Carly Fiorina Shines but Donald Trump Remains on Top

Everyone says he has lost! But polls say he is still on top... Donald Trump, the headline-making millionaire trying to become the Republican Party's nominee for the U.S. presidency, remained at the center of the news during the second Republican primary debate; however, this time he found an unexpected rival whose star is rapidly rising: Carly Fiorina, the only woman fighting for a potential nomination in the Republican Party, who has gradually pulled herself up from the bottom of the polls. Ms. Fiorina is a business executive who has entered the political arena in recent years but has not yet achieved significant success in the political world. She did not make it to the main stage in the first Republican debate on Fox News, and due to her lack of popularity in the polls, she was not among the top 10 candidates. According to CNN's formula, she still could not be among the top 10, but Fiorina's stunning performance in the undercard debate on Fox News led the debate organizers at CNN to decide to make an exception for her and hold the Wednesday debate with 11 candidates so that she could also appear alongside the top 10 candidates in the main debate. After this, the last thing that could have dramatically improved Fiorina's situation was another controversial remark from Donald Trump. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, he said: "Look at Fiorina's face! Can you imagine this face becoming president?!" This statement was enough to make Fiorina the talk of the town in the hours leading up to the debate. In the debate, Fiorina, like a gun that never runs out of bullets, fired her precise responses one after another. She first addressed Trump's remark by saying: "I think all the women in America heard what he said." And boom! The audience exploded and cheered for her. But where she truly won over conservatives was when she spoke about abortion and the Democrats' social programs to financially support NGOs advocating for population control; currently, the center of this dispute is focused on a large NGO called 'Planned Parenthood.' In the Wednesday night debate, Ms. Fiorina stated that the reason it is important to recognize Qassem Soleimani is that he traveled to Moscow and managed to convince Putin to intervene in the Syrian civil war in favor of Assad. Ms. Fiorina even talked about 'General Soleimani,' the famous Qassem Soleimani, the 'Sardar' of the IRGC, who has practically become the most famous military figure in the history of the Islamic Republic. In fact, Qassem Soleimani seems to have become a test of candidates' general knowledge! The story goes that two weeks ago, Donald Trump faced a question about the commander of the Quds Force in a television interview, and it was clear from his response that he had no idea who Soleimani was. Trump accused the host of 'catching' him. To prove that he had no intention of 'catching' him, the host invited Carly Fiorina and asked her the same questions. And of course, Fiorina knew the 'general' well. In the Wednesday night debate, Ms. Fiorina reiterated the importance of recognizing Qassem Soleimani, citing his trip to Moscow and his success in convincing Putin to act in favor of Assad in the Syrian civil war. The truth or falsehood of her statements is up to the speaker, but Carly Fiorina effectively used Soleimani to showcase her knowledge in foreign policy. The Wednesday debate had other significant moments, from Trump's confrontations with each candidate to Jeb Bush's attempts to climb back up the rankings. However, despite all the passionate remarks against Trump, he remains at the top of the polls. Republicans have four more opportunities to confront Trump in debates before the first primary elections in Iowa, or else they will have to endure and adapt to him until the election day next year!