Trump, trash talk expected to rule US Republican debate

Republican presidential candidates engaged in mostly gentle sparring during their first debate. Wednesday night will be a more bruising affair, with 10 challengers expected to attack frontrunner and master provocateur Donald Trump.

With Americans counting down to the second debate night of the 2016 race, White House hopefuls began arriving at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

Many of them are under intense pressure to deliver a breakout performance that sends them into top-contender status and helps separate them from the large pack of candidates.
Seeking to keep them at bay will be Trump, who has acknowledged he has a target on his back with opponents eager to take down the man they say is not a true conservative.

A solid performance would spell more "earned media" invitations to appear on television news shows and -- perhaps just as importantly -- a substantial fundraising boost.

A poor showing could trigger a campaign meltdown, and perhaps an early departure from the most crowded Republican nomination race in a generation.

- Gloves coming off -

"I think there may be a lot of fireworks tonight," predicted Senator Ted Cruz as he arrived at the library for a walk-through.
Cruz said important ideological distinctions could be drawn on stage between core conservatives and those who "talk a good game on the trail but haven't walked the walk."

Trump has made good on his brash reputation, leveling verbal assaults at many challengers and others seeking to rein in the real estate mogul's improbable rise in the polls.

Jeb Bush, perhaps the campaign's ultimate establishment Republican, has seen his political fortunes tumble in the months since Trump entered the race.

In an effort to raise his campaign's profile, a pro-Bush "super PAC" group that has raised huge funds launched a series of ads -- reportedly a $24 million buy in early-voting states Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina -- that tout the former Florida governor's conservative credentials.

It remained unclear whether Bush will come out swinging against Trump when candidates take the stage.
But Carly Fiorina, the only woman in the Republican field, may have an axe to grind with Trump, who recently made derogatory comments about the former Hewlett-Packard chief executive's looks.

Fiorina earned a spot on the main stage due to her breakout performance last month in the bottom-tier debate. A similar event for four low-polling candidates will take place before the main debate.

Hot-tempered attacks may come despite the debate's location, one that honors a Republican seen by many as the quintessential modern-day conservative president.

As candidates seek to carry the Reagan torch, his so-called 11th commandment -- "thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican" -- is likely to be broken.

- Rise of anti-establishment -

As more conventional candidates like Ohio Governor John Kasich and Senator Marco Rubio struggle to gain precious air time with the media, which is spending vast time and resources on covering Trump, another outsider, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, is quietly gaining ground.

The latest CBS News poll found Trump still ahead at 27 percent support, but the soft-spoken Carson -- who is essentially the anti-Trump -- swelled to 23 percent. The four-point gap is within the poll's margin of error.
While it is unclear whether Carson poses an immediate threat to Trump's dominance, the rise of the doctor, who like Trump has never held public office, is more evidence of an anti-establishment wave washing over the 2016 nomination race.

Trump's antics and his surprising durability have started to gain him the attention of the White House.

Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday described Trump's comments on Mexican immigrants as "sick."

"That one guy absolutely denigrated an entire group of people, appealing to the baser side of human nature," Biden told a group of Hispanic Americans.

The White House, however, said President Barack Obama would not be watching to see what Trump will say Wednesday.

Obama is "keenly interested" in the process, "but I would not anticipate that the president will watch the debate," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

While the pressure is on establishment candidates, "this is a long process," Rubio said Wednesday.

"Tonight won't decide this election."

Source: AFP