Candidates discuss anything but Trump

More than 1,600 audience members packed a Des Moines, Iowa, auditorium for the final Republican presidential debate before the Iowa caucuses kick off the presidential primary season on Monday. But for a moment, everyone pondered who wasn’t in the room: Donald Trump.

The GOP front-runner boycotted Thursday night’s debate hosted by Fox News because of an ongoing beef with anchorwoman Megyn Kelly that began months ago when Trump insulted her for asking questions he didn’t like during the first debate.

If Kelly was moderating, Trump warned, he wouldn’t be there. Fox News cajoled a little but ultimately didn’t blink. Kelly was at the center of the moderators’ table Thursday night. Trump was nowhere to be seen.

His opponents seemed relieved.

A Republican contest that has majored on theatrics and politically incorrect performances from Trump finally found a heavy dollop of an ingredient that was sometimes difficult to fold into previous matchups: a serious discussion heavier on substance than zingers.

At times, the debate was more lightning-round than sustained discussion, with moderators blitzing through some issues without lingering or follow-up:

What do you think of Kentucky clerk Kim Davis?

Should states be allowed to decide the legality of abortion?

Should we really shut down mosques suspected of breeding radical ideas?

None of these issues found sustained treatment. But the hosts did linger on at least two issues that brought some of the meatiest—and testiest—discussions of the night: immigration and foreign policy.

On foreign policy, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., warned that ISIS was the “most dangerous group in the history of mankind.” He called the terrorist organization a jihadist organization that wants to trigger an “apocalyptic showdown” with the West.

Other candidates echoed the dire nature of ISIS, and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., highlighted the complexities of combating ISIS in a fractured Middle East. But Rubio seemed to continue to command the foreign policy discussion among his fellow candidates.

On immigration, the moderators brandished video clips of Rubio and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, showing how their positions on the issue have changed in recent years. They asked the senators to explain.

Moderator to Rubio: You were against amnesty, then for a path to citizenship, then against your own immigration bill. Explain again.

Moderator to Cruz: You now slam Rubio for his path to legalization but openly advocated the possibility a few years ago. Explain again.

The candidates argued less over what to do now and sparred mostly over the past: how much each candidate had evolved and why.

Enter Chris Christie.

The New Jersey governor reminded the audience that—like other people—a politician could change his mind on an important issue. He just needed to own up to it. Embrace the change, but be accountable for it.

Enter Rand Paul.

The senator from Kentucky, who made the final cut for this debate after not qualifying for the main stage in the previous GOP contest, had one of his strongest debate performances to date. He seemed relaxed and confident and snagged plenty of airtime, discussing the need for fiscal restraint and delivering a helpful reminder that liberty requires self-restraint.

As the subject turned to immigration, Paul landed a tough blow against Cruz: He called out his fellow senator for once supporting a path to legalization but now claiming he’s the only candidate against amnesty. “And that’s an authenticity problem,” said Paul. “Everybody he knows is not as perfect as him. …”

Rubio piled on, saying Cruz was trying to “out-Trump” Donald Trump on a hard-line approach to immigration. Cruz responded by noting his support from other immigration hard-liners like Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and again emphasizing his opposition to amnesty.

Meanwhile, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush took a different approach on the immigration question. He didn’t squirm. Instead, he said he had always supported “a consensus approach” to immigration, and didn’t offer much apology.

Indeed, Bush seemed far more confident on the debate stage without Trump cutting him off at every turn. The signs of exasperation that have marked his past debate appearances faded, and he looked more like the candidate on the stump than a man on the ropes.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson hung on, but neither seemed to gain traction in the back and forth on key issues. (At one point, Carson looked a bit surprised when the moderator asked him a question.)

If Trump was hoping the candidates would debate him in absentia, he didn’t get his wish. But he also didn’t get something else: sustained heat from other candidates on tough issues.

In the final days before the primary season officially starts, a front-runner who is more comfortable floating positions than defending them may have placed a final bet that skipping the spotlight might be a good idea—at least this once.

This article has been edited to reflect that Rand Paul qualified for Thursday night’s debate prior to Donald Trump dropping out.