Debate lede and quotes — Eisert
A number of Wake Forest University students watched Thursday night’s Republican presidential debate and thought that while the moderators asked hard, necessary questions, the candidates frequently avoided them, and the debate became a personal showdown between Sen. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.
The debate, sponsored by Fox Business Network, was moderated by Maria Bartiromo and Neil Cavuto. Sen. Cruz’ position as the Iowa front-runner and Trump’s three-point trail was reflected in their exchanges during the debate.
Lindsay Graham, a junior mathematical economics major, refereed to the debate as a heated and unsettling fight between the candidates.
“It’s really uncomfortable to watch a cage match,” said Graham.
Another student, Linda Sui, was also impacted by the Cruz-Trump exchange.
“Ted Cruz is sly,” Sui said, “but while Donald Trump can be unrefined, he is straightforward.”
Many students blamed the moderators for allowing this exchange to occur and not doing a better job at keeping the candidates on track, answering the questions directly.
According to Catherine O’Conner, a freshman from England, “the candidates were not entertained by the moderators’ questions and were pinned against each other when they would have rather talked about the issues.”
