Carly Fiorina dropped the mic after her stunning debate performance
SIMI VALLEY, California — For the second time in two months, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina stole the spotlight during a Republican presidential debate.
At the second Republican debate, held here at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Fiorina mixed sharply worded conservative policy proposals with a few well-placed one liners in a debate performance that was strongly received by Republican pundits and voters. Multiple outlets and pundits declared her the night's winner.
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Fiorina landed a huge early applause line when she called for Democrats to watch Planned Parenthood procedures that preserve parts of aborted fetuses for research. She said Republicans should pass a spending bill that de-funds the organization, even if it means a veto from President Barack Obama and leads to a federal government shutdown.
"I dare Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, watch to these tapes. Watch a fully formed fetus on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking, while someone says, 'We have to keep it alive to harvest its brain.' This is about the character of our nation. If we will not stand up and force President Obama to veto this bill, shame on us!" Fiorina said, drawing raucous applause.
Click through to read the 10 facts you should know about Carly Fiorina:
Carly Fiorina dropped the mic after her stunning debate performance
1. She’s a cancer survivor. Carly was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009. She underwent a double mastectomy and endured months of chemotherapy and radiation.
2. She was the first female to run a Fortune 20 company, starting her tenure as CEO in 1999 at the age of 45, but her work at the company has been closely scrutinized and many consider her one of the worst CEOs in history. She was ousted in 2005.
3. She studied medieval history and philosophy at Stanford.
4. Her father was a deputy attorney general under President Richard Nixon.
(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) *
5. She’s a new author. Her book “Rising to the Challenge: My Leadership Journey” came out May 5. Her book “Tough Choices” came out in 2006.
6. Her husband, Frank Fiorina, who was once an executive at AT&T, retired at 48 so he could support Carly in furthering her career.
7. She served as an advisor to Republican John McCain when he made a run for the oval office in 2008.
8. She ran for U.S. Senate in 2010, ultimately losing to incumbent Democrat Senator Barbara Boxer.
(AP Photo/Reed Saxon) *
9. Her mother, Madelon Juergens, was an abstract artist. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
10. Doesn’t have her own children, but did help raise her husband's daughters, Traci and Lori Ann.
The debate crowd also roared when the former CEO responded to front-runner Donald Trump's recent comments to Rolling Stone, in which he mocked Fiorina's face.
"It's interesting to me. Mr. Trump said that he heard Mr. Bush very clearly in what Mr. Bush said," Fiorina said, referencing Trump criticism of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's (R) comments about cutting funding for Planned Parenthood.
"I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said."
According to data provided by Twitter, Fiorina had the top-two debate moments and gained the most followers during the debate. And according to Facebook, the top moment of the debate on the social network came when she confronted Trump.
Even representatives for other campaigns agreed that the former CEO had a notably strong night.
"I thought Carly had some good answers, particularly early," former Sen. Jim Talent (R-Missouri), who is currently advising Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), told Business Insider.
Added Robert O'Brien, a senior adviser to Walker: "I thought Carly did well, I thought Ted Cruz really dominated Bush on the Supreme Court question. I don't think they had the consistent performance that Scott had through the debate, but I think Carly had some good early answers."
Though Walker's surrogates and those from rival campaigns lined the "spin room" Wednesday night, Fiorina's campaign defied the typical protocol. The campaign did not deploy any surrogates to the "spin room" following the debate, and Fiorina did not make an appearance herself.
After all, she didn't really need to spin her performance.
Said one of her advisers: "Mic drop."
Brett LoGiurato contributed reporting.
