Top takeaways from the Miami Republican debate

Republican presidential candidates argued over immigration, Muslims, relations with Cuba and more. Here are the best zingers from the 12th GOP debate. VPC

Before a critical round of primaries on Tuesday, the Republican presidential field gathered for a debate in Florida, site of perhaps next week's most pivotal contest.

Here are the top takeaways from Thursday night's debate:

'Little Marco!' 'Lyin' Ted!' Not in this debate

You'd be forgiven if you assumed Thursday's debate would be something akin to a professional wrestling cagematch. After all, it was just a week ago that Trump was not-too-subtly defending his manhood in response to a recent jab from Marco Rubio about the size of his hands. There was none of that at the University of Miami. To be sure, there were shots at Trump, and he returned in kind, but they were mostly policy-oriented.

Rubio hit Trump on Social Security — "the numbers don't add up," he said of Trump's proposals. Both Rubio and Ted Cruz took on the front-runner for being insufficiently supportive of Israel. "On Israel, Donald has said he wants to be neutral between Israel and the Palestinians," Cruz said. "As president, I will not be neutral." That's a far cry from the tone and tenor of recent debates and perhaps a recognition by all the candidates — and particularly Trump, the favorite to emerge as the nominee — of a need to change the public's perception of the GOP campaign has voters look ahead to November.

Trump, perhaps the ultimate provocateur of the 2016 field, seemed almost stunned by what was happening on stage. "So far, I cannot believe how civil it's been up here."

Rubio makes his final pitch at home

Marco Rubio speaks during the Republican debate at the University of Miami on March 10, 2016. (Photo: Pedro Portal, AP)
It doesn't take sophisticated political analysis to understand that Rubio needs to win in his home state of Florida next Tuesday to maintain any semblance of a path forward, particularly after poor showings in this week's contests. The Florida senator has clearly moved away from the more personal assault on Trump, an approach he in recent days acknowledged he regretted.

On Thursday night, he aimed to take on Trump by more by demonstrating a superior understanding of policy, whether on entitlements or foreign policy. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, also sought to draw a contrast with Trump on the restoration of relations between the United States and Cuba. Trump said he would've focused on making a better deal with the Communist nation. Rubio countered: "Here's a good deal: Cuba has free elections, Cuba stops putting people in jail for speaking out, Cuba has freedom of the press . …. That's a good deal." Earlier, pushing back against Trump's boasts against political correctness, the Florida senator scored some points with this line: "I'm not interested in being politically correct. I'm interested in being correct."

Polls paint a bleak picture for Rubio's hopes of overtaking Trump, but his more subdued, controlled approach to taking on the front-runner may at least give voters a glimpse of the candidate who, at least for a time, seemed to be the GOP establishment's best chance.

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