GOP Candidates Take Verbal Swings As South Carolina Primary Approaches
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The verbal – and virtual – slings have been intensifying in the presidential campaign as the South Carolina primary nears.
As CBS2's Jessica Schneider reported, the primary fight has been getting dirty in the digital realm in particular, with social media abuzz about redirected websites.
Go to JebBush.com, and the page for Donald Trump shows up. On TedCruz.com, a simple black page appears saying: "Support President Obama. Immigration reform now."
The campaigns pointed out that the right websites are Jeb2016.com and TedCruz.org.
All this came as Trump and Marco Rubio echoed claims that Cruz is dishonest.
"Didn't tell the truth about Ben Carson in Iowa. Not telling the truth on my position on marriage; on Planned Parenthood," Rubio said. "Even had an ad pulled down by the stations because they were untrue."
"I think Ted's a very unstable guy," Trump said.
Cruz fired back at Trump, saying he has resorted to insulting because he cannot defend his words.
"The reason Donald insults is because he can't defend the substance. He can't dispute the substance because it's his own words," Cruz said.
Even President Barack Obama has been making bets on who will not be the next president.
Speaking during a news conference at the conclusion of a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders at a Southern California desert retreat, Obama said he has faith in the American people not voting Trump into office.
"I continue to believe Mr. Trump will not be president, and the reason is because I have a lot of faith in the American people," Obama said.
Obama stated that people see what a serious job being president is, and it's not just some sort of show.
"It's not hosting a talk show, or a reality show, it's not promotion, it's not marketing. It's hard," Obama told reporters. "And a lot of people count on us getting it right."
Trump shot back at Obama's comment, saying Obama would have been a one-term president if he ran in 2012.
"You're lucky I didn't run last time when [Mitt] Romney ran, because you would have been a one-term president," Trump said.
On the Democratic front, Hillary Clinton sat down with civil rights leaders in Harlem and also met with the Rev. Al Sharpton in Lower Manhattan Tuesday, while Bernie Sanders met with black ministers in South Carolina.
Clinton's quips Monday were making the rounds, after she imitated a campaign ad from her Arkansas days where dogs barked every time a candidate lied.
"I'm trying to figure out how we could do that with the Republicans, you know? We need to get that dog and follow them around and every time they say these things like, 'Oh, you know, the Great Recession was caused by too much regulation,' arf, arf, arf!" Clinton said. "You know?"
"Hillary Clinton is a joke," Trump fired back. "I'm watching television and I see her barking like a dog. If I ever did that, I would be ridiculed all over the place."
The bruising Republican debate on Saturday may have left a mark on Trump. A new poll out Tuesday night showed him getting 38 percent of the vote in South Carolina, but the portion conducted before the debate showed him with 40 percent, and the part done after had him slipping to 31 percent.
For the Democrats, the poll shows Clinton beating Sanders by 18 percent.