Islam Times - GOP presidential candidiate Trump leads in post-debate online polls

Islam Times - Republican US presidential hopeful Donald Trump has maintained his spot atop the 2016 GOP presidential field, according to new online polls.

Despite an average performance during the fourth GOP debate on Tuesday night, Trump got 38 percent of the vote in the Drudge Report poll as of Wednesday morning.

The billionaire businessman was followed by Senators Ted Cruz at 22 percent, Rand Paul at 16 percent and Marco Rubio at 12 percent. Other Republican candidates could only get 5 percent or less in the poll.

In Time magazine's online poll, Trump took 43 percent, followed by Paul at 19 percent, Rubio at 15 percent, Cruz at 7 percent, Ohio Governor John Kasich at 5 percent and Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson gaining just 4 percent each.

Republican candidates clashed with each other on Tuesday night over a myriad of domestic and foreign policy issues including taxes, wages, illegal immigration and how to tackle Russia and the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group.

Trump opened the debate by suggesting that both taxes and wages are “too high” in the United States chipping away at the country’s competitiveness. His rival, former neurosurgeon Carson, agreed.

Trump also doubled down on his harsh immigration policy, which calls for building a towering wall along the southern borders and deporting all undocumented immigrants from the United States.

Governor Kasich, however, called Trump’s approach “a silly argument,” and insisted that those in the US illegally need to be granted legal status.

Trump fired back, calling Kasich a “pinhead” for his record as the governor of Ohio and the state’s tepid economic recovery.

As the argument heated up and Kasich started to respond, Trump interrupted, saying, “I don't have to hear from this man.”

Eight Republican candidates faced off on Tuesday night in Milwaukee.