Rubio, Cruz clobber Trump at GOP debate
US Republican presidential hopefuls Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio lash out at front-runner Donald Trump during the final GOP debate before the so-called Super Tuesday.
Immigration, healthcare and Hispanic voters topped the agenda of the CNN Republican debate in Houston, Texas.
The two senators blasted the billionaire for hiring foreigners and challenging his commitment to conservative principles.
Rubio, seen by many as the primary mainstream challenger to Trump, immediately berated Trump over his immigration positions, knocking him for having supported a pathway to citizenship before turning sharply conservative on the controversial issue.
Rubio also accused Trump of starting a "fake university" that bilked students out of thousands of dollars, and that if the real estate icon had not received a massive inheritance from his wealthy father he would be "selling watches in Manhattan."
Trump bristled, and pushed back fiercely.
"I've hired tens of thousands of people," said in his rejoinder to Rubio. "You haven't hired one person, you liar."
The tone reflected the fierce battle underway ahead of "Super Tuesday" next week, when 11 states including Cruz's huge home state of Texas go to the polls in perhaps the most consequential voting day of the 2016 primary campaign.
Cruz joined in the Trump bashing, noting how he has donated to Democrats including former president Jimmy Carter, Vice President Joe Biden, and Senators Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid.
Speaking on concerns over whether Trump would replace late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court with another conservative, Cruz said Trump's contributions to Democrats prove he could not "possibly care about having principled constitutionalists on the court."
Trump hit out at Cruz as well, knocking the senator for his inability to garner presidential backing from any of his colleagues.
"You don't have the endorsement of one Republican senator and you work with these people," Trump said. "You should be ashamed of yourself."
In the past, Rubio and Cruz had shown little willingness to take on the former reality television star when the national spotlight was the brightest. That all changed in the ninth Republican debate of the campaign, clearly showing the growing sense that Trump is on track for the nomination.
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