“Fortune” senior editor Nina Easton told viewers Friday on “Special Report with Bret Baier” that when it comes to the possibility of a brokered Republican convention in Cleveland next summer, “the [party] establishment’s problem is not just Donald Trump, it’s Ted Cruz”.
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He accused Cruz of being beholden to big oil. And on Friday he posted on twitter that Mr. Cruz appeared to be ready to attack because he needed to due to Mr. Trump leadership in the polls.
But Cruz has passed Trump in a Monmouth University poll released earlier this week.
The two will meet again at the next GOP debate on Tuesday, which will be hosted by CNN in Las Vegas.
“I’ll tell you something, in the end, the people that give these millions of dollars to these terrible corrupt PACs, they’re corrupt”.
“What I would try to do is make Cruz either embrace Trump or disassociate himself from Trump”, he said.
The poll was taken both before and after Trump’s recent call to ban Muslims from entering the United States.
He added: “If Ted Cruz is against ethanol, how does he win in Iowa?”. Independent groups there are beginning to spend money against Cruz for his position, which Trump told a questioner was “anti-Iowa”.
There is also the fact that candidates who have jabbed at Trump have not done well, causing Cruz to repeatedly express his “love” and admiration for the GOP front-runner.
While nearly two thirds (64%) of Republican voters said they were not offended by Trump’s remarks earlier this week, 41% did acknowledge that the comments could have a negative impact on his presidential prospects, Reuters said.
That’s mild by Trump insult-comic standards, more of a “watch your mouth” shot across the bow than an opening of hostilities.
“We’re doing really well with the evangelicals”, Trump said. “I’m Presbyterian. Boy, that’s down the middle of the road, folks, in all fairness”.
Trump’s attacks come after the New York Times published an audio recording of Cruz speaking to supporters at a private function about the businessman and fellow contender Ben Carson. “I do care do much about it”.
For five months, Cruz has refused to criticize Trump even as the rest of the Republican field turned on him for a series of incendiary comments.
“If we win Iowa, I think we win virtually every state in the union and it’s over”, said Trump. “Will be easy!” Trump tweeted on Friday morning. Should Trump continue to attack Cruz, the senator hopes it will be seen as a gift to the establishment.
“It is imperative that a proven marriage champion emerge from Iowa and go on to capture the Republican nomination”, Brown said.
At first glance, Cruz and Rubio actually have a lot in common, USA Today pointed out: They are both 44, serve as first-term senators, and have a Cuban-American background.
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But for the next 50 days, Cruz and Trump appear to be barreling toward a tough fight for first place in the Hawkeye State.
