“It could have been the debate”, acknowledged an less bombastic, more reflective Trump (for him, anyway) at this afternoon’s news conference in New Hampshire, where he’s campaigning in advance of that state’s February 9 primary. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) of “illegally” stealing his Monday-night Iowa caucus victory and suggested that Cruz’s vote total should be “nullified”.
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Although I am not surprised with who placed first and second, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump respectively, it does not make me feel confident in conservatism in the United States.
U.S. Rep. Steve King of western Iowa, who had endorsed Cruz, even tweeted the rumor on Twitter – saying he hoped Carson supporters would vote for Cruz rather than for a candidate who planned to get out.
In the Republican race, the libertarian-leaning Paul finished in fifth place in Iowa with 4.5 per cent of the vote. “Bad!”, Trump said. There was no immediate mresponse from Cruz. “It’s kind of odd”, the GOP presidential candidate said Wednesday.
As he’d done earlier today in Twitter, Trump bashed reporters in the room for declaring his Iowa finish a loss while heralding Rubio’s third-place finish as a major win.
Cruz’s campaign said later that they should have sent “around the follow-up statement from the Carson Campaign clarifying that he was indeed staying in the race”.
“The Voter Violation certificate gave poor marks to the unsuspecting voter (grade of F) and told them to clear it up by voting for Cruz”, Trump tweeted.
Cruz also defended his campaign’s decision to circulate the CNN report, which he said was factually accurate.
In an appearance on MSNBC on Wednesday, Trump offered more explanations for why Cruz beat him in Iowa when polls showed the real estate mogul ahead.
Clinton asked New Hampshire voters to use their hearts and their heads when they vote Tuesday. He’s still got a robust lead, but if Rubio keeps surging and people get more turned off by Trump, it could be a lot closer than we’d have expected.
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Senator Paul, who is also focused on winning another US Senate term, said he would continue fighting for limited government, criminal justice reform and “reasonable” foreign policy.
