Trump got double the speaking time of Paul

Donald Trump got far more air time than any other Republican contender at the first Republican presidential debate on Thursday night.

{mosads}According to an analysis by Smart Politics, Trump clocked in at 10:32 in speaking time, two minutes more than Jeb Bush, the next closest contender, who rang in at 8:31.

As the highest polling GOP contender, Trump took center stage at the Fox News debate, the highest-rated primary debate of all time.

The Fox News moderators repeatedly put Trump on the hot seat, challenging him on past statements that were demeaning to women, his corporate bankruptcies, his record of giving to Democratic candidates and his controversial remarks describing illegal immigrants as rapists and other criminals.

Trump had a more than two-to-one speaking advantage over Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who was afforded just 5:10 on air.

Paul made the most of it, interjecting himself early into a question posed to Donald Trump about whether he’d rule out a third-party run and sparring with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie over the federal government’s metadata program in the most memorable exchange of the night.

An equal distribution of time for the candidates would have been 6:52, and after Bush, the remaining candidates gravitated toward that average, with Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Ben Carson and Christie all in the ballpark.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker clocked in at 5:51, but according to Smart Politics, his smaller portion of air time was his own doing.

“Despite candidates frequently being given at least one full minute to speak, Walker gave responses of less than 40 seconds six times and never exceeded 48 seconds for any of his remarks,” wrote Eric Ostermeier of Smart Politics.