The final Republican debate was most notable for one thing, the absence of a certain Donald Trump. Reports allege that the Donald wanted a $5 million payday before he would agree to perform, pledging to donate the money to his charitable causes.

Perhaps more accurate was the fact that Megyn Kelly was once again hosting, the Fox anchor having butted heads with Trump at their previous meeting. So how did the opening scenes of the debate play out, and would anyone address the issue head on? Below from YouTube:

Kelly started it off, referring to Trump as “the elephant not in the room tonight.” (Elephant because Republicans, get it?)

“Donald Trump has chosen not to attend this evening’s presidential debate. What message do you think that sends to the voters of Iowa?” she asked Cruz.

After a paragraph of boilerplate praise for Iowa as a hospitable state filled with diligent voters, Cruz piled on with a joke of his own.

Donald Trump was surprisingly coy on the matter, only sending out a few tweets and refraining from calling anyone stupid or fat or ugly:

He would be referencing the fact that whilst the debate was on Trump hosted his own event just three miles away, one packed to the rafters with brown nosers of the highest order.

[source:youtube]