WASHINGTON – DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement tonight after the GOP debate in Des Moines: 

“Even without frontrunner Donald Trump on stage, his offensive and out-of-touch message was on full display at the Republican debate tonight on FOX News. Each one of the Republican candidates doubled down on a reckless and dangerous foreign policy that would make America less safe as they tried to out-Trump each other on anti-immigrant bluster, and refused to address the real economic and personal security of the American people. On the eve of the seventh anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act becoming law, they couldn’t even bring themselves to mention fair pay or consider what closing the gender pay gap would mean for families.

“Their foreign policy proposals were a replay of George W. Bush’s go-it-alone approach that destabilized the Middle East in the first place. Ted Cruz doubled down on his ‘bomb first, ask questions later’ foreign policy, demonstrating a complete lack of understanding for what carpet bombing Syria would actually look like. Marco Rubio doubled down on prejudice, sticking by his call to close down mosques and diners where Muslims gather. On immigration, they attacked each other over who was better at out-right winging one another, and they barely discussed the economy for most of the debate.

“Just days before Iowa voters head to their First in the Nation caucuses, we saw a party that’s out of ideas. Every time the Republicans take the stage, it becomes even clearer why we must elect a Democrat as the 45th President.”