But as caucus night approaches with Cruz and Donald Trump locked in a close race, the Texan has chose to accuse the Donald of actually being all squishy on his signature subject.
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It is no surprise that the establishment is in full panic mode, Cruz said.
“It’s our job to nurture the candidates, to bring them into the fold, including Trump”, Arthur Laffer, a prominent conservative economist best known for advising President Ronald Reagan to adopt supply-side economic policies, said to the Washington Post. “Trump won’t do long-lasting damage to the G.O.P. coalition”, said John Feehery, a Capitol Hill aide turned lobbyist.
Monmouth College/KBUR: (1) Ted Cruz: 27%; (2) Donald Trump: 25%; (3) Marco Rubio: 9%.
As the rivalry blooms between the Republican field’s top presidential contenders, Cruz and his allies are eyeing a major opportunity in this rural state to cast Trump as an overly zealous land-grabber, profit-driven elitist and big-government liberal, prioritizing commercial interests like his own over conservative values.
As reported by CNN Money, prominent radio personality Glenn Beck endorsed Texas Senator Ted Cruz during an event at Faith Bible College in Iowa.
Trump has also come under attack by The National Review.
They say Mr Cruz is a rigid ideologue who has undermined Republican strategy during his three years in the Senate, while Mr Trump – no doubt a political wild card – could become a palatable candidate with whom their party could work.
“Trump SUPPORTS amnesty”, Cruz said in one tweet that linked to Trump’s old comments.
Trump, of course, has his own argument about immigration.
Cruz’s new offensive was all the more telling given his hesitation over the past week to indulge in the same Trump bashing with voters as he does with reporters.
The latest Reuters-Ipsos tracking poll has Donald Trump pulling in 40.6% support of Republican voters nationally. They think that Cruz knows this too, but puts on a grandiose but futile show to play to the base and advance his political ambitions.
Also at the speech on Saturday, Trump pondered whether he should file a lawsuit against Cruz, challenging his eligibility for president.
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“It has nothing to do with the fact that I’m Cuban”, she said. “When he tries to get in the other guy’s shoes to start telling me what he thinks the other guys is thinking – and it doesn’t lower Senator Cruz at all to me – it doesn’t hold as much water”. That’s where Donald Trump was in 2013.
