http://www.nationalreview.com/article/422202/gop-debate-cleveland-donald-trump-show The Trump Show
By Eliana Johnson — August 7, 2015
Cleveland — It was, as many worried it would be, the Donald Trump show.
The real-estate mogul-turned-presidential candidate declared within the first moments of Thursday evening’s debate that he was open to abandoning the GOP for a third-party candidacy; threatened to come after Fox News’s Megyn Kelly, one of the debate moderators; and praised the single-payer health-care systems of countries like Canada and Scotland.
Tonight, Trump was once again the star of his own reality show. He charged that his fellow Republican candidates are bought and paid for by wealthy donors — “You give ‘em money, they’ll do anything you want them to do,” he said, making clear he was speaking from experience. He insulted the moderators — “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even be talking about illegal immigration, Chris,” he told Fox’s Chris Wallace, who had asked him to defend his allegation that the Mexican government is sending criminals and rapists across the border. Mexican leaders are cunning; American leaders are stupid: “That’s what’s happening whether you like it or not,” Trump told his interlocutor.
If Trump was the star of the show, some supporting actors were able to elbow their way in. There was Chris Christie, who barely made it onto the stage but nonetheless made himself a presence. He scrapped with Rand Paul on foreign policy, accusing the senator of “sitting in a subcommittee” and “blowing hot air” on foreign affairs. And he tangled with Mike Huckabee over how to tackle entitlements. (“Here’s the news for the American people,” he said. “The retirement program is fixed with IOUs.”)
John Kasich was the hometown favorite, and he managed to use his advantage effectively. He seemed to absorb the energy in the room. He was the only candidate to acknowledge Trump’s momentum — and to suggest an alternative for the frustration his success represents. “Donald Trump’s hittin’ a nerve in this country, and for people that wanna tune him out, they’re making a mistake,” Kasich said. There’s a lot of support for a wall on the Southern border, he said, including among politicians, many of whom would accomplish that goal in a different way than Trump proposes to accomplish it.
Several candidates were relegated to the role of extra. Ben Carson was invisible, at times, and Jeb Bush didn’t look like a frontrunner, so he reinforced the idea that he isn’t.
That title, for the moment, still technically belongs to Trump.
