The spark for Trump’s fury toward Cruz stemmed from a report from the Cruz campaign on Monday that fellow GOP candidate Ben Carson was ready to drop out of the race.
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Cruz’s campaign dismissed Trump’s claims with humor. Trump, however, still leads the crowded Republican field by more than 20 points.
“I think he’s done pretty well from the start”, said Eli Johnson, 33, from nearby Brookline, New Hampshire. In a scorched-earth statement, Mr. Carson accused his opponents of using “political tricks by tweeting, texting and telling precinct captains to announce that I had suspended my campaign – in some cases asking caucus goers to change their votes”.
Mr Trump said he was “honoured” by his second-place finish and congratulated Mr Cruz.
“Because he’s losing it”, said Cruz while on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, the location of the next big primary election.
Carson had tweeted his feelings about the Iowa vote Tuesday.
The reaction contrasts with his concession speech on Monday night, which was seen as a humble departure from his usual bombastic style.
Trump said, in a tweet that was subsequently deleted, that Cruz committed fraud and called on Iowa to hold a reelection.
The billionaire levelled the accusations against his GOP rival in a Twitter tirade on Wednesday, two days after finishing second to the ultraconservative senator from Texas.
Cruz responded Wednesday afternoon to Trump’s Twitter rant.
“Anyone who wants this job interview needs to come and answer the questions of the men and women of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina”, Cruz said.
Duprey also worked with her husband on John McCain’s 2008 campaign and was New Hampshire finance committee co-chair for former President George W. Bush’s 2004 campaign. Rubio said he was leaving his fate in the Republican U.S. presidential primary contests in God’s hands, and added that he hoped his children would be proud of him “no matter how this turns out”.
He was competing for the evangelical voters that propelled Cruz to victory in that state.
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Spokesman Rick Tyler earlier told MSNBC that Iowans are used to getting similar ones and that the campaign “modeled ours after them”.
