Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio were the big winners of the first GOP presidential debate, while Donald Trump gave a disastrous performance, said Republican insiders canvassed by
Politico.
Forty-four percent of top strategists, activists and operatives from Iowa and New Hampshire said Trump's aggressive style put him at the bottom of the heap. They cited his unwillingness to rule out a third party run and his advocacy of a single-payer healthcare system as two issues, along with the reminder by Fox News moderator Megyn Kelly of disparaging comments he's made about women.
"Trump is an egomaniacal thug and everyone who never watched 'The Apprentice' now knows that, too," an Iowa Republican told Politico.
"What was his worst response: third party, chauvinism, single-payer, or bankruptcies?" a New Hampshire Republican said. "His limited number of supporters can't look the other way on this stuff forever."
"Trump came across as peevish in his refusal to support the victor of the primary process," another New Hampshire Republican told Politico. "As a Republican, I was proud of all the candidates on the platform with the exception of Trump."
But despite the negative reviews of Republicans on the online panel, more than a third of Democrats questioned by Politico said Trump was the winner of the debate, noting the central role he played throughout the evening.
"This was supposed to be the debate where the Trump was pushed out, instead he got more airtime, more often got the last line, and was the most entertaining person on stage," a New Hampshire Democrat told Politico.
"Tomorrow he will be the candidate every American is talking about. And years from now, the 2016 election will be remembered as the start of Hillary Clinton's first term and that time Donald Trump owned the GOP debates."
Meanwhile, the insiders did offer some other takeaways from the debate.
Rubio and Bush were the winners of the evening, they said, with 30 percent of GOP respondents naming the former and another 30 percent naming the latter. Thirteen percent chose New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as the victor, while the remaining insiders were evenly divided between Ohio Gov. John Kasich, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and Trump.
"Articulate, on message, embodies the hope of America," a New Hampshire Republican said of Rubio, according to Politico.
"Marco looked relaxed, had well-articulated answers and good energy," an Iowa Republican told Politico.
And a New Hampshire Democrat said, Rubio's "answers were smart, complete, and succinct."
Bush fans insisted he gave a solid performance, particularly given the high expectations and scrutiny he was facing.
"He accomplished what he had to," a New Hampshire Republican told Politico. "He looked like the adult on stage, avoided gaffes and wasn't the target of attacks from the other candidates on stage."
Other comments were consistent with that view.
A significant portion of insiders claimed Kasich as the victor of the evening, including 9 percent of Republicans and 18 percent of Democrats. They said his performance was impressive.
Finally, the panel unanimously agreed that Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was runner-up for the worst performance of the evening.
"Paul looked like a whiny teenager interrupting other candidates and fighting with them. Christie and Trump both discarded him with ease. Arguably, Paul might be the one candidate that won't be on this big stage next time," an Iowa Republican told Politico.
"He did not come across well — he doesn't do angry very well. He needed to be a winner tonight, and he was among the weakest," a New Hampshire Democrat said.
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