Last time, Donald Trump took on the entire Republican field. On Wednesday night, he only had to compete with three of his opponents.
CNN’s Town Hall kicked off back-to-back nights of GOP presidential candidates making their cases before Saturday’s crucial South Carolina primary. Anderson Cooper moderated the event, which featured Ben Carson, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, while Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Donald Trump get the stage Thursday night.
Meanwhile, Trump had his very own Town Hall on MSNBC at the exact same time as CNN’s event. “Morning Joe” hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski moderated the hour-long event with The Donald.
It’s reminiscent of the night Trump decided to skip the GOP debate right before the Iowa caucuses, holding his own fundraising event for veterans blocks away.
So, which one was better? It doesn’t matter. Your friends at TheWrap had you covered. Here’s the complete timeline of the night.
4:56: And we’re off… People are getting ready for the match.
https://twitter.com/Donvegaaa/status/700117352378044416
I really hope @RealBenCarson doesn't go first at the #cnnTownHall…I'm already tired, I don't know if I can stay awake listening to him
— Caleb (@calebgoodman91) February 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/JakeBachrodt/status/700118624564961280
https://twitter.com/MSchmidt59/status/700119867513532416
https://twitter.com/Leka4U/status/700117883767169024
Meanwhile….
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/700054650683289600
Crowd goes nuts when #Trump enters the room #TrumpSCTownHall #scpol #FirstInTheSouth @abc_columbia #DonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/9xxli5nRZY
— Grace Joyal (@GraceJoyal) February 18, 2016
4:58: and on CNN…
Full house at the CNN Republican Presidential Town Hall in Greenville. #cnnTownHall pic.twitter.com/TMOHvwDwmn
— Scott Stephens (@DScottStephens) February 18, 2016
5:01: MSNBC kicks it off with a montage of Trump highlights while CNN is giving viewers the big news of the day including Cruz’s comments today daring Trump to sue him.
5:03: Maybe it’s not a liberal love fest after all, immediately questioning Trump’s last debate performance.
https://twitter.com/WhosChrisKelly/status/700123150168686592
The stars of Morning Joe are hosting this event. Yes, the most noxious force in politics…vs. Donald Trump. #TrumpSCTownHall
— Carlton Abner (@CarltonAbner) February 18, 2016
5:07: Viewers aren’t happy with the MSNBC camerawork…
The camera angles on the @MSNBC Trump town hall is horrible. They couldn't get another camera? #TrumpSCTownHall
— Greg Gadren (@greggadren) February 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/sunnynodak/status/700124101587787776
https://twitter.com/David4NY/status/700124109095755777
5:08: CNN still has talking heads… doing a lot of talking.
5:16: CNN finally getting to the town hall with a fast-paced montage… only 16 minutes late.
5:17: TheWrap’s Brian Flood gets a text from his father: “Mika looks like she’s ready to pounce.”
At the end of this Trump presents Joe Scarborough with a rose#msnbc #TrumpSCTownHall
— Culture of Truth (@Bobblespeak) February 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/CAW622/status/700126946240413696
@MSNBC @NBCNews @realDonaldTrump @Morning_Joe Mika and Joe can't hide their infatuation with Trumpy. Whatever!
— Mary (@lovealaska1105) February 18, 2016
5:19: Carson is first. Cooper wants to know what’s harder: brain surgery or running for president (brain surgery). But people really want to know…
https://twitter.com/AParra210/status/700135045013573632
5:22: Rocky start for Ben Carson.
https://twitter.com/KokoButtaYo/status/700130933286961152
https://twitter.com/JennaAWhite/status/700130602746400768
if @RealBenCarson becomes president, get out your life jackets. We'll be going down like the titanic #cnnTownHall #BenCarson
— A L White (@politicalurban) February 18, 2016
5:23: Trump gets his first question from the audience… and she’s a Democrat.
5:24: Carson says he would nominate a Supreme Court justice in his last year as president.
Carson on nominating SCOTUS replacement: "I probably would. I probably would take the opportunity to nominate someone.” #cnnTownHall
— David Chalian (@DavidChalian) February 18, 2016
Carson, if you were in your final year as president, would you nominate a replacement SCOTUS justice? A: "I probably would." #cnnTownHall
— Kicker (@goKicker) February 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/LukeBrinker/status/700128695823036417
5:26: Carson is asked how he would reconcile the difference between Christian values and the GOP stance on social issues. But some aren’t feeling his answers so far.
https://twitter.com/danforthfrance/status/700129134173949957
😴😴😴😴😴😴😴 Carson #cnnTownHall
— Matthew (bruh/dude)🇮🇱 (@EmeryvilleBruh) February 18, 2016
5:31: Carson is asked how he would protect the right to own guns. Says people should get classes in gun safety.
5:35: A voter asks Carson if he would accept the job as Surgeon General should he lose the race for president. He says he’s not looking for a job. Apparently being president of the Untied States is a hobby for Carson.
5:40: Meanwhile in Trump country…. Mika is getting lots of tweets on her faces.
What exactly is Mika doing in this Townhall? All she does is hold on to her clip board and make faces.. While they let Trump run wild..
— LTS 💙🌻 (@LisaToddSutton) February 18, 2016
Apparently Mika's job is to just make quixotic faces…oh man, no follow-up #msnbcTrump #townhall
— Eddy (@esweendog85) February 18, 2016
5:46: Carson is asked about criminal justice reform by a young woman who lost a friend to murder. Carson says that the government should provide criminals with tools to reintegrate into society.
“We have 5 percent of the population of the world and 25 percent of the inmates and that obviously means that something is askew,” Carson said. “We need to be thinking about whether they’re going there for life or whether they’re going to be reintegrated into society.”
5:47: Trump says peace in the Middle East is the toughest deal on the planet.
https://twitter.com/DBloom451/status/700133747983777792
https://twitter.com/Calibrator/status/700134079769915392
5:59: This woman is not impressed with Carson’s answer.
.@RealBenCarson: "People think that I'm nice. And I am nice. But I also want to protect our people." By stabbing them? #cnnTownHall
— Tracy Jan (@TracyJan) February 18, 2016
5:47: We don’t think the Bush family will be staying at a Trump hotel anytime soon.
Trump: "Jeb is a sad case."#TrumpSCTownHall
— Joanne Leon (@joanneleon) February 18, 2016
5:53: Cooper asks Carson what music he likes to listen to. Classical. And he’s done.
https://twitter.com/viralbreaking/status/700134606264279040
6:00: Rubio is up. Cooper asks him about his Marco-mentum. He likes the term.
WATCH: CNN is feeling the #Marcomentum in South Carolina! https://t.co/7AWrpV7q5V
— mbretttx (@mbretttx) February 18, 2016
6:08: Rubio says he still had student loan debt until a few yeas ago.
6:24: Cooper asks Rubio if he has ever felt the sting of racism.”
Rubio says that, “Some of the neighborhood kids, older kids, were taunting my family,” adding, “I never saw it a reflection on America, I saw it as a reflection on those kids and what they were hearing.”
Rubio: It's important to address Americans' concerns about race. Watch CNNgo: https://t.co/svjGGwPMwk. #GOPTownHall https://t.co/owLWCZFs0k
— Top News (@TopTwts) February 18, 2016
6:30: Rubio is asked about SCOTUS.
Rubio said he wouldn't nominate someone to SCOTUS if he were Pres because he would want to respect the "80-year precedent" #GOPTownHall
— Alana Abramson (@aabramson) February 18, 2016
Rubio: Kennedy confirmed 1989. SCOTUS can't do meaningful work 4-4. Voters chose who should pick. O'Conner knows more than you. #GOPTownHall
— @mpark6288@masto.ai 🐀 (@mpark6288) February 18, 2016
Here we go with SCOTUS… #GOPTownHall
— Dr. Vianney | Ph.D. | 🇨🇲🇺🇸 (@VianneySaidSo) February 18, 2016
.@marcorubio claims “80 year precedent” says Senate doesn’t need to confirm @POTUS' #SCOTUS nominee. #GOPTownHall https://t.co/zuHKXguV9R
— CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) February 18, 2016
6:31: Rubio is talking 100 miles a minute.
https://twitter.com/knepper_jeffrey/status/700145594099171329
6:37: Rubio says “the most important job I will ever have is not to be president of the United States, it will be father to my four children.”
6:42: Some people aren’t feeling his attempts to sound human.
FWIW…
Marco Rubio just said he dreamed as a kid of playing in NFL. However, the dream died thanks to his “lack of speed, size, and talent."— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) February 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/MILOisKATE/status/700148779488407552
https://twitter.com/Mandy4Action/status/700148785955999745
6:50: Rubio is done… after talking about EDM (Electronic Dance Music). But his best line seems to be this one, at least according to Twitter.
Marco drops the 'fed' and Jedi council in one response. Well done Senator Rubio. #cnnTownHall pic.twitter.com/rc0CIHwCtR
— ForAmerica (@ForAmerica) February 18, 2016
6:52: Some people are #FeelingtheMarcoMentum.
https://twitter.com/Reaganista/status/700148953669566465
https://twitter.com/ChipBrooks17/status/700151072921423873
6:53: Cruz is up. Says he laughed when he saw Donald Trump’s cease and desist letter. He calls it “ridiculous.”
6:56: Some people not feeling Cruz.
https://twitter.com/ChrisThomsBauer/status/700151545682378753
Playing a drinking game where I shoot KY Deluxe every time #Cruz says "Reagan Coalition." Drink till he looks like Reagan! #cnnTownHall
— The Will To Win (@TWTWsports) February 18, 2016
7:17: Cruz admits he’s a “painfully” bad singer.
.@tedcruz on singing to his wife: "I'm hoping it's sincere and endearing" https://t.co/QcAalYCoal #GOPTownHall https://t.co/meQfWk8MXv
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 18, 2016
7:21: People are mocking #andersoncooperquestions.
General Tso's Chicken or Colonel Sanders' chicken? #AndersonCooperQuestions #GOPTownHall
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) February 18, 2016
"Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or 1 horse-sized duck" #AndersonCooperQuestions #GOPTownHall
— The Young Turks (@TheYoungTurks) February 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/VitaBrevisBebe/status/700156962026160128
7:31: Ted Cruz is asked to defend his status as a natural-born citizen of the United States.
https://twitter.com/dlCanadanews/status/700174619425140736
7:36: Cruz is asked whether Obama’s Supreme Court nominee should get a hearing.
He says he would not endorse a committee hearing on whomever Barack Obama nominates.
“For 80 years, it has been the practice that the senate has not confirmed any nomination that has occurred during an election year… I don’t think it would be fair to the nominee.”
7:39: Cruz on being called a liar by Rubio and Trump: “This is a strange election season in many ways.”
7:47: Some people are all Cruzed out.
https://twitter.com/lemnosalt/status/700164328427646976
#cnnTownHall @tedcruz – lies again about Supreme Court hearing in lame duck year
— therese zembik (@tzembik) February 18, 2016
Ted Cruz put my whole family to sleep. #cnnTownHall
— ColeBeans☕️ (@cole_beans) February 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/MichaelHBaker/status/700165227002859520
7:52: Yeah he actually said that…
If @tedcruz is elected he's resurrecting Churchill. #cnnTownHall
— Andrue ✊🏾 (@JaJahIrie) February 18, 2016
7:55: Cruz says his favorite drink is Scotch… and Twitter goes wild.
https://twitter.com/mikeliberation/status/700166678361997313
I, too, am "a scotch man."
#cnnTownHall— Brian D Brown (@briandb03) February 18, 2016
"I'm a Scotch man," lies Ted Cruz. #cnnTownHall
— Kate Bennett (@KateBennett_DC) February 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/MSalasBlair/status/700166948429017088
https://twitter.com/MSalasBlair/status/700166948429017088
7:58: In conclusion…
https://twitter.com/debralynnlazar/status/700167589796962304
https://twitter.com/TNorrisYEG/status/700167549304991748
#cnnTownHall saying u're bored listening to Cruz says more about you then him. Face it, u're more of a non-substance Trump fan. #dealwithit
— Bama_Girl2022 🇺🇸 (@Bama_Girl2020) February 18, 2016
Thank you @cnn @AC360 for giving voters this opportunity to hear from GOP candidates for president. #cnnTownHall #GOPTownHall
— Terri Green (@TerriGreenUSA) February 18, 2016