Then again, Trump looks like he has all he can handle figuring out how to stop his friend Ted Cruz from surpassing him in the other states after Iowa.
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“In most prior elections, Iowa and New Hampshire split”.
After Stephanopolous pointed out that there may be a question of whether the man in Texas who is suing Cruz has standing to press his case, the host suggested to the billionaire businessman that he might be in a position to file his own suit. “South Carolina historically has had the role of picking presidents”.
And when Trump did finally mention Cruz’s name, he appeared rattled after the tea party crowd loudly booed him.
Kathy Hughes, a 68-year-old retired teacher from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, said she was “so excited” to see Trump until he trained his fire on Cruz, and now she’s sitting his speech out.
In front of the same audience a few hours earlier, Cruz opted not to mention Trump at all, apparently intent on de-escalating their feud as they pursue for the same frustrated, anti-establishment voters who have defined the GOP campaign thus far.
Trump disarmed Cruz in Thursday’s debate with a passionate defense of New York City’s reaction to the attacks of September 11, 2001. Yes, he “likes” Trump, but he is also an “incredible marketer” and a “talented entertainer”.
Trump, for his part, backed off from his criticisms of Cruz that he had broadcast loudly all day on Saturday.
But as much as Cruz’s supporters may think they are the team to dethrone Trump from the king’s perch here, most recent polls show Trump up by as many as 20 points.
Still, Trump’s official Twitter feed blasted Cruz throughout Saturday, as he sought to capitalize on a pair of New York Times reports detailing Cruz’s failure to explain fully two loans from Citibank and Goldman Sachs that he now says he used to help finance his 2012 Senate campaign.
With that in mind, Cruz had, up until last week, carefully avoided taking on Trump directly.
Cruz and his allies are determined to deny Trump the victory that could thwart the momentum he’s hoping for ahead of Super Tuesday, a date Cruz has described as his campaign’s “firewall”.
Meanwhile, Trump kept up his offensive against Cruz Friday, calling him “strident” and labeling his remarks about “New York values” in the GOP debate “disgraceful”.
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And Cruz’s high-powered super PAC network is aiding his ground game more in SC than any other state, as 14 field staffers operate side by side with those on the campaign payroll. Cruz offered to consider Trump for his running mate as vice president.
