Posted on 11/30/2015 10:47:24 AM PST by GonzoII
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) reiterated at a town hall in Iowa on Monday that he doesn't believe Donald Trump will be the Republican presidential nominee, as the rising Texas Republican moves against the GOP front-runner he was once loathe to criticize.
The Huffington Post reports:
.@tedcruz - "I don't believe @realDonaldTrump is going to be our nominee, I don't think he will be our president." pic.twitter.com/idXBixu1rb— Samantha-Jo Roth (@SamanthaJoRoth) November 30, 2015
Cruz has repeatedly declined to criticize Trump, acknowledging that he's going after the same primary voters who have been energized by Trump's outsider bid.
"I think in time, I don't believe Donald is going to be the nominee and I think, in time, the lion's share of his supporters end up with us," Cruz said in October.
At the Monday event, The Texas Tribune reports, Cruz said the media would like to see a "cage match" between the two, but that he has "consistently declined daily invitations" to go after Trump.
Citing a Krauthammer column, a man presses @tedcruz on why he has not called out @realDonaldTrump.— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) November 30, 2015
Still, there are signs that Cruz is preparing to make his move against Trump with only two months to go before the Iowa caucuses.
Last week, Cruz split with Trump after the real estate mogul openly mulled a national registry for American Muslims.
"I'm a big fan of Donald Trump's but I'm not a fan of government registries of American citizens," Cruz said in Iowa, according to Politico. "The First Amendment protects religious liberty, I've spent the past several decades defending religious liberty."
And on immigration, Cruz told the Associated Press earlier this month that "tone matters" and that "there some in the Republican Party whose rhetoric is unhelpful with regard to immigration."Â
Cruz did not mention Trump specifically in that interview, but said again that he doesn’t believe Trump or retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson will be the party's nominee.
Buzzfeed on Monday flagged an interview with a Texas radio host from a couple of weeks ago in which Trump said he and Cruz have a “good relationship.†However, Trump also sought to diminish Cruz by saying that he "backs virtually everything that I said."
"He's a good man," Trump said. "He's a conservative guy. He's doing pretty well. He’s doing pretty well. Fortunately, he's not doing as well as I am, but these are minor details. He's doing pretty well and he's said wonderful things about me and he actually backs anything I do, because we have similar views."Â
"He's not doing this out of a weakness, he's doing this out of a strength," Trump continued. "He backs virtually everything that I said - wouldn't you say? I mean, virtually everything that I've said he's backed."Â
The jockeying comes as Cruz has been on a steady upward trajectory in the polls.Â
Cruz has surged into third place in Iowa, cutting into Carson's lead among Evangelicals in the state, and moving into third place at 18.3 percent, according to the RealClearPolitics average.
Did anyone really expect him to say that Trump would be the nominee? If he did, there would be absolutely no justification for Cruz to continue his campaign.
There is no news here, move along.
And snowballs.
OH it’s Ted Cruz day:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3366425/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3366421/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3366415/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3366395/posts
Isn’t it funny what the media wants us to read for a certain day....like we don’t know what to read....how many are lies?????
I think Cruz is seriously deficient within his own party. And they’re not going to dump a winner....for a Carson or a Cruz.
What do people expect Ted Cruz to say at this point in time when he is running for president and his numbers are surging — that he doesn’t have a chance to win the nomination and it will be Trump’s to lose?
Of course not.
I’m sure every single candidate will say that of any other front runner ( including Trump himself ) if they are still in the game.
Ever seen the movie WAG THE DOG ?
Not a bad start.
Yep, my thoughts. Last week Trump stated he would go to war with Cruz if he looked like a threat. Now this. I think the battle has begun, and it is going to get really ugly here at FR.
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Popcorn futures way up.
More lies!
Trump spoke of a registry for REFUGEES, not all American Muslims. Of course, the truth always interferes with the lib agenda.
The irony is that Trump is wrong. Cruz doesn't back everything Trump says, especially on immigration.
From July of this year:
CHUCK TODD: You still didn't say what you'd do with the 11 million.
TED CRUZ: Well, my view is first, we secure the borders and solve the problem of illegal immigration. And then I think we can have a conversation about what to do about the people who remain here. I don't think the American people will accept any solution until we demonstrate step number one, we can secure the border.
CHUCK TODD: So anything's on the table? Potentially deportation or not deportation, but anything’s on the table for the 11 million--
TED CRUZ: I think we should secure the border and then have a conversation at that point. Stop using the Washington approach of I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today. The American people aren’t going for it.
http://www.politicususa.com/2015/07/05/ted-flops-cruz-falls-asked-solve-immigration-problem.html
From November 13th:
"While Cruz may not support legalization, he hasn't definitively ruled it out. His position, his campaign said, is that he'll refuse to even discuss what to do with the undocumented population until the border is secure."
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-11-13/did-ted-cruz-actually-support-legal-status-for-undocumented-immigrants-
From November 20th:
"Texas Sen. Ted Cruz declined to close the door to a potential pathway to legal status for the 11 million people in the U.S. illegally Friday, saying he wouldn’t elaborate on his plans for them until after the border is secure.
Seeking to carve out a space between real estate mogul Donald Trump, who is calling for the forcible deportation of those in the U.S. illegally, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who co-authored the Gang of Eight comprehensive immigration reform bill that included a pathway to citizenship, Cruz would not explicitly rule out a pathway to legal status for the undocumented.
http://time.com/4123317/ted-cruz-immigration-reform-amnesty/
Trump could choose to do this classy or he could choose to do it gutter.
Doing it gutter could get Trump in serious trouble. It’s his strategic fight to lose or win. If I were advising Trump, I’d say keep as humble as you possibly can, and admonish Cruz on presumptions and on what’s good for America not so much as what’s bad about Cruz. A difficult task for Trump, knowing Trump — but not impossible.
How else can her raise money - by saying telling the truth that Trump is unstoppable?
Why would you think Cruz is laying a second-to-none grassroots campaign in order to be Trump's second?
Cruz is in this to win.
Yep.
TRUMP supporters will not leave to go to Cruz, no matter what TRUMP, CRUZ (or anyone else) says!
Even if CRUZ gets 100% of Carson’s, Snake Rubio, and Squish Bush voters, CRUZ cannot win!
End of story!
And so is Trump, of course.
Trump is trying to, well, trump the rest by offering a customized “Let’s make a deal” to larger America.
This “COULD” work. It worked for Trump as businessman. As it turns out, larger America is a lot more conservative than its government.
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