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Establishment Candidates Emerge in GOP Debate. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired October 29, 2015 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He was so nice. He was such a nice guy. But then his poll numbers tanked. That's why he's on the end.

[05:58:25] JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Marco, you should be showing up to work. I mean, literally, the Senate, what is it? Like a French workweek?

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Make me commander in chief and crap this stops.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The questions that have been asked so far in this debate illustrate why the American people don't trust the media.

DR. BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All this too big to fail stuff. This is a bunch of crap.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have ISIS and al Qaeda attacking us, and we're talking about fantasy football?

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm worried about bankrupting the American people.

CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm Hillary Clinton's worst nightmare.

MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm wearing a Trump tie tonight. Get over that one, OK?

BUSH: Is it made in China or Mexico?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Thursday, October 29, 6 a.m. in the east. And the GOP race changed last night, my friends. This was not the Trump and Carson show. There was a lot of talk about economic policy and plans. And once again, Marco Rubio distinguished himself on policy and his differences with his pal, George Bush. Ted Cruz popped up, creating a moment by going after the common enemy of all candidates, the media.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: So meanwhile, the frontrunners, Ben Carson and Donald Trump, trying to hold onto their leads. Did they do that last night? And where does the race go from here?

This morning, we will speak with four of the candidates: Carly Fiorina, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee all join us live on NEW DAY. But let's begin our comprehensive coverage with John Berman, who has the highlights and lowlights of last night's debate.

Good morning, John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: There was a lot of drama last night. I think what you saw was a coming out party for candidates who have not been central yet in these last couple of debates. A coming out party, really, at the expense of the media. And also Jeb Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN (voice-over): One stage, ten candidates, a world of prickly, squirm-in-your-seats tension.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Folks, we've got to wake up. We cannot elect somebody that doesn't know how to do the job.

BERMAN: John Kasich swinging at Donald Trump, who swung back.

TRUMP: He was so nice. He was such a nice guy, and he said, "Oh, I'm never going to attack," but then his poll numbers tanked. He's got -- that's why he's on the end.

BERMAN: Jeb Bush swinging, and perhaps missing, at his friend and one-time protege Marco Rubio, on the senator's spotty attendance record.

BUSH: When you signed up for this, this was a six-year term. And you should be showing up for work. I mean, literally, the Senate, what is it, like a French workweek? You get, like, three days where you have to show up.

RUBIO: I don't remember you ever complaining about John McCain's vote record. The only reason why you're doing it now is because we're running for the same position, and someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you.

BERMAN: Ben Carson against what he calls political correctness.

CARSON: They shouldn't automatically assume that, because you believe that marriage is between one man and one woman, that you are a homophobe.

BERMAN: But above all, way above all, it was everyone hitting the media.

RUBIO: Well, the Democrats have the ultimate super PAC. It's called the mainstream media.

BERMAN: Especially the debate moderators and questions the candidates deemed confrontational.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If we look back, your board fired you. I just wondered why you think we should hire you now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not slow down, get a few more things done first or at least finish what you start?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this a comic book version of a presidential campaign?

TRUMP: It's not a comic book. And it's not a very nicely-asked question, the way you say that.

CRUZ: The questions that have been asked so far in this debate illustrate why the American people don't trust the media.

CHRISTIE: Even in New Jersey what you're doing is called rude. So...

BERMAN: Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus agreed.

REINCE PRIEBUS, CHAIR, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: I got it was one gotcha question, one personal low blow after the other.

BERMAN: But beyond the umbrage, perhaps a new trend in new faces. For long stretches, the debate did not focus on frontrunners Donald Trump or Ben Carson, an opening for Marco Rubio...

RUBIO: I'm against anything that's bad for my mother.

BERMAN: ... and Ted Cruz, who offered to patch things up with the moderators with some now legal-in-Colorado product.

CRUZ: I'll have tequila.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. All right.

CRUZ: Or even some famous Colorado Browns.

BERMAN: And New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, much more central to the mix this time, again, going after the moderators for the subject of their questions.

CHRISTIE: Wait a second. We have $19 trillion in debt. We have people out of the work. We have ISIS and al Qaeda attacking us, and we're talking about fantasy football? What is that?

BERMAN: And on a night where many thought that Jeb Bush needed to break out, he spoke less than the other candidates, a performance that left some cold, despite one hot offer.

BUSH: You find a Democrat that's for cutting taxes, with cutting spending $10, I'll give him a warm kiss.

BERMAN: And if some candidates did not leave wearing a smile, at least Governor Mike Huckabee left wearing something memorable.

HUCKABEE: Love Donald Trump. He's a good man. I'm wearing a Trump tie tonight. Get over that one. OK?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: So interesting last night. You know, Danny Diaz, the campaign manager for Jeb Bush, at one point late in the debate banging on the CNBC control room door, because he did not feel like his candidate, Jeb Bush, was getting the time to get his message out. Seriously, I mean, high tension.

CAMEROTA: That is high drama.

CUOMO: Well, it's starting to matter more. There was a different dynamic up there. You know, and that's what campaigns really are about, right? Is about figuring how to position your guy.

Let's discuss what the plus-minus is on all this last night. Let's keep J.B.; bring in CNN political analyst and presidential campaign correspondent for "The New York Times," Maggie Haberman. And in Boulder, Colorado, CNN national political reporter Maeve Reston.

All right. It's good to have all of you here. Maggie, I'll start with you in-House.

John's making a very excellent point. There was high drama out there. There was opportunity. And when opportunity rears its head in a campaign, everybody is going to fly forward. They do feel they've been closed out, this whole tier of candidates below Carson and Trump. Who do you think got the plus-minuses last night?

MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I agree with everything that John said, literally.

CUOMO: That's crazy talk.

HABERMAN: That's it. We're done. I think, look...

CUOMO: Your credibility just crashed.

HABERMAN: Marco -- Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, I think both had very, very strong nights. For -- and for similar reasons, in some cases. Right? They both had pitches thrown at them. They both turned them very effectively. Ted Cruz's was much more about the media. Although Marco Rubio did that one, too. But Marco Rubio just owned Jeb Bush in that exchange about Rubio's votes.

Chris Christie, I also thought, had a really good night. I think it has been sort of under-examined after last night. I'm not sure how much it will matter. It will matter if you see people express discomfort with Rubio, who is an establishment candidate, and Jeb Bush completely crater. If Christie is able to keep going and get himself in the right position at the right moment in this very crazy election year.

Donald Trump and Ben Carson were almost nonfactors last night. You saw Donald Trump, I think, trying to show he can be more serious. He seemed very deliberately trying not to be bombastic. He went after the moderators, but they all went after the moderators.

[06:05:11] CAMEROTA: And I think Donald Trump didn't speak for something like -- there was another 28-minute chunk where he didn't speak. Much like the other debate where, 37. But it's unlike Trump.

Maeve, you were there in the room. What was the feeling about who -- was the feeling, I should say, that Marco Rubio won, as it is -- seems to be today in the media?

MAEVE RESTON, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That definitely was the feeling in the room. And I have to agree with much of what Maggie and John said.

This is obviously a strong night, also, for John Kasich. And it was interesting in that the very first exchange that came out, very fiery and aggressive as we were expecting him to do. His poll numbers have been flattening in New Hampshire. He really needed a breakthrough night. And he had a good exchange with Trump, where he really came back at Trump. And so he may get some attention after this to try to reverse a side.

But he also kind of stole Jeb Bush's moment in that way. Those two candidates are really in the same establishment lane. And I thought that Jeb Bush really was overshadowed for much of the night, which is why, you know, Danny Diaz was -- was pounding on the door and wanting to get equal time for his candidate. Which is what you want your campaign manager to be doing, if you're -- if you're running the show.

CUOMO: Let's play the Kasich sound from last night, just so we understand what was his major inflection point. A lot of people have been waiting for the Ohio governor to break out. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KASICH: This stuff is fantasy, just like getting rid of Medicare and Medicaid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said yesterday...

KASICH: Come on. That's not -- you can't scare senior citizens with that. It's not responsible.

Folks, we've got to wake up. We cannot elect somebody that doesn't know how to do the job. You've got to pick somebody who has experience, somebody that has the knowhow, the discipline.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: A couplet, there, right, John? The first half is you've got to establish yourself by getting the race back with the audience, with the voters. The second part is now proving why you're the guy they should be looking at?

BERMAN: He did that from the very beginning. You know, the debate moderator said, you know, "Nice to have you here," and then John Kasich launched right into his attack on Donald Trump and Ben Carson there.

The problem, I think, for John Kasich, is that Donald Trump actually squished him. Right after Kasich did it, brought up the fact that Kasich worked for Lehman Brothers during the whole crash. And also brought up the fact that he's not doing well in the polls and he's standing on the end.

And then we didn't hear much from John Kasich much after that. That was it on a night when I think that Kasich wanted to be part of every 10 minutes in that debate.

HABERMAN: That's right. Kasich actually had a line that, if he were ever to become close to becoming the Republican nominee, you would hear this used, both by his Republican opponents and by Democrats, which was, "I was a banker and proud of it." That is not something you that hear anyone on either side say.

CAMEROTA: I'm not sure. Is it a winning line? This -- not here?

HABERMAN: It's not -- it's not going to be a winning one for quite some time. He got flustered and he responded. And I agree. I think Trump absolutely got the best of him in that exchange.

CAMEROTA: So, Maeve, the media was also sort of on trial last night, courtesy of the candidates, who felt that they were asked, that CNBC was asking unfair and sort of stilted questions. Let me play for you how Ted Cruz fought back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRUZ: The questions that have been asked so far in this debate illustrate why the American people don't trust the media. This is not a cage match. And you look at the questions: Donald Trump are you a comic book villain? Ben Carson, you can do math? John Kasich, will you insult two people over here? Marco Rubio, why don't you resign? Jeb Bush, why are your numbers falling? How about talking about the substantive issues?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Maeve, the room went wild. They loved that line.

RESTON: They did. And, you know, if you were -- if you were tracking all of the Twitter traffic and Internet searches, Ted Cruz just surged at that moment.

He obviously had been waiting for it. He had a lot of good lines up his sleeve. And he really took command of the stage at that moment. You saw Christie later on in the debate, you know, try to go after the press and the media, as well. But Ted Cruz had a really strong performance. He's got -- he's

raised a lot of money. And I think a lot of people will be taking a second look at him again tonight, after last night.

And it will be interesting to see what happens with the dynamic between Ted Cruz and Ben Carson. Because if Ted Cruz really starts to rise, he could be moving right into that lane, into Ben Carson's support.

Ben Carson, however, was kind of, you know, chill and not trying to do too much on the debate stage last night. And that was probably OK for where he is at this moment in the polls.

CUOMO: Well, let's talk about that, Maggie, because look, you can't go wrong by bashing the media. You know, I grew up in a House where my mother believed that everything that went wrong for my father was somehow the responsibility of some reporter. Ironically, I became one. Let's put my personal issues aside.

The -- Trump and Carson being quiet last night. You can look at it one of two ways. It was a function of one, opportunity. You know, being spread among 10. Or inclination. Which is they were looking around, being like, "It is better if I say nothing out here." What did you think?

[06:10:08] RESTON: I absolutely think that was the case, especially with Ben Carson.

The first two debate performances, everybody commented on he was lackluster; he was subdued. He didn't really leave a mark. His poll numbers went up every single time. So for him, if you have a winning formula, that is what you stick with.

For Trump, I go back to what I said before, which is I think he was trying to avoid a mistake. I think the fact that his poll numbers are taking a dip, he's talking about how well he's doing, and these huge poll numbers, as he would say, has been central to his campaign message. And so when they're going down, it's a lot harder to explain it.

You saw Trump in Iowa the other night, literally saying, "I don't get it. Why aren't you voting for me?" to voters. You never really hear something like that, and so I think that for Trump, he is trying to seem presidential in a way that we have not seen before.

BERMAN: He did tell us he's about to spend a lot of money, which is interesting. He follows through with that, and puts up a lot of ads right now, that could change the dynamic in some places.

HABERMAN: They've been saying that for a while. He also said last night on the debate stage that he's raising -- he's spending 100 percent of his own money. That's just completely not true. He's raised -- he's raised $4 million. He's put in $2 million.

CUOMO: Remember, how long he's needed to spend. I don't know what he's done infrastructure-wise. It's kind of hard to get a bearing on that, on the ground, and that's going to be dispositive in terms of who wins the later primaries, but he has no beef with the media. I mean, he's got nothing but free air time.

CAMEROTA: Well, he did with some. I mean, he has a beef, but it's not a legitimate beef.

CUOMO: But you can't go wrong with bashing the media. You just can't Especially in that party.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: You know where he went wrong last night? Jeb Bush went wrong by not bashing the media when he was on stage. What you saw were these good athletes, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, turn the debate in the moment.

Ted Cruz's line was not scripted. He brought up what had happened on the scene. He took what was given to him. Jeb Bush, when he was asked about fantasy football...

HABERMAN: Answer the question.

BERMAN: Answered the question. He said 7-0, when I think the popular response was the one Chris Christie gave, which was "Fantasy football?"

HABERMAN: This is what we're -- this is what we're talking about here? Jeb Bush also, I would say this, Jeb Bush signaled very early on in his opening statement, "I am not interested in tearing people down. If that is the kind of race that you want, deal me out." Very first chance he had to go after Rubio, he did.

CUOMO: Rubio won that exchange, in my personal opinion, through tone. I thought what he said about his mother was great with his words. But what he said with his tone and his eyes, looking at Jeb, it was so disarming, because he looked at him like, "I like you. Don't listen to these people who are telling you to be like the rest of these guys."

CAMEROTA: Right. Whoever is advising you to go after me.

RESTON: That may have been such a strong moment for him. That was why it was such a strong moment for him. I mean, that's a pretty potent line of attack that Jeb Bush has against him on his voting record in D.C. It's destroyed other candidates in the past. As we saw, you know, in the most recent Senate election.

And for Marco Rubio to get the better of that exchange repeatedly throughout the night just shows how much message discipline he has. And why he's been such a strong candidate all the way through. Very smooth, very polished, unflustered by those attacks.

CAMEROTA: All right. Maeve, John, Maggie, stick around. We have much more to talk about.

CUOMO: Of course, we're going to be getting into the actuals with the people who were there on the stage. Carly Fiorina, what happened to her? Last night, she kind of came back. What does that mean?

Rubio on his night. Christie on his resurgence. And Huckabee, about what his tack was last night. All through the show we're going to have these people on. So stay with us -- Mick.

PEREIRA: We're going to give you some other news now making headlines.

The full House of Representatives is set to officially approve Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan's nomination for House speaker this morning. House Republicans overwhelmingly nominating him Wednesday in a secret ballot vote over Florida Republican Daniel Webster. Ryan had originally insisted that he didn't want the job but then demanded changing House rules in order to run.

One huge minefield Paul Ryan won't have to deal with, a budget deal, the House approving a two-year bipartisan budget deal that avoids the threat of default and reduces chances of another government shutdown in December. The deal now moves to the Senate, where it is expected to pass as soon as this week in order to beat Tuesday's deadline.

Two down, two to go for the Kansas City Royals. They beat the -- who was that, Chris? The Mets? Yes, the Mets 7-1 Wednesday night. To take a two games to none lead in the World Series. We're drinking the hater-ade this morning, Andy Scholes.

So the big question, though, of course, is two games down, can the Mets come back?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: Well, you know, Michaela, with that pitching staff, anything is possible for the Mets. But this Royals lineup is just so tough. They continue to wear teams down by putting the ball in play. And their latest victim, Jacob DeGrom, who's been the Mets' ace this post-season.

He pitched well through the first four innings last night. But in the fifth, the Royals got to him for four runs, two coming on this Eric Hosmer single up the middle.

And that was all Royals star Johnny Cueto would need. He threw a two-hitter in this one, dedicated his performance to Edinson Volquez's father, who passed away on Tuesday. The Royals win this one easily, final score 7-1. They now lead the series two games to none.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[06:15:06] ERIC HOSMER, ROYALS FIRST BASEMAN: You've got to keep your foot on the gas and you've got to keep pushing. Because that team, with that style, will have the ability to, you know, rail off a couple good outings in a row, and their offense has the ability to get hot.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SCHOLES: The series now shifts to New York. Game three Friday

night, Noah Syndergaard for the Mets against Yordano Ventura for the Royals.

And guys, I know how much you leave [SIC] stats -- how much you love stats. And I'll leave you with one for the day. When a team goes up 2-0 in the World Series, they go on to win 80 percent of the time. That being said, when the Mets last won the World Series in 1986, they were down 2-0, Alisyn, so -- against the Red Sox. So they've got back -- done it before.

CUOMO: Premature celebration, fatal flaw.

CAMEROTA: I don't believe in a premature celebration, but it does look good.

PEREIRA: I was going to say, they're going to win.

CAMEROTA: Very nice.

PEREIRA: We'll do it (ph).

CAMEROTA: Andy, thank you.

All right. So the third Republican debate last night had some fireworks. And you could make the argument that no one had more to lose going in than Jeb Bush. The former Florida governor going on the attack against his protege and friend, Marco Rubio. Did that strategy backfire? We have analysis.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[06:20:10] BUSH: Marco, when you signed up for this, this was a six-year term, and you should be showing up to work. Literally, the Senate, what is it, like a French work week, you get like three days where you have to show up? You can campaign or just resign and let someone else take the job.

RUBIO: I don't remember you ever complaining about John McCain's work record. The only reason why you're doing it now is because we're running for the same position, and someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: That was a huge exchange during last night's Republican presidential debate. Jeb Bush went after Senator Marco Rubio's voting record, but it did not go as Bush had planned.

Joining us again, John Berman and CNN political analyst and presidential campaign correspondent for "The New York Times," Maggie Haberman. And in Boulder, Colorado, CNN national political reporter Maeve Reston. So Maggie, that was a key moment, because Jeb Bush had that teed

up to go after the fact that Senator Rubio has missed some voting in the Senate. And he was ready for it.

HABERMAN: Well, so Jeb Bush had been basically telegraphing for days that that's where he was going to go. His campaign kept putting out things about "Where is Marco? He's not voting." Jeb was staying it on the stump.

So when you have days to prepare for how someone is going to throw a punch at you, you have time to get your hands up and go like this. And that's exactly what Rubio did. Marco Rubio turned it very effectively. The McCain response was brilliant. Jeb Bush had had absolutely no comeback for it.

And then Jeb Bush tried to say something. And Marco Rubio stopped him and cut him off, which was really problematic and which was Jeb Bush's problem the entire night. He had very little talk time. He was gone to very infrequently by the moderators, but he never really seized the moment either. He never quite recovered from early on.

I started hearing from some of his supporters within minutes that they could not get over what they were seeing. Every supporter of his, to a person last night, said to me, "We had a terrible night. I don't know what it means now. You know, we still have five debates. We have money, but we have a real grind, and it's a problem."

CUOMO: And part of -- another point of the challenge is where is he this morning, Maeve? Where is Jeb Bush this morning?

BERMAN: He has to change this narrative now, in the next five hours.

CUOMO: You have to get out on television. As bad as the media is, they're the referees. You've got to get out here and play.

Let me ask you something, Maeve, to look at the Maya Angelou genius, it's not necessarily what you say, what you make them think, but how you make them feel. Marco Rubio really distinguished himself in that regard, it seemed, last night. Certainly in this bi-play with Jeb Bush. Just the way he was looking at them. His tone of "Yes, I actually am your friend and that's why I'm telling you this." How did it play for you?

RESTON: Yes, you know, like it was dismissive, but soft. He did not go, you know, after Jeb Bush the way that Donald Trump has, obviously. So it was effective from that perspective.

And I think that what's so important, as Maggie was saying, is coming off of these couple of weeks for Jeb Bush that have just been absolutely awful, where he has had to slash salaries, pare back his campaign, completely reframe the way that they're selling their candidacy.

There were so many of his donors and his allies that were looking for really big performance out of him to reassure them. And it's not just those donors that are with Bush and, you know, whether there will be defections, but it's all of the donors were still sitting on the sidelines, looking at both Jeb and Rubio and other candidates in the race, who probably came away last night thinking, "Whoa, I am not ready to, like, jump on that train."

CAMEROTA: John, we've talked about how Jeb's campaign was not happy with the amount of air time that he had left. Let's look at how much air time each of the candidates had last night. Because it's very interesting. Guess who got No. 1? Carly Fiorina got the most talking time. She had 10 1/2 minutes, compared to...

CUOMO: She also got the greatest bang for the buck.

CAMEROTA: ... you see, down, and Jeb is not even in the top five of air time.

BERMAN: She got the most air time because she took the most air time.

CUOMO: Yes.

CAMEROTA: And that's what they're supposed to do.

BERMAN: That's what you have to do.

RESTON: That's her skill.

BERMAN: That's her skill.

But -- but the weakness is the follow through, because you saw that happen in the last debate when everyone thought she won and then what happened afterward? So today, in addition to the question I think you raised really correctly, Chris, which is what does Jeb do in the next five hours, it's what does Carly Fiorina do in the next five days? Because she got talk time last night, but no one is talking about her.

CUOMO: Not a lot of new last night. Not a lot of new out of her last night also. And I'm not quite sure, Maggie.

RESTON: She's a really good filibuster, you know, that has been her skill in the campaign trail in 2010. She just keeps driving those facts on those points.

I was surprised, actually, that she didn't get pressed harder on her record at HP last night, given the context of this being, you know, focused on business issues. But she's very good at just kind of sticking with her stump speech and just barreling through it and got all of her time with it.

CAMEROTA: Did the moderators let her run away with it?

HABERMAN: I mean, I don't know about run away with it, they let her talk a lot. And I think that other candidates let her talk a lot. To John's point, you have to seize the moment. I think a lot of candidates on that stage -- she's the only woman on that stage -- were worried about getting into an overly aggressive back and forth with her.

[06:25:00] Remember, you had Trump in the last debate, he had made some comments previously in the days leading up to it about her looks. He ended up very much on the defensive about that. I think people wanted to be careful.

But to your point about how this translates once the debate is over, I think a lot of people have looked at her, especially after that last debate, as a foil for Trump. I think that is less important for people now that Trump seems to be fading a bit. So we'll see.

CUOMO: Also, she just didn't -- you know, she didn't capture the flash she got the first time. She said something again last night, there's a little different level of scrutiny with her now after pthe Planned Parenthood stuff. And when she said last night job losses under Obama, you know, it wasn't 100 percent correct. And I think that that's where the media is looking at her right now.

Trump and Carson, again, we look at them in terms of time. Trump was, like, in the middle of the pack. A lot of that is because people are talking about him. Carson, less so.

Do you believe last night this was another indication where, wow, these other guys can play at a higher level of the traditional game than Trump and Carson can?

BERMAN: Ben Carson is playing a different game.

HABERMAN: Correct.

BERMAN: He's not even -- it's not a matter of levels; he's just not playing this game. He's doing his own thing. And he's appealing to his own supporters, who will look at it what he did last night and be perfectly happy with it. They're not going to have any problem with it at all.

And Ben Carson didn't have to answer to the other audience last night all too much about his plans, which you know, there are a lot of legitimate questions about his economic plans. He was asked a little bit but no real follow through.

HABERMAN: And he had trouble answering the questions early on that were about his plan. That was not great. To your point, though, it doesn't seem to matter to his supporters. I will say this. F or all the predictions that Trump is about to crumble or his numbers are about to collapse or, you know, the media will go away; and therefore, I do think Trump has a flurry of support. At the moment, that may go away. But you know, in our poll, "The New York Times" poll with CBS this week, 55 percent of his supporters said that they were committed to him.

CUOMO: Rock solid.

HABERMAN: They were rock solid. Eighty percent of Ben Carson's said they weren't quite committed yet.

CUOMO: Seven out of 10 Republicans, you know.

HABERMAN: Uncertain what they were doing. Trump has very high negatives, but he also has some people who are going to be with him regardless.

CAMEROTA: Maeve, there was, of course, a question about whether or not any of the candidates who had not been able to get any traction recently were able to. And some people are looking at Chris Christie this morning.

RESTON: Yes, definitely, Chris Christie had a very strong night. You know, really getting the better of Jeb in that fantasy football exchange that we talked about a little bit earlier.

He's been working very hard in New Hampshire doing, you know, dozens of town halls, really working it. So it's going to be interesting to see whether he can get a little bit of oxygen now to kind of come back into the game. You know, if you look at Jeb Bush's collapse, Christie could potentially gain from that. And that will be something that will be really interesting to watch.

I also thought that Trump's performance last night was fascinating. Because his poll numbers dropped a little bit. And he really like backed off, you know, all of the attacks, with the exception of Kasich. that he's done in the last couple of weeks. So is this kind of Donald Trump's second act as, you know, the serious candidate who's going to focus on policy?

CAMEROTA: All right. Interesting note to leave it on. Maeve, Maggie, John, thanks so much for all of the analysis.

What's your take watching at home? We'd love to hear it. You can use the hashtag #NewDayCNN. Or you can post your comment on Facebook/NewDay -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: Well, there were a lot of words used last night, a lot of claims and accusations, as well, during the debate. Who stuck to the facts, who stretched them? We'll give you a CNN reality check when NEW DAY continues.

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