World watched, weighed in as GOP candidates debated

LONDON - The second Republican presidential debate riveted not just Americans: The curious and the cynical around the globe tuned in to assess the GOP field and learn more about the bombastic billionaire leading the pack.

Watching Wednesday's three-hour debate required determination and caffeination for those in countries with unfriendly time zones, but that didn't stop the Twitter hashtag #GOPDebate from trending worldwide.

From Beijing to Brazil, people tuned in to watch front-runner Donald Trump and 10 other candidates clash on the main stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

In Britain, newspapers live-blogged the debate, with many agreeing that Carly Fiorina, a former Hewlett-Packard chief executive, earned her seat at the prime-time table. Fiorina won applause for her response to recent comments by Trump that appeared to mock her looks, and she spoke emotionally about abortion and the death of her stepdaughter.

"I went into this debate understanding that half the people watching had never heard my name and didn't know I was running for president," she said Thursday on MSNBC's Morning Joe. "And so it was a really important opportunity for me to continue to introduce myself to the American people.

"I was satisfied that I said what I needed to say last night," she added.

The reviews from conservatives in the United States were ecstatic.

"Time and time again, Carly Fiorina showed she could hold up against the rest. It was a very real introduction to the nation as a legitimate contender," RedState editor Erick Erickson wrote on the Fox News website.

A headline in Britain's left-leaning Independent read: "Carly Fiorina star performer as The Donald Trump Show winds down in second GOP clash."

The Daily Mail tabloid mentioned those two plus Gov. Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush: "Carly cruises, Christie fights, Trump bullies and Jeb defends the Bush clan."

There was even more for Britons to buzz over: Bush picked Margaret Thatcher as the woman he would like to see on the $10 bill. He said it was "probably illegal, but what the heck?"

Thatcher, Britain's first female prime minister, is a controversial figure in her country, where many in the Conservative Party hold her in high regard but opponents of her economic policies loathe her.

"Imagine if a British politician suggested Nixon replacing the queen on a pound note," mused Cardiff Garcia of the Financial Times.

By contrast, Russian news outlets appeared to go all in for Trump, focusing on his comments that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin would get along. The coverage, however, largely skipped over other candidates' criticism of Russia.

"Trump promised America a president whom Putin will respect" was the headline on the website of the Russian daily Komsomolskaya Pravda.

In China, there was no commentary from state-controlled media outlets, but those who took to social media generally struck a light tone. "Am I watching Comedy Central?" asked Colleen404 on Weibo, the popular Chinese microblogging site.

In the last debate, China was repeatedly invoked as a super-villain and as a symbol of American decline. The rhetoric this time around was more focused. Candidates weighed in on whether President Obama should cancel President Xi Jinping's state visit next week over concerns about cyber-hacking, "currency manipulation," and Beijing's moves in the South China Sea.

Iran's state-run Press TV, meanwhile, singled out Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas for his pledge to snub the nuclear deal with Tehran on his first day in the White House. "Cruz vows to 'rip to shreds' Iran accord," a report on the channel's website said.

Regardless of the disagreements, watching the candidates debate foreign policy on a big platform could prompt Europeans to do the same, said Karel Lannoo, the chief executive of the Center for European Policy Studies, a Brussels-based think tank.

"At least the U.S. sees it has a global responsibility. Europe doesn't see this. The debate may provoke some thinking by Europeans by saying, 'Look, Americans in preelection discussions are already covering the global responsibility of the U.S. and we in Europe, where are we?' " he said.

He added, however, that the spectacle of mudslinging seemed odd from afar.

"I don't know what you are used to in the U.S., but when you look at it from Europe, it's becoming a bit below standard the way they behave," Lannoo said.

In Brazil, Bush's admission that he smoked pot decades ago caught attention. The headline on the front page of the O Globo newspaper's site read, "Ex-Governor Jeb Bush admits he smoked marijuana 40 years ago."

Most Brazilians do not speak English, and Trump's controversial comments on immigrants have not generated the same furor in Brazil that they have in Mexico. But G1, the main news site run by Globo, showed the debate live with quick summaries in Portuguese.

Some of those commenting on G1 seemed to think that retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson outperformed Trump. "Ben Carson teaching Trump what is true capitalism," Eduardo Kluwe Veiga wrote.

For some foreign observers, the three-hour session was a tad long.

The Guardian's Jeb Lund offered a solution: "If this debate was going to be three hours, it should have been an elimination debate," he wrote. "After hour one, boot someone off. Rand Paul - bye. You're done. After hour two? Scott Walker. No more."