Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul; Ohio Gov. John Kasich; Jeb Bush, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina, plus New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, are expected to join Mr. Trump in the main event.
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There is no question that millions of Muslims are proud Americans, that they serve honorably in the military and Congress. Nor is there any question that, as Ryan notes, “Some of our best and biggest allies in this struggle and fight against radical Islamic terror are Muslims – the vast, vast, vast majority of whom are peaceful, who believe in pluralism, freedom, democracy, individual rights”. Ted Cruz’s (Texas) hat says “religious tests”, a reference to debate over Syrian refugees.
“People have kind of forgotten that he was a Democrat not so long ago, that he supported Hillary Clinton”, Bush said, adding, “That he thought Hillary Clinton would be a good negotiator with Iran”. “And, you know, if that is the case, then, you know, I’m out of here”. Cruz does much better with conservatives and tea party supporters than he does overall. More than half of Republican voters with only a high school education back Trump in the new survey, while 3 in 10 college graduates do the same.
In defense of his plan, Trump said to CNN on Sunday that, “I’m not looking to be politically correct”.
And that mixed message – criticism followed by a commitment to support a “not what this party stands for” nominee – aids and abets Trump.
Unlike the other Republicans in the 2016 White House race, Cruz has embraced Trump and avoided public criticism of the popular candidate.
Trump, speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday’s “State of the Union”, defended his call for a ban on all Muslim travel to the U.S. While it’s true that Cruz’s Senate colleagues nearly unanimously consider him a grandstanding, self-serving mercenary, he has devoted a huge amount of effort to making himself likable to early-state voters.
But a leading Republican in frequent touch with high-level donors, said even though those contributors may despise Cruz, they are learning to live with him.
If Trump’s success is a reaction to Barack Obama, it’s only insofar as he’s an exaggerated version of the way all Republicans have felt, spoken, and acted toward this president over his entire presidency. The group represented the voter deeply skeptical of the Washington establishment, but who also doesn’t necessarily agree with everything Trump says.
I appreciate brevity. And I admire those who can make a point and prove an undeniable truth with clarity and grace. I read such a thing recently by Rick Ungar, a contributor to Forbes.
During a 29-person focus group made up of mostly Trump supporters in a suburb of Washington last week, just eight participants said they disagreed with Trump’s proposal.
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“There is somebody called Donald Trump running in your presidential campaign and he again spoke this morning about the United Kingdom, saying that we were busy disguising a massive Muslim problem”, Sir Peter Westmacott said. On Friday evening, about 24 hours after audio leaked of Cruz questioning Trump’s judgment at a private fundraiser, the real estate mogul launched his first attacks on Cruz.
