Carly Fiorina "was the clear winner" of the second Republican presidential debate Wednesday, while front-runner Donald Trump "looked a little tired" and Jeb Bush was "definitely weaker," Newsmax Media CEO Christopher Ruddy told
Newsmax TV.
"Carly was the clear winner tonight," Ruddy told host Steve Malzberg on the "Newsmax Debate Special" following the three-hour debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. "Not that there was any super-winner.
"She cut through," Ruddy said of the former Hewlett-Packard CEO. "She seemed very clear. She seemed very focused and refreshing."
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Fiorina broke into the top-tier debate after co-host CNN amended its criteria to expand the number of national polls it would use in determining which candidate would make the cut.
Her ratings shot up after the first debate among the lower-ranking candidates last month in Cleveland. Fiorina's selection raised the number of candidates at the main debate to 11.
In sizing up Trump's performance, Ruddy said that "I don’t think his performance was what we're typically used to from Donald Trump."
As for Bush, who has fallen to as low as fourth place in recent surveys, "he wasn’t up to par," Ruddy told Malzberg. "He was definitely weaker."
But political strategist Dick Morris said that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz "did the best of all of them up there.
"Cruz didn’t speak much, but when he did he just hit it out of the park," he said. "Six or seven answers that are just unbelievable.
"The Supreme Court answer, the Planned Parenthood answer, tear up the Iran deal — all that stuff was magnificent. Cruz moved out ahead, but [Florida Sen. Marco] Rubio is right up there with him."
Ruddy, too, praised Cruz as coming across "as the smartest guy in the room."
In what was expected to be a showdown between Trump and Dr. Ben Carson, who has soared to the No. 2 spot in recent surveys, Morris said that the retired pediatric neurosurgeon "screwed that up.
"He was way too laid back. When he said that we shouldn’t have invaded Afghanistan after 9/11, he lost big support. He was the big loser."
"The second loser was Bush," he continued. "By comparison with Trump, he looked squeaky, he looked weak, he looked timid, his replies weren’t good — and he hurt himself very badly."
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As for Fiorina, she did well "if you accept that concept that Carson did badly," Morris said.
"Fiorina’s performance is even better, because Fiorina is appealing to the anti-politician, anti-Trump vote."
Morris later added, "I thought she lost the Hewlett-Packard debate," in which primary debate moderator Jake Tapper questioned her record at the technology company. Trump slammed it.
"She has to win that debate," Morris said.
Ruddy further explained that Bush "is a good conservative, but it’s not coming through," citing his defense of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and his decisions on Obamacare and gay marriage.
"Justice Roberts has a terrible record on Obamacare. The fact that he claimed there was a constitutional right for the government to force us to buy a private product – which clearly violates the Constitution — and he initially had apparently said at some of the initial meetings in the court review that he was going to oppose it and at the last minute he supported it."
However, both Ruddy and Morris agreed that Trump's performance was not his best. He was leading in the early returns of the "Newsmax Debate Poll" of viewers, at 49 percent, followed by Fiorina and Carson.
"Trump did well," Morris told Malzberg. "I don’t think it was his best performance, but it was good enough. He’ll keep his lead in the polls.
"The main thing that emerged with Trump is that he tried to be more presidential," he added. "He tried to be less of a trigger-happy guy and that worked nicely.
"He was under a lot of fire all the debate and he handled himself well."
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