Republican rival Marco Rubio attacked front-runner Donald Trump over his position on illegal immigration and his huge wealth on Thursday, using a debate to try to thwart Trump from making massive gains in the presidential race next week.
In perhaps his most aggressive performance to date, Rubio brought up Trump’s four past bankruptcies, his use of imported Polish workers to work at a Florida resort and pointedly suggested the New York billionaire would not be where he is today in the real estate business without a family inheritance.
Without his inheritance, Rubio said: “You know where Donald Trump would be right now? Selling watches in Manhattan.”
At the CNN-hosted debate at the University of Houston, Rubio and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas had one of their last, best chances to try to derail the blunt-spoken political outsider before Super Tuesday, when 11 states hold Republican nominating contests.
Whether they can pull it off is an open question.
Trump has won three out of four contests in the Republicans’ selection of a presidential nominee and may reap big gains on Tuesday.
At the debate, he was his typical pugnacious self, interrupting Rubio and Cruz.
“When you’re talking about ‘crazy zealot,’ are you talking about you?” Trump asked Cruz. “Give me a break.”
Rubio, taking up the role of chief Trump attacker now that former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has left the race, quickly accused Trump of switching positions on illegal immigration for political gain.
The senator from Florida said that the New York billionaire talks tough on the issue now, but previously said 2012 Republican candidate Mitt Romney lost his race against President Barack Obama for saying illegal immigration could be solved by self-deportation.
“A lot of these positions that he’s taken now are new to him,” Rubio said during the debate in Houston.
He said Romney lost in 2012 because he was a terrible candidate.
“Excuse me, he ran one terrible campaign,” Trump said.
Republican U.S. Presidential candidates (L-R) Senator Marco Rubio, businessman Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz applaud before the start of the debate sponsored by CNN for the 2016 Republican U.S. presidential candidates in Houston, Texas, February 25, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Stone
Republican U.S. presidential candidates (L-R) Dr. Ben Carson, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, Senator Ted Cruz and Governor John Kasich hold their hands over their hearts as they listen to the U.S. national anthem before the candidate debate sponsored by CNN in Houston, Texas, February 25, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Stone
Cruz, a senator from Texas who needs to win his home state when it votes on Tuesday, piled on Trump, saying he was relatively new to the issue and pointed to his past as a celebrity host of NBC’s reality TV show, “The Apprentice.”
“Where was Donald? He was firing Dennis Rodman on The Apprentice,” Cruz said, referring to the former pro basketball player.
Trump dismissed the criticism and insisted that he, as president, would force Mexico to pay for a 1,000-mile (1,610-km), $10 billion to $12 billion wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. Earlier in the day, former Mexican President Vicente Fox said that Mexico would not pay for it, using colorful language.
“I will, and the wall just got 10 feet taller,” Trump said in response to Fox’s comments.
While Trump has scored early victories and is well ahead in national opinion polls, he has some ways to go to clinch the party’s nomination, which is decided by the number of delegates sent to the July party convention following the state-by-state nominating contests.
So far Trump leads the race with 81 delegates, with Cruz and Rubio well behind at 17 apiece. To secure the nomination, a candidate needs 1,237 delegates.
Super Tuesday will be critical because there are nearly 600 delegates at stake in Republican races that day.
By Emily Stephenson HOUSTON (Reuters) –
(Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson and Valerie Volcovici in Washinton; Writing by Steve Holland; Editing by Peter Cooney, Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis)
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