Republican debate moments: Cruz's "oops;" encounters with Putin

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaks while Ben Carson looks on the during the Republican Presidential Debate sponsored by Fox Business and the Wall Street Journal at the Milwaukee Theatre November 10, 2015 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The fourth Republican debate is held in two parts, one main debate for the top eight candidates, and another for four other candidates lower in the current polls. Scott Olson/Getty Images

When Texas Sen. Ted Cruz defended his tax plan as economically feasible in Tuesday's debate, he said he would also cut spending by eliminating five major federal agencies.

But when he ticked them off, he bungled his own list and proposed nixing one agency twice: "The IRS, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy, uh, the Department of Commerce, and HUD."

The flub evoked another Texas Republican's memory lapse during a primary debate: former Texas Gov. Rick Perry in 2011.

Almost exactly four years ago in a debate hosted by CNBC, Perry sheepishly uttered, "Oops," after suggesting he would shutter three government agencies and then forgot the name of the third. The Texas governor's campaign went downhill from there.

Late Tuesday, Sen. Ted Cruz appeared on Fox News following the debate, where he shrugged off the Department of Commerce incident.

When Fox News host Megyn Kelly asked him if it was another Rick Perry moment, Cruz laughed.

"Look I just think the Department of Commerce is such a base of cronyism we need to eliminate it twice," Cruz said.

He added that the actual fifth agency he would eliminate would be the Department of Education.

Donald Trump on 60 Minutes with Putin

Republican U.S. presidential candidate and businessman Donald Trump (C) speaks as U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (L) and Dr. Ben Carson (R) listen during the debate held by Fox Business Network for the top 2016 U.S. Republican presidential candidates in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, November 10, 2015. Jim Young/Reuters

When asked about what he would do to combat Putin's aggression in Syria, Trump said that he would not be against Russia's intervention in the fight against extremist terror groups.

"60 Minutes" interview: Donald Trump 02:16

"If Putin wants to go and knocked the hell out of ISIS, I am all for it -- 100 percent," he said Tuesday. "And I can't understand how anybody would be against it."

As an aside, Trump claimed that he had a relationship with the Russian president.

"I got to know him very well because we were both on '60 Minutes,'" Trump added. "We were stablemates and we did very well that night." It is unclear what he meant by that.

While it is true that Trump and Putin interviews both aired in the same episode of the CBS News show in September, they were interviewed by different anchors in different locations. CBS' Scott Pelley spoke with Trump in New York, and CBS correspondent Charlie Rose interviewed the Russian president in Moscow.

Carly Fiorina met with Putin -- in a green room

Carly Fiorina speaks during the Republican Presidential Debate sponsored by Fox Business and the Wall Street Journal at the Milwaukee Theatre November 10, 2015 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Scott Olson/Getty Images

Carly Fiorina later jumped into the conversation on foreign policy and how to tackle Russia, slamming Trump for his willingness to deal with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and for what she assumed had been his "green room" meeting with Putin.

"You know, Mr. Trump fancies himself a very good negotiator," Fiorina said. "And, I accept that he's done a lot of good deals. So Mr. Trump ought to know that we should not speak to people from a position of weakness."

Fiorina talks foreign policy, campaign 01:27

She added that she would not speak with the Russian president and took another snarky swipe at Trump: "I have met [Putin] as well, not in a green room for a show, but in a private meeting."

When asked after the debate about the nature of her "private meeting" with Putin, Fiorina told CBS News White House Correspondent Major Garrett that she "met with Vladimir Putin on the occasion of the APEC conference in Beijing."

Fiorina went on to describe encountering Putin in what was, essentially, a green room: "We were both giving a speech at a large gathering and we were in a hold area for about an hour before that speech -- had a conversation about many things."

"Hewlett Packard had business in Russia," she added. "We were talking about economy."

Is China involved in the Syrian conflict?

Republican U.S. presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson speaks at the debate held by Fox Business Network for the top 2016 U.S. Republican presidential candidates in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, November 10, 2015. Darren Hauck/Reuters

When asked about a strategy to deal with Syria, Ben Carson backed President Obama's decision to put 50 special operations forces on the ground in the country, saying, "What we have to recognize is that Putin is trying to really spread his influence throughout the Middle East...and we have to oppose him there in an effective way."

But the neurosurgeon-turned-politician also said that there were other nations with interests -- and forces -- in war-torn Syria.

Russia strikes tipping Syria war in Assad's favor? 02:50

"We also must recognize that it's a very complex place," Carson continued. "You know, the Chinese are there, as well as the Russians, and you have all kinds of factions there."

Though the situation in Syria does involve many factions, Carson is mistaken about one: China does not currently have a military presence in Syria.

In September, rumors swirled that the Chinese would be sending military ships to join forces with Russian troops, fueled in part by a Lebanon-based news site that wrote that "the Chinese will be arriving in the coming weeks," citing a Syrian army official.

Chinese officials have denied the claim, according to Reuters.

When asked in October if China had sent forces to Syria or intended to in the future, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said, "I can tell you that as for China's warships -- for example the Liaoning -- whether it has gone to join, for this issue, as far as I know, there is no such plan. At this time the Liaoning is in a phase of carrying out technical training and military exercises."