A debate between the top Republican candidates in the 2016 presidential election has begun with a fiery exchange of verbal punches.
Frontrunner Donald Trump has come under fierce attack at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.
Rand Paul, a Kentucky senator, said Mr Trump’s “playground” insults made him unsuitable to be a president involved in international negotiations.
There are 15 Republicans hoping to be the party’s White House nominee.
Other early highlights in the debate:
– the candidates were united in their opposition to the nuclear deal with Iran
– Scott Walker said Mr Trump, a hotel tycoon, cannot bankrupt the country like he did to certain businesses – strongly denied by Mr Trump
– Mike Huckabee repeated his defence of Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk jailed for refusing to issue marriage licences due to her faith
– Mr Paul said he is worried about having Mr Trump in control of the US nuclear codes, because of his “careless language” and personal insults of rivals
– Carly Fiorina said it was up to voters to decide whether Mr Trump could be trusted with the codes
As the main debate began, all eyes were on Mr Trump, who is being pursued by neurosurgeon Ben Carson and, further behind, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush in recent polls.
In his introduction, Mr Trump promised to “make America great again”, while Jeb Bush said he would “fix a broken Washington” and enable people to “rise up”.
An undercard debate for the four other Republican candidates happened on the same stage earlier.
In a combative atmosphere, the four were split over the case of Ms Davis, who defied a Supreme Court ruling and refused to issue marriage licences to gay couples.
Ms Fiorina was not among the four. The former tech executive and the only woman in the field was promoted to the main debate after CNN amended the rules to reflect more recent polling.
The Democratic Party will hold its first debate in Nevada in October, also hosted by CNN.
Source-BBC
