Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
Donald Trump was the focus of early attacks from his Republican rivals
Donald Trump continued to dominate the Republican race for US president by causing further controversies in the first debate.
The tycoon’s refusal to rule out a third-party run drew boos from the audience on Thursday night.
And he stood by offensive comments he has made in the past about women.
The 10 candidates in Cleveland, selected by Fox News on the basis of recent national polls, provided a frank and bruising exchange of views.
There was no clear winner or loser, with candidates trying to appeal to different factions of the Republican Party.
Key moments included:
- “I don’t have time for total political correctness,” said Mr Trump, when asked about misogynistic remarks
- in a testy exchange, Rand Paul attacked by Chris Christie for calling for surveillance curbs
- all candidates condemned nuclear deal with Iran
- in an optimistic closing remark, Jeb Bush said the US was on the verge of the “greatest time”
- join Isis and you sign your death warrant, said Ted Cruz
- John Kasich said he would support and accept his daughter if she was gay
- Mr Trump stumbled somewhat on his past support for a national healthcare system
- pointing to his record in Wisconsin, Mr Walker said he could turn the US around
One of the loudest rounds of applause was for Mr Rubio when he mocked Hillary Clinton, who leads the Democratic field.
“First let me say, I think God has blessed us. He’s blessed the Republican Party with some very good candidates. The Democrats can’t even find one.”
On Thursday, the Democratic Party announced they will hold their first debate in Nevada in October, hosted by CNN.
Republican reaction – Anthony Zurcher, BBC News
Around a thousand grassroots activists packed a ballroom in an Atlanta hotel to watch tonight’s Republican debate, and they went home thrilled with the performance.
The verdict from the crowd wasn’t difficult to pick up. Moderates like John Kasich and Jeb Bush didn’t do anything to win them over – even eliciting boos on occasion – while conservative darlings like Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio garnered positive reviews even if they had limited opportunities to really shine.
Donald Trump was generally seen as an amusing sideshow. “He’s not a real Republican,” said Tarya O’Neill from Madison, Wisconsin. “I hope people know that now”. Sandy Rabe of Cincinnati, Ohio, said she liked some of the things he said, “but I hope he doesn’t become president”.
Rabe added that she wished Carly Fiorina, the former business executive, had got a chance to show her stuff on the stage. She is roundly considered to have dominated the earlier debate among lower-tier candidates.
There will be considerable pontificating and prognosticating after tonight, but the one thing this campaign has shown so far is that conventional wisdom and educated predictions are more often wrong than right.
Five reasons Trump still tops polls
With one of the largest Republican fields in recent years, seven other candidates took part in an earlier debate that featured several attacks on Mr Trump.
Former Texas Governor Rick Perry said he was running a campaign based on celebrity, while former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina mocked him over his Clinton ties.
Influential figures at Fox News, including presenters Chris Wallace and Bill O’Reilly, declared Ms Fiorina the winner.