DES
MOINES, Iowa — The Republican presidential debate at the Iowa Events
Center on Thursday night began with Sen. Ted Cruz taking shots at Donald
Trump.
Cruz’s
comments came after Fox News moderator Megyn Kelly asked him to
address “the elephant not in the room,” the fact Trump chose not to
participate. The senator mocked Trump’s propensity for throwing insults
at rivals and critics.
“I’m
a maniac, and everyone on this stage is stupid, fat and ugly,” Cruz
quipped before turning to former neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
“Ben,
you’re a terrible surgeon,” Cruz said. “Now that we’ve got the Donald
Trump portion out of the way, I want to thank everyone here for showing
the men and women of Iowa the respect to show up and make the case to
the people of this state and the people of the country why each of us
believe we would make the best commander in chief.”
Trump,
who is currently the frontrunner in polls of the Republican primary
field, scheduled a last-minute event at Drake University in Des Moines
at the same time as the debate. His decision to boycott the event came
after he asked Fox News to remove Kelly as a moderator. Trump has
accused Kelly of being biased against him and criticized her handling of
an earlier debate.