Carly Fiorina Turns Tables on Trump, Shines at Second Republican Debate

Erick Erickson – Fox News

Carly Fiorina turned the tables on Trump. She said millions of American women knew what Donald Trump meant. It forced Trump, perhaps for the first time, to walk back his remark and declare that Fiorina had a lovely face.  Fiorina was the only person on the stage that Trump seemed fearful of….

Republican presidential candidate and businessman Donald Trump (rear, R) talks with former HP CEO Carly Fiorina at the 2016 presidential campaign at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. on Sep.16, 2015. (Reuters)

Donald Trump could not play off the crowd’s energy on Wednesday night. The crowd was very subdued. They also were not, for the most part, his fans going into the debate.  It worked against Trump. He repeatedly tried to land blows and with only a handful of exceptions, they fell flat. Trying to accuse George W. Bush of making the nation less safe also hurt him and it gave Chris Christie a way to use his resume.

But time and time again, Carly Fiorina showed she could hold up against the rest.  It was a very real introduction to the nation as a legitimate contender.  She showed herself strong on defense; she had a command of the issues; and she was willing to take the fight to Hillary Clinton.  “It was an activity, not an accomplishment,” she said of Hillary flying on airplanes. It was a strong blow by a candidate most people had never seen.

GOP Debate: Fiorina Scores Points, and Trump Finds Himself on the Defensive

 Doyle McManus – Los Angeles Times

The second major debate of the Republican presidential campaign didn’t produce a hands-down winner or the kind of fatal gaffe that could knock anyone out of the race. But it may have produced the first, tentative test of a theory that establishment Republicans have long been floating: that over time, Trump’s initial appeal might begin to wear off. For weeks, most other candidates have refrained from challenging the billionaire front-runner head-on — but on Wednesday, almost all of them piled on….

But Fiorina wasn’t the only one taking shots at the front-runner.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio criticized Trump for suggesting that he could rely on advisors to compensate for gaps in his knowledge of foreign policy. “You better be able to lead our country on the first day,” he said.

People are making fun of #TrumpFace #GOPDebate http://t.co/d6vVDjBWPF http://t.co/qqoQm4XNHh

— Independent US (@IndyUSA) September 17, 2015

Republican presidential candidates, from left, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former New York Gov. George Pataki, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, businessman Donald Trump, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, businesswoman Carly Fiorina, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie take the stage during the CNN Republican presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum on Sept. 16, 2015 in Calif. (AP)

What Was Up With Carly Fiorina’s Grisly Abortion Rant?

As with the August Fox News debate, Wednesday night’s CNN Republican debate at one point devolved into a contest to see which candidate hates Planned Parenthood the mostest. The crime: the completely disproved claim that the women’s health care provider is in the business of selling fetal body parts. Carly Fiorina, the only woman on the stage, managed to posture the hardest—while other candidates claimed they were into defunding Planned Parenthood before it was cool, Fiorina went straight for the gross-out.

“I’d like to link these two issues, both of which are incredibly important, Iran and Planned Parenthood,” she began. “One has something to do with the defense of the security of this nation. The other has to do with the defense of the character of this nation.”…

To be sure, Fiorina wasn’t the only person lying about Planned Parenthood on stage. The claim that Planned Parenthood sells fetal body parts was stated as fact by multiple candidates. It’s simply not true, and repeating it will not make it more true. But describing such a vivid and grisly scene that never happened—that is taking it to another level.