They wrangled over immigration, gay marriage and foreign affairs at last night’s prime-time debate, hosted by CNN. Front-runner Donald Trump called former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush “weak on immigration.” Bush pressed Trump to apologize for comments he made about Bush’s Mexican-born wife, and Trump refused. Former Hewlett-Packard executive Carly Fiorina took aim at Trump for derogatory comments he made about her appearance.
For the second debate in a row, Fiorina was once again the breakout star of the night, taking on Republican front-runner Donald Trump with finesse and capturing the crowd with polished, zinging answers and an impassioned charge against abortion. Fiorina earned perhaps the biggest applause of the night as she skewered Planned Parenthood. “This is about the character of our nation and if we will not stand up and force President Obama to veto this bill, shame on us,” Fiorina said to raucous applause in what was her biggest moment of the night, one that will appeal to the socially conservative base of the party. Fiorina dodged an early opportunity to hit Trump but didn’t make that mistake again when she was asked to address the businessman’s recent comments about her appearance to Rolling Stone, in which he suggested her face would make her unelectable. “I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said,” she said, once again to overwhelming applause.