Billionaire Trump continues to be the focus of the Republican debate

As expected, real estate billionaire Donald Trump once again became the center of attention in this debate with his flamboyant, "provocative" statements and style.

Republican candidates Donald Trump (left) and Jeb Bush at the debate. Photo: Reuters/VNA

On the morning of September 17 (Vietnam time), the 11 leading Republican candidates concluded their second live debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California in the race for the party's nomination in the 2016 US presidential election.

The candidates participating in this debate include Mr. Trump, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, three Senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul; Governors Scott Walker of Wisconsin, Chris Christie of New Jersey, John Kasich of Ohio and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas; neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Hewlett-Packard (HP) CEO Carly Fiorina.

During hours of heated debate, the candidates touched on a range of hot-button issues including immigration, tariffs, the budget and the risk of a government shutdown, foreign policy such as the Iran nuclear deal and vaccinations.

As the current front-runner with the highest voter approval rating (33%), billionaire Trump has become the target of attacks from most of the remaining candidates. At the debate, former Governor Bush criticized the real estate tycoon for his past friendship with Democratic lawmakers and his efforts to promote a casino project in the state of Florida.

Senator Paul - whose approval rating has been falling since the first debate (August 6) - sarcastically criticized Mr. Trump's statements as "too immature" and revealing his lack of experience. Former Wisconsin Governor Walker also said that "there is no need for an apprentice in the White House", referring to the title of a reality TV show of the real estate tycoon. In response, billionaire Trump attracted attention when he "boasted" about his business experience, while also countering criticism from the other candidates. He rejected former Governor Bush's statements, and criticized Senator Paul for not deserving to be present at this debate with a meager voter support rate of only 1%.

A notable point in this debate was the presence of former HP CEO Fiorina - the only female candidate of the Republican Party. This businesswoman had a spectacular "comeback" when she increasingly won the support of voters to participate in this second main debate. She criticized Mr. Trump regarding his insulting statements about her appearance in a recent interview with a magazine. She also noted that this billionaire's companies have filed for bankruptcy up to 4 times and said that Mr. Trump is not trustworthy.

The debate is an opportunity for Republican voters to compare the 11 candidates head-to-head. A joint ABC News/Washington Post poll released on September 14 found that 33% of Republicans surveyed are now committed to voting for billionaire Trump. That’s up 9 percentage points from the 24% support in the July poll. The second “outsider,” neurosurgeon Dr. Carson, has jumped to second place with a 6% increase in support to 20%. Former Florida Governor Bush is in third place with 9% support.

The Republican Party has planned to hold nine debates before the party's primary vote in February 2016. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party has also planned to hold six debates, with the first debate scheduled for October 13.

According to TTX/News