Trump refuses pledge not to run as 3rd party candidate

CLEVELAND - The Associated Press

Republican presidential candidates (L-R) Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Donald Trump and Jeb Bush participate in the first prime-time presidential debate hosted by FOX News and Facebook at the Quicken Loans Arena August 6, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. AFP Photo

The first debate among Republicans running for the White House in 2016 put to rest speculation that billionaire businessman Donald Trump would moderate his harsh denouncement of America's politicians. He used the opening moments of the faceoff with nine other candidates to refuse to rule out running as an independent.
     
Should he do that, Trump likely would split the Republican vote, making it more likely that Democrat frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton would win, giving her party a third straight term in in the White House.
     
Trump was at center stage because he has run up a considerable polling lead among the 17 Republicans running for the nomination. He was the only one of 10 candidates in the main debate August 6 night to raise his hand when the Fox News hosts asked who would not pledge to support the eventual party nominee.
     
"I will not make the pledge," he said.
     
Trump, who brushed aside questions about his public denigration of women and said he had done nothing but used American laws when four of his companies took bankruptcy, put to rest speculation he would tone down his rhetoric.
     
Trump's refusal to take the pledge enraged Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who said Trump was "already hedging his bets because he's used to buying politicians."
     
Through the remainder of the debate, the candidates made little news, choosing instead to use their time in the two-hour session to repeat already well-known positions.
     
But Trump stood out for his willingness to stand behind many of his past statements that many expected would be ruinous to his campaign. Instead he has risen quickly in the polls to become the front-runner.
     
Fifteen months from the election, Trump remains a longshot candidate to replace President Barack Obama. Only 10 of 17 Republican candidates were invited to participate in the main event, with the remaining seven relegated to a pre-debate forum.
     
It was a key test for Trump, whose unpredictable style and unformed policy positions mean he doesn't fit neatly into any single wing of the Republican Party.
     
That appears to be a draw to some Republicans frustrated with Washington and career politicians, but others fear his eccentricities and outlandish comments - whether about Mexican immigrants being "criminals" and "rapists" or his questioning of the war record of Sen. John McCain - will taint the American public's view of the party.
     
Standing to Trump's left on the debate stage on August 6 night was former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a favorite of the wealthy donors and business leaders that populate the establishment wing of the Republican Party. But Bush, the son and brother of two former U.S. presidents, has struggled to separate himself from the rest of the field and he faces questions about whether his nomination would mark a return to the past.
     
Immigration and counterterrorism dominated the early stages of the debate, two issues that highlight the deep divisions within the Republican Party.
     
Bush, whose wife was born in Mexico, defended his call for a path to legal status for some of the people living in the U.S. illegally. It's an unpopular position among some Republican voters who equate legal status with amnesty.
     
"The great majority of people coming here have no other option," Bush said.
     
Trump in particular has pushed the issue of immigration throughout the summer. He said on August 6 border patrol agents agreed with his comments about Mexicans, and he took credit for immigration being an issue in the2016 campaign.
     
Paul and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie engaged in a heated exchange over the USA Patriot Act and laws giving government access to Americans' phone records.
     
Christie, a former U.S. attorney, said he was the only person on the stage to file applications under the Patriot Act and gone before secretive courts for authority.
     
Paul, a staunch opponent of the surveillance programs, said he wanted to collect more records from terrorists, not law-abiding Americans.
     
To Trump's right was Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, whose victories over labor unions in his home state created his national profile. He broke no new ground in the debate.
     
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the youngest candidate in the field at age 44, was trying to carve out a niche as a foreign policy expert, but has struggled to break through this summer - particularly since Trump's surge. He turned in a a strong performance, talking powerfully about the need for a leader who understands the challenges of the new economy taking shape in America.
     
The remaining seven candidates who didn't make the cut for August 6 night's main debate were relegated to a pre-debate forum, a low-key event in a largely empty arena, where candidates avoided debating each other and largely stuck to scripted responses on domestic and foreign policy.
     
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and businesswoman Carly Fiorina opened the early event with biting criticisms of Trump.
     
Perry - whose failed 2012 White House campaign was damaged by an embarrassing debate stumble - accused Trump of using "his celebrity rather than his conservatism" to fuel his run for president.
     
Fiorina, the only woman in the Republican field, said Trump had tapped into Americans' anger with Washington, but she challenged the businessman as lacking policy positions. "What are the principles by which he would govern?" she asked.
     
While the candidates pitched their visions for the Republican Party's future, they also were making the case that they would present the strongest general election challenge to Hillary Rodham Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination.
     
The August 6 debate is the first of six Republican Party-sanctioned debates scheduled before primary voting begins in February.
     
The Democratic National Committee, meanwhile, released plans for its presidential debates, announcing the first of six will be held Oct. 13 in Nevada.