Posted on 03/26/2016 1:34:32 PM PDT by drewh
TV news talent took on the look of innocent bystanders being drawn into a gunfight today when GOP presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Donald Trump exchanged fire over an unsourced National Enquirer report alleging Cruz had carried on extramarital affairs with five women.
“I have to say, I’m trying to sort of figure out how to cover this,” All In anchor Chris Hayes said as he moderated a chat with MSNBC’s national correspondent Joy Reid and the Daily Beast’s Betsy Woodruff. He noted that several outlets, including Breitbart News, had opted not to run with the National Enquirer story because it was so “thinly sourced.” Woodruff said her site “thought about writing this story several months ago, but we didn’t want to broadcast baseless rumors had no connection to reality by saying, ‘Hey, these stories are going around.’” “
When the story broke and when it really blew up on Twitter today, we thought, ‘All right, let’s pull the trigger’,” she explained. The Daily Beast’s take was that it was Marco Rubio backers who had been shopping the story to media outlets for six months, with no takers.
Things got particularly uncomfortable for CNN during a live on-air segment in which Kate Bolduan asked two talking heads – former Cruz communications director Amanda Carpenter and pro-Trump newspaper columnist Adriana Cohen – to discuss the two candidates’ clubbing each other in defense of their wives. You remember: an anti-Trump SuperPAC made an ad showing Trump’s model wife in a nude photo with a headline warning she could be the next First Lady. Trump shot back that he might “spill the beans” about Cruz’s wife, and later re-tweeted photos comparing Melania to a particularly unflattering picture of Cruz’s wife Heidi.
“I think we should move on,” Cohen said of that storyline, which was yesterday’s talker but you know how cable news likes to hang on to a good thing. “Where we should move to is the National Enquirer story that has reported Ted Cruz has allegedly had affairs with at least five mistresses, including – you’ve been named – Amanda.”
(Actually, she had not been named in the article, though she’d been ID’d by other media outlets who’d jumped in to play that abovementioned game.)
“I’m sorry, I don’t think that’s moving on at all, Adriana,” interrupted an aghast Bolduan. After pausing to inform CNN viewers the network has no reporting of its own on the tabloid story, she then turned the floor over to Carpenter.
Trump, meanwhile, issued a statement on his Facebook page, denying any involvement with the tabloid report.
“I have no idea whether or not the cover story about Ted Cruz in this week’s issue of the National Enquirer is true or not, but I had absolutely nothing to do with it, did not know about it and have not, as yet, read it,” the GOP front-runner said in a statement.
But, of course, he made sure to note the tabloid had been “right about O.J. Simpson, John Edwards and many others,” referencing the former senator from North Carolina and onetime VEEP candidate, whose career ultimately was nuked by the Enquirer’s report about his love child with filmmaker Rielle Hunter.
Has anyone heard a statement from Cruz, specifically denying any misconduct? Or that he has remained true to his marital vows?
So syou are angry. Not Trump or his supporters fault.
Responsibility lies solely on GOPe. GOPe betrayed their constituents.
Regarding Ted’s scandal: Ted betrayed his supporters. No one else.
Interesting that the woman told Amanda she was one of the mistresses but Amanda had not yet been identified.
How many times does it need to be posted?
You Trump devotees are posting this garbage constantly and it is nothing but sleaze.
Cruz has been so careless the only question left is who is going to come forward to TMZ or Radar first and how much, looks like a new Toger Woods imo...
Sorry, but this is just starting.
I don’t believe the interview is real. Cruz wants an 18 year old to dress up like a judge? That sounds to me like someone trying to make sure it’s the lawyer in Cruz coming out. Now, the Catholic schoolgirl, that one is generic.
No, I mean the election’s over. What the hell are we going to fight about now?
Not just Rubio but everybody in DC knew what the hell was happening. The genius that is Ted Cruz didn’t go to any great lengths, it appears, to hide his nightlife.
A+
Might explain the irrational rants at Trump yesterday...trying to get in his promised attacks in before his house of cards started collapsing. That had the stink of desperation about something other than the NE article, if one reads the full transcript.
Surrendering control of his campaign finances to Neil Bush and Jeb’s finance team says more about who’s controlling whom. Hell, Neil has been keeping a very, very low political profile since his S&L robbery. Why him and why now has he popped up?
Yes, Cruz denied the entire thing yesterday. Is it that hard for you to Google his denial, or do you just ask this stuff to keep this tabloid trash front and center?
As I said, you Trumpsters better hope this is all true. Cause if it isn’t, I can tell you that none of this will be forgotten. The glee with which you people post unsubstantiated garbage is appalling. After this little episode I think Cruz folks will only redouble their efforts to deny Trump the nomination at all costs.
While I don’t care for Trump at all, I was basically okay to let him have the nomination even if he didn’t get the requisite number of delegates. As long as he was close I didn’t think he should be denied, but after seeing the endless slime coming from he and his supporters I am more inclined to do everything to block him from the nomination.
Why not wait for real evidence? If it’s out there, it will come out. Maybe stop trying to be a sleaze merchant, and let a little time pass and see if there is anything really here. If there is, it will be found. As of now Cruz has denied it all and there is no real evidence of anything.
I think the admins are deleting most of them as fast as they can. The Trumpers keep posting this unsubstantiated filth, gossip and rumors though.
Go Trump get out of here!
All the slime came from the head Slime-ball...Donald Trump!
This was passed on by dozens of liberal and conservative outlets because there is nothing there. It is garbage.
This is a private matter between Ted and Heidi Cruz.
And those eight other women.
Reminds me of the media and John Edwards.
Most people don't take anything out of the National Enquirer seriously. Only idiots and Trumpers.
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