.
Carson also suggested there should be a "public-private partnership" to resolve issues like the one Apple is facing after it was ordered to help the FBI unlock the cellphone of the San Bernardino attackers.
"Apple and probably a lot of other people don't probably necessarily trust the government these days," he said.
Cruz and Rubio are trying to close the gap between themselves and Trump, where a new CNN/ORC poll showed Trump easily ahead with 38 percent, followed by Cruz at 22 percent, Rubio at 14 percent and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at 10 percent.
