The GOP presidential debate began with early fireworks between Donald Trump, Carly Fiorina, and Rand Paul.
When moderator Jake Tapper asked Fiorina if she’d be comfortable with Trump having access to the nuclear codes, she dodged a direct answer and said simply: “I think Mr. Trump is a wonderful entertainer.”
The camera panned to Trump grimacing, puckering, and shrugging at the camera.
When given the chance to speak about the nuclear codes, the frontrunner began by saying he didn’t think Paul deserved to be sharing the stage with him.
“Rand Paul shouldn’t even be on this stage,” Trump blurted out.
The Kentucky senator, for his part, focused on Trump’s inclination to attack people for their looks, a likely reference to his derogatory remarks about Carly Fiorina.
“There’s a sophomoric quality to Mr. Trump that’s very entertaining, but I do worry about his finger on the button,” Paul said about the nuclear code question. He characterized Trump’s “visceral response to attack people on their appearance” as something that “happened in junior high.”
Trump retorted: “I never attacked [Paul] on his looks, and there’s plenty of substance there.”
This was merely the first few minutes.