Down to four candidates — businessman Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich — the quest for securing the Republican Primary nomination continued Thursday night in Detroit.
After a dominant performance from Trump on Super Tuesday, the debate took place shortly after 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney made a case against voting for Trump. Romney said earlier Thursday morning in Utah that the prospects for a "safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished" if Trump is nominated.
Trump rebutted these claims early in the debate, calling Romney a “failed candidate” and “an embarrassment to everybody, including the Republican Party.”
Attempting to keep the number of these personal attacks to a minimum, moderators Megyn Kelly, Bret Baier and Chris Wallace delivered policy-driven questions to all candidates concerning the economy, immigration and terrorism.
But it was Trump who received most of the heat regarding claims that he has continually flip-flopped his stances on important issues.
The topic of immigration and U.S. versus foreign workers emerged as a contentious issue. During this discussion, Trump said he would soften his original stance on visas for highly skilled workers.
“I’m changing, I’m changing," Trump said. "We need highly skilled people in this country.”
The issue continued with Rubio and Cruz mentioning an off-the-record discussion of immigration Trump had with The New York Times editorial board, which Trump refused to release. Cruz said the interviews outline Trump’s more flexible view on immigration. Such views also go against those express on Trump's campaign website.
Aside from the consistent back-and-forth between Cruz and Trump, Kasich performed well by refusing to participate in attacks. But he did argue he is never given enough time on the debate stage.
Kasich explained he should receive more speaking time because he has been the most qualified candidate in addressing important issues, including national debt reduction.
“I’m the only person on this stage that actually was a chief architect on balancing the federal budget,” Kasich said.
While Cruz engaged in personal attacks, he tried to maintain his composure, saying that the United States is interested in solutions and not slogans. He said his plan to repeal Obamacare and pass a simple flat tax, along with abolishing the IRS, would boost the economy and increase jobs and small businesses. On immigration, he said he would impose a 180-day moratorium on the H-1B program and implement a comprehensive investigation and audit to reduce the number of U.S. companies replacing American workers with foreign labor.
The candidates also outlined their plans for defeating ISIS. Rubio and Kasich said they favored more ground troops, and Trump said he still supported his original claims of targeting terrorist families and using extensive torture worse than waterboarding.
At the end of the debate, all four candidates agreed to keep their pledge to the Republican Party and support whomever became the party's nominee, even if that means voting for Trump. Trump said he would vote for the winner even though he wouldn't necessarily want to.
The next debate will be held Thursday, March 10 on CNN in Florida.