Republican candidates compete with Trump on immigration
Donald Trump (C) center stage as fellow candidates Scott Walker (L) and Jeb Bush (R) listen at the first official debate in Cleveland, Ohio, August 6, 2015.
The top-polling Republican presidential candidates spent a lot of time on immigration in Cleveland.
Donald Trump set the tone, repeating some of what he'd said before about Mexicans as criminals flooding across the border. But he wasn't the only one trying to sound tough on immigration.
"Mr. Trump is touching a nerve,” said Ohio Governor John Kasich, “because people want the wall to be built. They want to see an end to illegal immigration. They want to see it, and we all do.”
“A portion of the Republican electorate definitely thinks this is important,” says Adrian Carrasquillo. Carrasquillo is an editor with BuzzFeed, covering the election campaign through a Latino lens.
“What was interesting to me,” says Carrasquillo, “you had Ted Cruz, Scott Walker, (Marco) Rubio a little bit … talking tough on immigration.”
Carrasquillo says the former Florida governor, Jeb Bush, is the closest thing to an exception. “He was the only one who was really trying to thread that line of being tough on some issues a little bit, but a little bit easier on some other ones.”
Carrasquillo said the Hillary Clinton camp was reported to be celebrating and cheering as the debate unfolded.
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