News Analysis: Latest Republican debate foreshadows nasty U.S. presidential race to come

Sparks flew during Thursday night's Republican presidential debate between front-runner Donald Trump and his rivals, underscoring the nasty battle to come in the 2016 race to the White House.

The current election season is perhaps like no other the country has seen in decades, with brash businessman Donald Trump's sharp-tongued and unscripted manner of speaking differing sharply from the style of his rivals. While that has grabbed media attention and sparked a surge in support for his candidacy, critics accuse him of vulgarity.

"Look at those hands, are they small hands?" Trump said during the debate, raising his hands in the air so TV and live viewers could see.

He was responding to rival candidate Senator Marco Rubio's mockery of what the Florida lawmaker described as Trump's small hands - suggesting that they may be indicative of a small male appendage.

"And, he referred to my hands -- 'if they're small, something else must be small.' I guarantee you there's no problem. I guarantee," Trump said.

Before Rubio made jokes about Trump's "small hands," Trump had called the young lawmaker "lightweight," "little boy," "little Marco," and even "low life."

Should Trump win the Republican Party nomination, analysts expect more such speeches, which feature personal attacks and even insults rarely seen in past elections.

"As long as Trump is in the race, the tone will remain the same. This is his style of politics and there is no chance that he will change, especially since it's brought success," Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, told Xinhua.

While Trump's speaking style has made him a favorite among supporters, some analysts contend it could hurt him in the general election, if he receives the Republican nomination and goes on to face likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

"His biggest risk is his bombastic rhetoric and unpredictable personal behavior. That could undermine voter perceptions that he is up to the job," Brookings Institution's senior fellow Darrell West told Xinhua.

TRUMP VS. CLINTON COULD GET NASTY

West said if Trump faces off against Clinton in the general election, things will get heated.

"It will be a nasty general election," West said.

"The mood in the country is quite polarized and there is a lot of anxiety about domestic and global affairs...Clinton has to be careful not to get dragged into the mud because it will raise her negatives," West said.

West said if the 2016 election comes down to Trump vs. Clinton, it will be competitive.

"Both candidates have high negatives and will be campaigning in a highly polarized environment that guarantees a large turnout from each of their bases," he said.

"Trump has done well at attracting white, working class voters so he has the potential to put the big industrial states into play for Republicans," West said.

With the Democratic nomination practically in the bag for Clinton, the former First Lady and former Secretary of State will likely soon turn her attention away from her Democratic rival Bernie Sanders and focus on Trump.

"She doesn't want to make the mistake Republicans did of not taking him (Trump) seriously and letting him develop momentum without serious criticism of his candidacy. She will make an issue of his thin policy record, poor temperament, and questionable business practices," West said.

Indeed, just six months ago the majority of analysts, observers and political soothsayers pooh-pooed the thought of Trump gaining the nomination, labeling the controversial businessman as a flash in the pan who would soon fade out.

But Trump, by taking advantage of the voters' anger, has consistently beaten predictions and his popularity keeps surging, to the chagrin of establishment Republicans who deride him as a "con artist" and a fraud.

The brash businessman has appealed to widespread sentiment in the United States that the country is going in the wrong direction, and has capitalized on the country's anti-Washington sentiment.

Trump supporters believe the last several years of the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama have been a disaster both economically and in terms of foreign policy. Enditem