Donald Trump’s attacks on Sen.
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After telling Cruz that he had her vote in Saturday’s primary, Hershey asked, “In order to prevent future controversy and possible litigation will you please justify, constitutionally, your legal right to be president of the United States as it relates to your natural born status?” Cruz has dared Trump’s camp to sue him for the ad.
The Florida senator needs momentum in SC after finishing fifth in New Hampshire after a rattled debate performance. “If you want to file a lawsuit challenging this ad, claiming defamation, file the lawsuit”.
Trump responded by goading Cruz, saying that “time will tell, Teddy”, as he repeated his threat of lawsuits – over a Cruz campaign ad or over his eligibility for the presidency, given the Texas senator’s Canadian birth – off the table.
Among Republicans, Trump, a billionaire businessman, drew 40 percent support in the poll conducted from Saturday to Wednesday, compared with 17 percent for Cruz, 11 percent for Sen.
Cruz said the ad uses Trump’s own words.
“To Mr. Trump, you have been threatening frivolous lawsuits your entire adult life”, said Cruz as the ad ended.
Trump, who holds a strong lead in SC, retorted that Cruz was a liar who is making desperate moves to inflate his campaign, which Trump said was “going up in flames”. One of them is from Morning Consult, a poll with a fairly novel methodology, which is even more recent and shows Trump fully 27 points out in front of Marco Rubio in second place.
The hope is that a solid outcome in SC could give a burst of momentum as the candidates head into a dozen primary contests on March 1, also known as the “SEC primary”.
“I am pro-life and I do not support tax payer funding for Planned Parenthood as long as they are performing abortions”, Trump said in a statement. However, no lawsuit appears to have been filed.
Trump has said Haley is not doing enough to protect SC from Syrian refugees and the possibility of Guantanamo prisoners being transferred to the Navy brig outside Charleston. Cruz won Iowa, the first-in-the-nation caucuses, coming from behind to beat Trump, on the strength of evangelical support.
In response to a question, Rubio told CNN moderator Anderson Cooper that he was feeling “Marcomentum” in the state with larger crowds appearing at his events.
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And Rubio, a Florida senator, has been nipping at Cruz’s heels in South Carolina – Wednesday he got the coveted endorsement of the state’s Gov. Nikki Haley.
