Daily Deacon

Chris Caswell — Lede

Wake Forest students watching Thursday’s Republican debate thought that the debate was more a series of personal attacks between candidates than a discussion of important issues.

Several students thought that the moderators and their questions were partly to blame. They thought the questions posed to the candidates provoked a personal attack rather than a discussion of the candidate’s view.

Junior Lindsey Graham thought the debate seemed to be designed to create drama to boost ratings rather than inform voters about each candidates stances on important issues and noted that “It’s really uncomfortable to watch a cage match.”

Freshman Catherine O’Connor had a similar reaction.

“The candidates were not entertained by the moderators questions and were pinned against each other when they would have rather talked about the issues,” she said.

Students thought, in particular, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz traded personal attacks for much of the night rather than discuss their own ideas. However, some students found the back-and-forth revealing of the two candidates.

Sophomore Kelly Dugan decided that Trump is a “hothead, which would not be ideal for a President.”

Dugan was not the only one who found the personal attacks revealing. The attacks changed her mind about the two candidates who dominated the debate. She found that Cruz excelled in his public speaking skills, but that Trump was more transparent.

“Ted Cruz is sly, but while Donald Trump can be unrefined, he is straightforward,” she said.