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Republican presidential debate: CNN hosts Trump, Bush and more – live Republican presidential debate: CNN hosts Trump, Bush and more – live
(35 minutes later)
12.02am BST00:02
Tapper is really letting them talk. Pataki is now deep into a discourse about the difference between civil disobedience and plain law-breaking.
12.01am BST00:01
How will Santorum respond to Pataki?
He quotes Martin Luther King’s letter from a Birmingham jail. Touché.
12.00am BST00:00
Pataki responds to Santorum. “Wow” he says. We’re talking about a president who defies the Supreme Court?
Santorum appears to vow that he would defy the court “if they’re wrong.”
Pataki points out that that’s tantamount to kicking the rule of law to the curb.
“When you’re an elected official, and you take an oath of office to uphold the law, you cannot pick and choose,” Pataki says.
11.59pm BST23:59
Aand they’re back.
Tapper kicks the tax question aside to extend a conversation of Kim Davis.
Santorum recalls the story of a victim of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado who was asked by a shooter about her faith in god and did not deny it.
He says Davis, the Kentucky clerk who has denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples, has exhibited similar courage of conscience.
11.57pm BST23:57
It’s off to commercial break. Tapper teases discussion when they come back about what Jeb Bush and Donald Trump have in common in their tax policy recommendations.
Carried interest? Stay tuned.
11.57pm BST23:57
Cindy Casares
From Cindy Casares:
Bobby Jindal’s response to 14 year-old Ahmed Mohamed being arrested in Texas for bringing a homemade clock to school. “We don’t discriminate against anybody based on the color of their skin or their creed.” President Uncle Tom Jindal, ladies and gentlemen.
11.56pm BST23:56
Jeb Lund
Lindsey Graham and Rick Santorum clashed over immigration and birthright citizenship: http://t.co/xGpHW6FEXv
Guardian US columnist Jeb Lund weighs in on the Santorum-Graham spat over immigration:
I am dying laughing at Lindsey Graham’s Walter Sobchak routine (from the Big Lebowski), where he keeps interrupting his exasperating friend Rick Santorum with details. I expected him to finish with: ‘Am I wrong? Am I wrong? I’m stayin’. I’m finishing my coffee.’
Graham’s answer on immigration was such a roller-coaster of emotions. He took us from wealthy Asians having children in expensive hidden hotels in the United States, to saying that he calls Hispanics “Americans”, to insisting on a pragmatic immigration policy to shore up Social Security.
I don’t know what happened here, but this was the most comprehensive tour of needling another candidate in a while.
11.55pm BST23:55
Tapper brings up the case of Ahmed Mohamed, who was handcuffed after his school called police over the digital clock which “looked like a bomb” to a teacher.
Jindal reels off a list of demands for Islamic leaders in America to adhere to. He is pressed on this case. He says it seems wrong but pivots to talk about defiant clerk and gay-marriage protester Kim Davis and discrimination against Christians.
Graham says “young men from the Mid East are different from Kim Davis”.
Pataki says we have one rule of law in America, and “I think she should have been fired”. He gets some applause for this.
Pataki says: imagine if it was a Muslim that said that. There is a place where religion supercedes the rule of law - it’s called Iran, he says, in one of the best lines so far.
11.51pm BST23:51
Graham asks how Obama sleeps at night and says he blames the president for the refugee “mess” and wants to fix it.
Bash asks him about his plan for US ground forces to be deployed against Isis.
Graham says he has learned what works in war. If we don’t destroy Isis, they’re coming here, he says. We need 10,000 more troops in Iraq, and a regional army to attack Isis, paid for by Middle Eastern allies, with 10% American troops, to “pull up these bastards by the roots”.
Santorum says he wants 10,000 extra troops to attack Isis, and maybe more.
Jindal says we need to do “whatever is necessary”.
Pataki recalls 9/11, when he was governor of New York. He says the US is at greater risk of attack now than at any time since then.
He says we have to directly arm -- and is then cut off.
11.48pm BST23:48
Cindy Casares
From Guardian contributor Cindy Casares in Texas:
“Immigration without assimilation is invasion,” said Bobby Jindal, with an impressive twang that would fool George Bush’s momma. He bragged – in his best Southern accent – that his parents came to the US legally and spoke English. What is the Hindi word for Uncle Tom?
Governor Pataki spoke rationally about immigration: “We can’t send back 11 million people”, and advocated that undocumented immigrations perform community service in exchange for citizenship. But showing his Yankee roots will surely get him axed from the GOP field.
Someone, though, needs to tell Lindsey Graham that the United States has no official language and its up to each person what language they want to speak.
Updated at 11.55pm BST
11.46pm BST23:46
Jindal is asked about the prospect of 10,000 Syrian refugees being let in to the US. Does the US have an obligation to do this?
Jindal says there is a “direct line” between this refugee crisis and Barack Obama’s decision not to follow up his “red line” on chemical weapons with military action.
We should be clear that we are going to replace Assad and destroy Isis, he says.
Jindal says his parents arrived to assimilate. He wants to insist on that of new refugees.
11.44pm BST23:44
Santorum and Graham get into a bit of a spat over the failure of a previous Santorum immigration plan. Santorum ends up saying he wants to focus on Americans, not Hispanics.
“Hispanics are Americans,” Graham says, to some applause.
Updated at 11.45pm BST
11.42pm BST23:42
Pataki is asked about birthright citizenship - the right for anyone born in the US to be an American citizen. “I don’t think we should tell that child born in America that we are going to send them back,” he says.
He also says he would require illegal immigrants to come forward and give them community service before they got legal status.
Graham is asked about the same issue. He says he wouldn’t throw out 11 million illegal immigrants, but he would throw out the felons. He says they’d need to speak English - he can’t speak it that well, he jokes, but he has got pretty far.
He adds that he has never seen an “illegal Canadian”. This is an economic issue, he says.
11.39pm BST23:39
Ben Jacobs
Rick Santorum the only candidate singing the national anthem #GOPDebate #whatdoesitmean
From New Hampshire, Ben Jacobs on a national anthem row, from sea to shining sea ... and then another sea:
Rick Santorum has clearly been paying attention to UK politics.
Our friends across the pond have been in a tizzy over newly elected Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn failing to sing along to God Save the Queen at a service on a memorial service for pilots who flew in the Battle of Britain.
But Santorum was the only candidate who sang along to the Star-Spangled Banner in the undercard debate on CNN tonight.
Santorum has followed British politics in the past, telling reporters in 2013: ‘I’ve worked with [former Conservative Party leader] Iain Duncan Smith for a while’ on issues of civil society.
The Santorum campaign did not, however, explicitly respond to a request for comment from the Guardian as to whether he was inspired to sing along by Corbyn’s failure to do so earlier this week.
Meanwhile, on immigration, he says: ‘American workers are getting hurt by immigration, and that’s why they’re upset.’
11.39pm BST23:39
Dana Bush asks Santorum about a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, which Jindal supports.
Santorum says the debate should be about what is in the best interest of hard-working Americans.
Jindal says we need to secure the border “period”. He says he will get it done in six months. He is not for an amnesty, he says. Immigration without assimilation is invasion, he says, repeating a line he has used before.
Santorum says just because you don’t call it an amnesty doesn’t mean it isn’t one. American workers are getting hurt by immigration, he says.
Jindal is pressed on his position. He says after the border is sealed, people will be dealt with “compassionately”. And he adds that he wants to criminalize and jail the mayors of so-called “sanctuary cities” which are seen as failing to crack down sufficiently on illegal immigrants.
11.34pm BST23:34
Tapper says Trump, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina are all doing well because they are outsiders - in contrast to the four on stage now. Is service in government now a liability and not an asset?
Graham says Republican voters will look for someone to lead us in a new direction - particularly in foreign policy. Syria is hell on earth, he says, returning the focus to his military record and his plans to take on Isis. It’s obvious he believes this is his unique selling point and he is determined to drive his message home.
Updated at 11.35pm BST
11.33pm BST23:33
Hugh Hewitt tells Pataki he has broken his pledge to support the eventual nominee by tweeting that he would not support Trump.
Trump’s not going to be the nominee, Pataki says. And he complains that the first four questions have been about Trump.
Trump is unfit to be the nominee or the president, he says. He brings up Trump’s casino history in Atlantic City. “He will do for America what he did for Atlantic City.”
11.31pm BST23:31
Graham is asked why so many voters seem to favor Trump. He says that it’s too early for the polling numbers to be meaningful.
He turns the conversation back to the fight against Islamic State. Graham asks the other candidates to commit to ground troops against Isis.
11.30pm BST23:30
Jeb Lund
poll order = height order #GOPDebate pic.twitter.com/TwykzJHXZr
Guardian US columnist Jeb Lund is back:
I feel bad for these guys: they have wedded themselves and their followers to a view of the world that says that anything that the market doesn’t value clearly sucks. There is no redemption there. So just by dint of being on this second-class stage, these candidates are implicitly telling the audience, ‘We are a second-class product.’
But what actual distinctions exist between the second-tier and the top-tier candidates are razor thin or really inconsequential.
Bobby Jindal is almost certainly as smart as Ted Cruz, if not smarter, and neither one is more or less performatively crazy than the other.
Rick Santorum is no more or less odious on social issues than Mike Huckabee.
You could swap George Pataki and Kasich and not push the needle too far in any direction.
OK, I grant you, Lindsey Graham should go home to his cats and yarn and DVD sets of Midsomer Murders, but no analogy is perfect.
Updated at 11.31pm BST
11.30pm BST23:30
Santorum says personal attacks only please Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner. There are plenty of policy differences to focus on, Santorum says.
Jindal says the Democrats are gift-wrapping the election to the Republicans. Clinton is weak and Sanders is a socialist. But you can’t just attack Trump on policy - he’s all about personality, Jindal says.
11.28pm BST23:2811.28pm BST23:28
Jindal is asked why he has attacked Trump. Why did he attack his fellow Republican?Jindal is asked why he has attacked Trump. Why did he attack his fellow Republican?
Because Trump is not a Republican or a conservative, Jindal says. He seems determined to come across as energetic and forceful.Because Trump is not a Republican or a conservative, Jindal says. He seems determined to come across as energetic and forceful.
11.26pm BST23:2611.26pm BST23:26
Host Jake Tapper says he wants to have a real debate about policy. (Has he been following this campaign at all?)Host Jake Tapper says he wants to have a real debate about policy. (Has he been following this campaign at all?)
Pataki introduces himself first, recalling Reagan’s “tremendous smile” and his optimism. That type of leadership is why he is running for president, he says.Pataki introduces himself first, recalling Reagan’s “tremendous smile” and his optimism. That type of leadership is why he is running for president, he says.
Santorum says he led the fights against partial-birth abortion and welfare, and worked for sanctions against Iran. He says he has a disabled daughter, six other children and a wife who is the love of his life.Santorum says he led the fights against partial-birth abortion and welfare, and worked for sanctions against Iran. He says he has a disabled daughter, six other children and a wife who is the love of his life.
Jindal says he doesn’t have a famous last name or a reality TV show. He says he doesn’t want the American dream to turn into the European nightmare.Jindal says he doesn’t have a famous last name or a reality TV show. He says he doesn’t want the American dream to turn into the European nightmare.
Graham starts with a joke about the fact that there is an audience for the kids’ table debate this time. He says he is running for president to destroy radical Islam. He says he is most qualified to be commander-in-chief because of his three decades of military experience.Graham starts with a joke about the fact that there is an audience for the kids’ table debate this time. He says he is running for president to destroy radical Islam. He says he is most qualified to be commander-in-chief because of his three decades of military experience.
11.26pm BST23:2611.26pm BST23:26
About your moderators:About your moderators:
Related: Hugh Hewitt: is he Donald Trump's arch nemesis – or the antidote to Fox News?Related: Hugh Hewitt: is he Donald Trump's arch nemesis – or the antidote to Fox News?
Preps for @DanaBashCNN and @hughhewitt #CNNDebate pic.twitter.com/50LBwvRrzBPreps for @DanaBashCNN and @hughhewitt #CNNDebate pic.twitter.com/50LBwvRrzB
11.21pm BST23:2111.21pm BST23:21
Actor and singer Natalie Hill performs the national anthem. Santorum sings along, while the other three stand silently with their hands on their hearts.Actor and singer Natalie Hill performs the national anthem. Santorum sings along, while the other three stand silently with their hands on their hearts.
11.20pm BST23:2011.20pm BST23:20
It's kids' table time!It's kids' table time!
The debate begins, in front of the striking and rather surreal backdrop of Ronald Reagan’s Air Force One airplane.The debate begins, in front of the striking and rather surreal backdrop of Ronald Reagan’s Air Force One airplane.
Graham, Jindal, Santorum and Pataki take their places.Graham, Jindal, Santorum and Pataki take their places.
Updated at 11.28pm BSTUpdated at 11.28pm BST
11.12pm BST23:1211.12pm BST23:12
Just a reminder that the four debaters in this slightly humiliating pre-debate, which is just about to begin, are:Just a reminder that the four debaters in this slightly humiliating pre-debate, which is just about to begin, are:
The event is being hosted by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash and conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.The event is being hosted by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash and conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.
You can watch the debate live online here.You can watch the debate live online here.
11.09pm BST23:0911.09pm BST23:09
Ben JacobsBen Jacobs
Guardian US political reporter Ben Jacobs, who will be hanging out with a pseudo-focus group of voters at a bar in New Hampshire tonight, takes a look at the early debate field. Who will be the standout among all four early candidates?Guardian US political reporter Ben Jacobs, who will be hanging out with a pseudo-focus group of voters at a bar in New Hampshire tonight, takes a look at the early debate field. Who will be the standout among all four early candidates?
With only a handful of candidates on stage in the undercard debate tonight, there will be plenty of opportunity for the second-tier politicians to shine.With only a handful of candidates on stage in the undercard debate tonight, there will be plenty of opportunity for the second-tier politicians to shine.
They will have one hour and 40 minutes to speak directly to the American people – or at least those watching – with minimal interruption ... and without the presence of Donald Trump.They will have one hour and 40 minutes to speak directly to the American people – or at least those watching – with minimal interruption ... and without the presence of Donald Trump.
In the last debate, Carly Fiorina used the pre-debate debate opportunity to shine and catapult herself into prime time tonight.In the last debate, Carly Fiorina used the pre-debate debate opportunity to shine and catapult herself into prime time tonight.
The best bet to make a similar kind of leap tonight at the so-called “kids’ table” is the South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham – at least as we see it out of here in the early voting state of New Hampshire.The best bet to make a similar kind of leap tonight at the so-called “kids’ table” is the South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham – at least as we see it out of here in the early voting state of New Hampshire.
The ardent hawk has a reputation for not taking himself too seriously – at least as far as elected officials in Washington go – so expect some one-liners.The ardent hawk has a reputation for not taking himself too seriously – at least as far as elected officials in Washington go – so expect some one-liners.
Last time around, he was stilted ... almost as if he had been coached to be less funny. Tonight, Graham gets the chance to make up for that, albeit on a far less crowded stage.Last time around, he was stilted ... almost as if he had been coached to be less funny. Tonight, Graham gets the chance to make up for that, albeit on a far less crowded stage.
Related: Carly Fiorina: how to be the only woman on the GOP debate stageRelated: Carly Fiorina: how to be the only woman on the GOP debate stage
Updated at 11.10pm BSTUpdated at 11.10pm BST
11.02pm BST23:0211.02pm BST23:02
Jeb LundJeb Lund
Guardian US columnist Jeb Lund writes in from Tampa, Florida:Guardian US columnist Jeb Lund writes in from Tampa, Florida:
So guys, it’s just you and your honey, Lady Liberty.So guys, it’s just you and your honey, Lady Liberty.
The setting is perfect: Simi Valley. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. But then electile dysfunction happens again.The setting is perfect: Simi Valley. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. But then electile dysfunction happens again.
Who’s George Pataki? And Jindal is here? That guy’s polling lower than a boozed septuagenarian after accidentally rubbing himself down with lidocaine.Who’s George Pataki? And Jindal is here? That guy’s polling lower than a boozed septuagenarian after accidentally rubbing himself down with lidocaine.
Updated at 11.03pm BSTUpdated at 11.03pm BST
10.49pm BST22:4910.49pm BST22:49
Hello and welcome to the Ronald Reagan presidential library and museum in Simi Valley, California, where we are in the room for what we don’t think we’re foolish to hope will be a positively historic night in American politics: the second Republican presidential debate.Hello and welcome to the Ronald Reagan presidential library and museum in Simi Valley, California, where we are in the room for what we don’t think we’re foolish to hope will be a positively historic night in American politics: the second Republican presidential debate.
Never have so many politicians come together to try to say so much in so little time. The crowd onstage tonight could field an entire NFL team.Never have so many politicians come together to try to say so much in so little time. The crowd onstage tonight could field an entire NFL team.
Who would play center though?Who would play center though?
Conventional wisdom has it that the job tonight for most of the candidates is to take frontrunner Donald Trump down a notch. Who will mount the best attack? How will Trump hit back? Will any policy debates accidentally break out?Conventional wisdom has it that the job tonight for most of the candidates is to take frontrunner Donald Trump down a notch. Who will mount the best attack? How will Trump hit back? Will any policy debates accidentally break out?
Who are you rooting for? We want you to tell us which answers you think crackled with wit and which fell flat. We want to hear who you think is #winning. Let us know in the comments and we will decorate the most poignant and incisive entries with sparklers.Who are you rooting for? We want you to tell us which answers you think crackled with wit and which fell flat. We want to hear who you think is #winning. Let us know in the comments and we will decorate the most poignant and incisive entries with sparklers.
We have a full slate of Guardian columnists and news writers on hand to try to make sense of whatever’s about to happen. Don’t let them eat up all the blog inches, though – throw your opinion in!We have a full slate of Guardian columnists and news writers on hand to try to make sense of whatever’s about to happen. Don’t let them eat up all the blog inches, though – throw your opinion in!
The debate’s scheduled to begin at 5pm local time, or 8pm ET, and run for ... well it’s unclear just how long it will go. Host network CNN has three hours blocked off on its schedule, but they’re not saying how much of that will be post-debate analysis. The moderators are Jake Tapper and Dana Bash of CNN, plus conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt.The debate’s scheduled to begin at 5pm local time, or 8pm ET, and run for ... well it’s unclear just how long it will go. Host network CNN has three hours blocked off on its schedule, but they’re not saying how much of that will be post-debate analysis. The moderators are Jake Tapper and Dana Bash of CNN, plus conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt.
Here are the candidates’ surnames and where they will be standing:Here are the candidates’ surnames and where they will be standing:
The 2 stages are set for the Sept. 16 #CNNDebate. Who makes the main stage? http://t.co/75Pm4p32nP pic.twitter.com/fuSq6ZiLkWThe 2 stages are set for the Sept. 16 #CNNDebate. Who makes the main stage? http://t.co/75Pm4p32nP pic.twitter.com/fuSq6ZiLkW
Candidates will have one minute each to reply to questions posed by the moderators plus 30 seconds for any rebuttals. Little warning lights will expose time-clock scofflaws.Candidates will have one minute each to reply to questions posed by the moderators plus 30 seconds for any rebuttals. Little warning lights will expose time-clock scofflaws.
The main event follows an undercard debate featuring four candidates – George Pataki, Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum and Lindsey Graham – whose polling numbers place them at the back of the pack.The main event follows an undercard debate featuring four candidates – George Pataki, Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum and Lindsey Graham – whose polling numbers place them at the back of the pack.
May the best Washington outsider with a plan to restore American glory by getting corrupt money and special interests out of politics while destroying Isis, Hillary Clinton and Obamacare win.May the best Washington outsider with a plan to restore American glory by getting corrupt money and special interests out of politics while destroying Isis, Hillary Clinton and Obamacare win.
The last main GOP debate had 10 candidates on stage. pic.twitter.com/nayCShP6ERThe last main GOP debate had 10 candidates on stage. pic.twitter.com/nayCShP6ER
Before the main debate is an undercard at 6pm ET featuring four candidates who did not qualify for the top-tier group: former senator Rick Santorum, former New York governor George Pataki, Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal and South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham. We’ll cover that one, too, but not in quite so much detail as the main event.Before the main debate is an undercard at 6pm ET featuring four candidates who did not qualify for the top-tier group: former senator Rick Santorum, former New York governor George Pataki, Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal and South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham. We’ll cover that one, too, but not in quite so much detail as the main event.