But enough about Donald Trump. What does Ted Cruz
think about Donald Trump?
“Donald Trump had a rally in Phoenix, Ariz. [to which] between 10 and 20 thousand people came out. When you attack and vilify the people at that rally as crazies, it does nothing to help Republicans win in 2016. I’d like every single person at that rally to show up and vote in 2016, knock on doors with energy and passion, and turn this country around. If Washington politicians show contempt and condescension to those [voters,] that is a path to losing at the ballot box.”
Other candidates have tried their level best to avoid talking about Donald Trump, who is already sucking up all the oxygen in the Republican race and who, despite making the party look like a bunch of racist, misogynistic out-of-touch wealthy jagoffs, shows no apparent signs of weakening. Not Ted Cruz. Ted Cruz has had his eye on the Trump base, people who used to be the Ted Cruz base before they found a candidate who was even more pointlessly belligerent and despised-by-his-own-party than he is. It seems he's counting on Donald Trump flaming out at some point—a good bet, though one that has pointedly yet to happen despite a near-constant stream of inanities issuing from Trump's mouth—and is making darn sure those people remember he's their buddy.
He'll not be doing anything to peeve them, but if they happen to leave Donald Trump on their own and just happen to need another rabidly anti-immigrant everyone-but-me-is-stupid candidate to support? Hello, my little wayward cranks and far-right dead-enders. Welcome back.
He has said that he doesn’t want to engage in “Republican-on-Republican violence.”
When a reporter noted that he is one of the most outspoken critics of Republican leadership in Congress, Cruz stressed that he has no problem highlighting policy differences, and may do so down the road with Trump.
Oh, no doubt. Ted Cruz is
all about not engaging in Republican-on-Republican violence. He just happens to think all the leaders of his party are conspiring with the enemy to foil Republican plans—you know,
policy stuff.
And so Ted Cruz waits. And waits. Surely, Trump's mouth will get the better of him at some point. Right?
Right?