The campaign for Carson, who finished fourth in Iowa, said the retired neurosurgeon had accepted Cruz’s apology but that the incident was the sort of “dirty trick” politics that Carson was trying to fight. “But I won’t say that”.
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The Cruz campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday morning.
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.
He also condemned Cruz for sending an email to Iowa caucus supporters telling them Ben Carson was taking time off the campaign trail, while Carson had actually said he was stopping home for “fresh clothes” before continuing his campaign.
Cruz won 27.7 percent of the vote in the Republican caucus in Iowa, staking his claim to be the new standard bearer of the right.
Trump’s Twitter rant was a far cry from his concession speech on Monday evening, when he said he loved Iowa even though he landed in second.
Republican Ted Cruz may have prevailed in Iowa despite the polls favouring Donald Trump but New Hampshire is quite a different challenge with a more moderate and less religious electorate than the evangelical Cruz would like.
Rick Wilson, a Republican consultant who thinks Rubio is the Republican candidate best placed to win the White House, said the billionaire’s latest outburst was a sign of desperation.
On Monday night, Mr. Carson’s campaign accused Mr. Cruz’s team of spreading a false rumor, while voters were still caucusing, Mr. Carson was suspending his campaign.
The results showed the party’s nominee would not be chosen by the media, the Washington establishment or lobbyists, he added.
Iowans line up to vote in the first United States primary.
In an statement, Mr. Cruz praised Mr. Carson and appeared to acknowledge his team had erred.
New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary will be held on February 9. “I think some people were disappointed I didn’t go in the debate”.
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“It’s no surprise that Donald is throwing yet another temper tantrum – or, if you’d like, yet another ‘Trumpertantrum, ‘” Cruz told reporters before an event in Goffstown, New Hampshire.
