Furious Republican presidential contenders attacked not only each other and Democrats in Wednesday’s debate; they lashed out at the three CNBC moderators and the media.
During the more than two-hour debate there were several clashes between the GOP candidates and the three moderators — Carl Quintanilla, Becky Quick and John Harwood — over several pointed questions.
Following the debate the chairman of the Republican National Committee declared that CNBC “should be ashamed.”
“I will fight to ensure future debates allow for a more robust exchange,” said Chairman Priebus in a statement. “CNBC should be ashamed of how this debate was handled.”
‘This is not a cage match’
Senator Ted Cruz, who was born in Calgary, unleashed a searing attack against the media when fielding a question on the federal debt limit.
WATCH: Ted Cruz receives massive from crowd after slamming moderators
“The questions that have been asked so far in this debate illustrate why the American people don’t trust the media,” Cruz said, before launching into a series of exaggerated questions that drew loud cheering from the audience.
“This is not a cage match. Donald Trump, are you a comic-book villain? Ben Carson, can you do math? John Kasich, will you insult two people over here? Marco Rubio, why don’t you resign? Jeb Bush, why have your numbers fallen?”
“How about talking about the substantive issues people care about?”
READ MORE: Who is Dr. Ben Carson, the new Republican front-runner?
Cruz continued his tirade seemingly spurred on by his Conservative fan base.
“I’m not finished yet,” he said. “The contrast with the Democratic debate, where every fawning question from the media was, ‘Which of you is more handsome and wise?’”
A double standard?
Rubio tried to turn the tables on moderator John Harwood when he asked about a Florida newspaper editorial calling for Rubio’s resignation after missing more votes than any other senator this year.
“In 2008, Barack Obama missed 60 or 70 percent of his votes, and the same newspaper endorsed him again,” Rubio said to more loud applause. “So this is another example of the double standard that exists in this country between the mainstream media and the conservative movement.”
Near the end of the debate the particularly tense relationship between GOP candidates and moderators boiled over again when New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie chastised Hardwood for interrupting when Christie went into generalities about his plan on climate change.
READ MORE: Facing dip in polls, Trump changes his tone in Iowa
“Do you want me to answer or do you want me to answer?” Christie said. “Even in New Jersey, what you’re doing is rude.”
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Billionaire and front-runner Donald Trump, who earlier said gun-free zones were “target practice for sickos,” also got into the fray.
At the very end of the debate, Trump said he had teamed up with Carson to force CNBC to shorten the debate, saying it was proof that nobody was better than him at getting a good deal.
“And, I’ll do that with the country. We will make America great again. And, thank you everybody. Just for the record,” said Trump
“Just for the record, the debate was always going to be two hours,” Harwood asserted.
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