GOP presidential candidates meet for 4th debate

MILWAUKEE (AP) – The Republican presidential candidates are debating for the fourth time in the 2016 nomination contest, this time in Milwaukee, as they compete to narrow down the wide-open contest.

9:34 p.m. Trump on Putin

Donald Trump says he’s fine with Vladimir Putin playing a role in trying to “knock the hell” out of the Islamic State in Syria. But Jeb Bush says not so fast.

Bush says during the fourth GOP presidential debate, “Donald is wrong on this.” He adds that allowing Putin to collude with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against the Islamic State is “like a board game. That’s like playing Monopoly or something.”

Bush says the United States must be a leader in Syria, while Trump says it’s not the United States’ job to be the world’s policeman. He’s suggesting that arming rebels to fight Assad may create more problems in the region.

The exchange is the first combative moment between Bush and Trump on tonight’s debate stage.

9:28 p.m. Islamic Terrorism

Jeb Bush says American leadership is needed to combat Islamic terrorism.

The former Florida governor says during the main-stage Republican debate that the Islamic State group is the biggest threat facing the United States.

Bush says President Barack Obama “does not believe in American leadership.” Bush is calling for a no-fly zone in Syria and safe zones for refugees to stay in the region.

Bush argues that without “American leadership every other country in the neighborhood begins to change their priorities.”

9:25 p.m. Rand Paul corrects Trump on TPP

Donald Trump says a new international trade deal is “horrible” and empowers China.

But Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has a quick reminder: the Trans-Pacific Partnership doesn’t include China.

The sharp response from Paul during the fourth Republican presidential debate Tuesday came after Trump called China the “number one abuser of this country.” He says the TPP deal makes the United States vulnerable and “we’re losing with everybody.”

Trump says: “I love trade. I’m a free trader 100 percent but we need smart people making the deal and we don’t have smart people making the deal.”

Paul says there’s an argument that China doesn’t like the TPP deal because it will increase U.S. trade with China’s competitors. Paul says the U.S. should be negotiating from a position of strength, but Congress has given up too much of its power to the president in making the deals, leaving the legislative branch as a bystander.

9: 15 p.m. Rand Paul attacks Marco Rubio

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is lobbing the first attack of the night at Florida Sen. Marco Rubio by questioning his conservative credentials on taxes and military spending.

Pointing to Rubio’s plans to expand the military, Paul says, “Can you be a conservative and be liberal in military spending?”

Rubio is firing right back: “I know that Rand is a committed isolationist. I’m not.”

Despite Rubio’s campaign momentum, no other candidates have taken a chance to hit him in tonight’s debate. But Paul isn’t holding back, also slamming Rubio’s plan to expand the child tax credit, which Paul says amounts to a new expensive welfare program.

Paul says, “we have to decide what is conservative and what isn’t.”

8:50 p.m. Pre-existing conditions and health insurance coverage

Businesswoman Carly Fiorina says as a cancer survivor she knows better than anyone the importance of people with pre-existing conditions having access to health insurance.

Fiorina brought up her own battle with cancer when talking about her plans for health care reform during the fourth Republican presidential debate Tuesday in Milwaukee.

She says the health care overhaul law championed by President Barack Obama “is failing the very people it’s designed to help.”

Fiorina says the law needs to be repealed to let states manage high-risk pools while allowing the free market to work.

She says, “Let us try the one thing in health care we’ve never tried – the free market.”

8:45 p.m. Illegal Immigration

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz says Republicans will lose the presidential race if they offer amnesty to illegal immigrants.

Cruz says “we can embrace legal immigration while believing in the rule of law.”

Framing this as an economic issue for many Americans, Cruz is asking how the press would feel if “people with journalism degrees were coming over and driving down the wages.”

8:24 p.m. Income inequality worse in Democratic states?

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul says low interest rates are hurting poor families.

Asked about rising income inequality during the main-stage Republican debate, Paul says the Federal Reserve is partially to blame by keeping interest rates low. He says that “destroys the value of currency.”

Paul also argues that income inequality is worse in cities and states with Democratic leaders, saying “if you want less income inequality, move to a city with a Republican mayor or a state with a Republican governor.”

8:20 p.m. Barack Obama’s Policies

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is attacking the Democrats’ stewardship of the economy. Bush says: “Hillary Clinton has said that Barack Obama’s policies get an ‘A.’ Really?”

He adds at that one in 10 people aren’t working or have given up looking for work. Bush says one in seven people live in poverty and one in five are on food stamps.

Bush adds: “That is not an ‘A.’ It may be the best that Hillary Clinton can do, but it’s not the best America can do.”

8:14 p.m. Flat Personal Income Tax

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is touting his plan for a 10 percent flat personal income tax and a 16 percent business tax. He calls his proposal “bold and simple.”

Cruz calls economic growth under President Barack Obama “a disaster” but says “it doesn’t have to be.”

He says the economy can be turned around, adding, “We have done it before and with leadership we can do it again.”

8:10 p.m. America Needs More Welders

Sen. Marco Rubio says he wants an America with more welders.

During the main-stage Republican debate, Rubio says people are working hard, but the economy is not providing jobs that pay enough. The answer, he says, is to reform taxes, ease the way for businesses and make higher education more accessible, particularly for vocational training.

Rubio says: “Welders make more money than philosophers. We need more welders and less philosophers.”

8:07 p.m. $15 Minimum Wage

The two leaders in the race for the GOP nomination oppose raising the minimum wage.

Billionaire developer Donald Trump says during the prime-time Republican debate that he opposes a $15 minimum wage, enacted Tuesday in his home state, New York.

Trump says we can’t raise the wage “if we are going to compete with the rest of the world.” He says American wages are too high.

Retired surgeon Ben Carson agrees.

Carson says, “People need to be educated on the minimum wage.” He says that every time it is increased, unemployment goes up.

Carson says he appreciates having worked as a lab assistant early in life, and says the experience gave him more than was reflected in the wage.

He says, “I am interested in people being able to enter the job market.”