CNBC Boulder, CO 1st tier GOP debate @8pm Eastern **live commentary thread**

[The Free North]

Queen Hillary must be amused after the charade CNBC hosted just now. Why don't we roll over the red carpet and give her the election on a silver platter??

Dont be naive. CNBC is a financial news station. They asked dumb questions, but to pander them around like they're MSNBC is idiotic.

[cinyc]

Two-hour debate one the economy, yet not one question about trade, as far as I remember.  The biggest loser of the debate: the moderators.

[Mr. Morden]

Twitter followers gained tonight:

https://twitter.com/ddiamond/status/659555158809042944

Carson +6.2k
Rubio +4.2k
Trump +3.5k
Fiorina +1.5k
Cruz +1.3k
Kasich +.8k
Paul +.7k
Bush +.7k
Huck +.4k

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

Reince Priebus is accusing CNBC of asking gotcha questions.

[Lyin' Steve]

There are two pundits on CNBC, one of them is Larry Kudlow and he's just praising Trump over and over.  Kiss the ring...
The other is some woman who keeps making ditzy facial expressions and says Trump did terrible.
I think both of them are helping Trump.
Also the only person they talked to after the debate was Trump and now they're back to the studio in Rock center.

[Mr. Morden]

Final speaking time as tallied by NPR:

https://twitter.com/nprpolitics/status/659557489755734016

Fiorina: 10:32
Rubio: 10:10
Kasich: 9:42
Trump: 9:26
Christie: 8:31
Huckabee: 7:39
Cruz: 7:34
Carson: 7:02
Bush: 6:39
Paul: 6:15

[Statilius the Epicurean]

There are two pundits on CNBC, one of them is Larry Kudlow and he's just praising Trump over and over.  Kiss the ring...
The other is some woman who keeps making ditzy facial expressions and says Trump did terrible.
I think both of them are helping Trump.
Also the only person they talked to after the debate was Trump and now they're back to the studio in Rock center.

Trump = ratings.

It's a horrific positive feedback loop that can only end in the Presidency.

[Brewer]

Frighteningly Firm Face Fiorina at 10:32. What a joke.

[IceSpear]

Winners:

Rubio and Cruz for obvious reasons. Christie did surprisingly well too, but not on the level of those two.

Losers:

Jeb: Stick a fork in him. He needed a MAJOR recovery after getting owned by Rubio early on, and instead he went silent and talked about kissing Democrats. I wouldn't be surprised if he's out by the end of the week.

Kasich: Another disaster. He started off well, then just got demolished by Trump, and like Jeb, never even came close to recovering. He also seemed desperate.

Fiorina: She did okay, but nowhere near as good as her previous performances. And for someone whose entire candidacy so far has been based on debate wins, that's not nearly good enough.

Paul: I'm actually embarrassed for him. He seemed bitter, aloof, low energy, and bored. The grandparents line was startlingly bad. He must see the writing on the wall and is headed for the exits. Either that or he had some of Colorado's special brownies before the debate.

Trump & Carson: I'm least sure of these two, but I think the fact that they essentially disappeared while letting Rubio/Cruz take the spot light is going to bite them in the ass. I could be wrong though.

Huckabee: He's just not relevant to the race, and nothing tonight has changed that.