GOP debate on world stage: Kudos, criticism and much ado about Trump
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Version 0 of 1. LONDON — The second Republican presidential debate riveted not just Americans: The curious and the cynical around the globe also tuned in to assess the GOP field and learn more about the bombastic billionaire leading the pack. Watching Wednesday’s three-hour debate required determination and caffeination for those in countries with unfriendly time zones, but that did not stop the Twitter hashtag #GOPDebate from trending worldwide. From Beijing to Brasilia, people tuned in to watch front-runner Donald Trump and 10 other candidates clash on the main stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. [The GOP debate ignored the refugee crisis] In Britain, publications live-blogged the debate, with many agreeing that Carly Fiorina, a former Hewlett-Packard chief executive, earned her spot in the prime-time debate. Fiorina won applause for her response to recent comments by Trump that mocked her looks, and she spoke emotionally about abortion and the death of her stepdaughter. “Carly Fiorina star performer as The Donald Trump Show winds down in second GOP clash,” read a headline in the Independent, a left-leaning newspaper. The Daily Mail tabloid said: “Carly cruises, Christie fights, Trump bullies and Jeb defends the Bush clan.” There was even more for Britons to buzz over: Bush picking Margaret Thatcher as the woman he would like to see on the $10 bill. The former Florida governor said it was “probably illegal, but what the heck.” Thatcher, Britain’s only female prime minister, is a controversial figure in her country, where many in the Conservative Party hold her in high regard but opponents of her economic policies loathe her. “Imagine if a British politician suggested Nixon replacing the queen on a pound note,” mused Cardiff Garcia of the Financial Times. [Trump, the target] Russian news outlets appeared to go all in for Trump, focusing on his comments that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin would get along. The coverage, however, largely skipped over other candidates’ criticism of Russia. “Trump promised America a president whom Putin will respect” was the headline on the Web site of the Russian daily Komsomolskaya Pravda. A prominent Russian politician also was enthusiastic. “Donald Trump said that he was ready to improve relations with Putin,” Alexei Pushkov, head of the foreign relations committee in Russia’s lower house of parliament, wrote on Twitter. “This sets him apart from a line of standard anti-Russian candidates. He is an extraordinary politician.” In China, there was no commentary from state-controlled media outlets, but those who took to social media generally struck a light tone. “Am I watching Comedy Central?” asked Colleen404 on Weibo, a popular microblogging site. In the last debate, China was repeatedly invoked as a supervillain and a symbol of American decline. The rhetoric this time around was more focused. Candidates weighed in on whether President Obama should cancel President Xi Jinping’s coming state visit over concerns about hacking, “currency manipulation” and Beijing’s moves in the South China Sea. [Debate fact check] Iran’s state-run Press TV, meanwhile, singled out Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) for his pledge to snub the nuclear deal with Tehran on his first day in the White House. “Cruz vows to ‘rip to shreds’ Iran accord,” said a report on the channel’s Web site. Regardless of the disagreements among the candidates, watching them debate foreign policy on a big platform could prompt Europeans to do the same, said Karel Lannoo, the chief executive of the Center for European Policy Studies, a Brussels-based think tank. “At least the U.S. sees it has a global responsibility. Europe doesn’t see this. The debate may provoke some thinking by Europeans by saying, ‘Look, Americans in pre-election discussions are already covering the global responsibility of the U.S., and we in Europe, where are we?’” he said. He added, however, that the spectacle of mudslinging seemed odd from afar. “I don’t know what you are used to in the U.S., but when you look at it from Europe, it’s becoming a bit below-standard the way they behave,” Lannoo said. In Brazil, Bush’s admission that he smoked pot decades ago caught attention. A headline on O Globo newspaper’s site read, “Ex-Governor Jeb Bush admits he smoked marijuana 40 years ago.” Trump’s controversial comments on immigrants have not generated the same furor in Brazil that they have in Mexico. But G1, the main news site run by O Globo, showed the debate live with quick summaries in Portuguese. Some of those commenting on G1 seemed to think that Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, outperformed Trump. “Ben Carson teaching Trump what is true capitalism,” Eduardo Kluwe Veiga wrote. For some foreign newspapers, the three-hour session was a tad long. Jeb Lund of the Guardian, a British newspaper, offered a solution: “If this debate was going to be three hours, it should have been an elimination debate,” he wrote. “After hour one, boot someone off. Rand Paul — bye. You’re done. After hour two? Scott Walker. No more.” Emily Rauhala and Xu Yangjingjing in Beijing, Dom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro, Michael Birnbaum in Brussels and Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report. |