The candidates running for the Republican presidential nomination debated for the sixth time this week.
The debate is the second-to-last one before the Iowa caucus on February 1.
The Iowa caucus is a series of meetings where participants, called delegates, vote for one Republican and one Democratic party candidate. Whoever gets the most votes in that state will be endorsed at the national convention later in the year.
Candidates Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio and Donald Trump debated in South Carolina on Thursday night.
Bush, the former governor of Florida, challenged Donald Trump on his proposal to ban non-American Muslims from coming to the United States.
Trump’s idea “makes it impossible to build the coalition necessary to take out ISIS,” Bush says.
Bush says it would be difficult for the U.S. to build a coalition against Islamic State terror group without Muslim support.
Trump says he wants security for the United States. He says radical Islam is a problem “all over the world.”
Another question came up: whether Cruz’s birth in Canada would make him ineligible to be president.
Cruz was born with dual American and Canadian citizenship. He gave up his Canadian citizenship in 2014.
Trump says he thinks the Democratic Party would file a lawsuit claiming that Cruz is not allowed to be president if he wins the Republican nomination.
Two other issues were raised in the debate:
One, whether Christie was a strong enough conservative to earn the Republican nomination. And two, who would be the best Republican to overturn policies enacted by President Barack Obama.
But who won the debate?
Ford O’Connell is a Republican strategist who advised John McCain’s campaign in 2008. He says Trump, Cruz and Rubio look like the front-runners.
“At the rate things are going, it seems like we’re heading for a three-man race.”
The next and final Republican debate before the caucus is January 28 in Iowa.
I’m Dan Friedell.
This report was based on information from VOANews.com. Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor.
Who do you think will win the Iowa caucus? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section or on our Facebook page.
Words in This Story
assertion – n. a strong, definite statement
caucus – n. a meeting of members of a political party for the purpose of choosing candidates for an election
dual – adj. having two of something
ineligible – adj. not allowed to do or be something : not eligible
participants - n. people who take part in something
endorsed - v. declaring one's support publicly
