Well, that may be an unfair statement. But not really.
Ted Cruz, a U.S. Senator for Texas, just got a major boost in the polls. According to People and NowThis, Ted Cruz is leading in some polls in Iowa with 31%, while Donald Trump is behind at 21% (Kimble). While this is probably cause for a sigh of relief with the GOP, Trump certainly is not going to let anyone forget that he is still at large.
While Cruz has been known for generally keeping quiet about Trump's inflammatory comments, recently he spoke out against Trump's proposed "Muslim Ban." He was quoted as simply saying, "'I disagree with Donald on that'" (Seipel).
The New York Times, however, recorded him making more obvious Anti-Trump statements behind closed doors. National Public Radio said:
“…Cruz was saying last week that voters are asking themselves, ‘Who am I comfortable having their finger on the button?’… He added that, "It's also a question of judgment" — ‘a challenging question" for Trump.’”
This, of course, set Donald Trump seemingly on war path. He tweeted at Cruz, writing “@tedcruz should not make statements behind closed doors to his bosses, he should bring them out into the open - more fun that way!”
Cruz denied any fight he had with Trump and tweeted back “The Establishment's only hope: Trump & me in a cage match. Sorry to disappoint -- @realDonaldTrump is terrific. #DealWithIt”
Now that the floodgates have seemingly opened, Trump has called Cruz a maniac, when discussing his temperament. When describing Cruz’s leadership, Trump described it as a style where “You’re never gonna get things done that way.” He then tried to undermine Cruz’s evangelical fans by reminding them Cruz was Cuban. He was recorded as saying, “I do like Ted Cruz, but not a lot of evangelicals come out of Cuba, in all fairness” (Seipel).
Trump is of course undermining Cruz’s fanbase with caucuses coming up, especially in a state like Iowa. According to Iowa pollster J. Ann Sezler, Cruz is opening up the primaries at “a 10-point lead over Trump in that state, with 45 percent of evangelicals backing Cruz” (Seipel).
Do you think Trump is making the comments to discredit Cruz or bring more attention to himself?
How do you think Trump will do in the Iowa caucus?
How about the other Republican candidates?
How much longer do you think Donald Trump will remain in the race?
http://www.npr.org/2015/12/14/459642064/why-ted-cruz-could-have-a-real-shot-at-the-gop-nomination
http://www.npr.org/2015/12/14/459642064/why-ted-cruz-could-have-a-real-shot-at-the-gop-nomination
http://www.people.com/article/ted-cruz-beating-donald-trump-in-iowa-caucus-poll
https://www.facebook.com/NowThisElection/videos/1069115729786583/?theater
7 comments:
Trump's comments are both an attempt at discrediting Cruz and a tactic for bringing more attention to himself. Considering that Trump's popularity is based entirely around his inflammatory remarks, the only way he can regain the public's attention is by lashing out at his opponents, especially a perceived threat like Ted Cruz. However, doing so may come back to bite him in the bud, since only 11% of Iowa Republican voters believe that Trump has "the best temperament to be president" compared with 34% who back Cruz (Yahoo).
It will likely be a close race between Trump, Cruz, and Carson in the Iowa Caucus, considering that GOP caucusgoers are typically die-hard conservatives. These three candidates are widely regarded as the anti-establishment wing of the Republican party, and so they will likely gain the most support in this crucial state. Nonetheless, even though Cruz is leading in the Iowa polls, it is still too early to predict the winner of the Iowa Caucus. In the time frame between now an the caucus, Trump may very well say something else stupid that paradoxically boosts his popularity, and so it is unclear whether Cruz's lead will last. As for the other Republican candidates, I believe that they will not do nearly as well as Trump, Cruz, and Carson in the Iowa Caucus. Like I said, most caucus attendees strongly affiliate themselves with the conservative wing of the Republican party, and so they are most likely going to side with these three candidates that have strongly positioned themselves to the right of the political spectrum. Rubio may win a decent portion of the vote due to his status as a fresh face in the Republican Party, but it is much more likely that he will be overshadowed by his more conservative opponents.
I believe that even if Trump does not win the primaries and caucuses, he will go through with this election until the end. He has more than enough money to use in his campaign, and his belligerence and foolhardiness will likely incline him to run as a third-party candidate.
Source:
https://www.yahoo.com/politics/donald-trump-ted-cruz-maniac-181657300.html
I agree with both Lorenzo and Olivia in saying that Trump is absolutely trying to undermine Curz's campaign. Unsurprisingly, but forever disappointingly, his comments are childlike and without forethought. It is good to hear that at least one state is recognizing Trump's inability to lead this nation. While it is too soon to say for sure who will win Iowa, I do hope that Cruz continues to lead over Trump and that Trump falls in the polls throughout the states. It is hard to say what will come of the Republican party candidates because the situation is so unique. No campaign has ever been as embarrassing as this one. If candidates were making comments like Trump five to ten years ago they would be off the party ticket immediately. Nonetheless, unfortunately it looks like Trump will be in this to the end. He is too stubborn to give up his position and seemingly loving all the media attention he is getting. I suppose, to him, any press is good press. If the Republican party does decide to kick him off the ballot, I wouldn't be surprised if he ran as an independent. Republicans fear this because if Trump did run as an independent, even though months ago he promised not to, he would then split the conservative's votes' and it would be a sure win for the Democrats. As a result, I think the Republican party will sit it out and hope that Trump simply looses the nomination to the other candidates or drops out of the race completely. While Trump falls behind I think that Rubio, Carson, and Cruz will take more of the spotlight. These candidates, though all conservative, are still more appropriate than Trump.
http://www.people.com/article/ted-cruz-beating-donald-trump-in-iowa-caucus-poll
Trump's entire campaign thus far has been entirely based upon inflammatory statements and rampant media attention. While I strongly disagree with Trump and the campaign he has lead, I do understand how it has worked out well for him - enough so for him to be leading in the polls consistently, that is until now. For Trump this development has to be unsettling and therefore makes perfect sense as to why he would then decide to go after Cruz and the success Cruz has been seeing in the only way he knows how - incendiary remarks about Cruz. As Cruz even pointed out himself the voters are really starting to look at Trump and question whether or not he can handle the responsibility of being President and whether or not he will be able to lead the nation in the right direction. With the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary fast approaching the reality of who will be the Republican candidate is becoming a very serious matter. Therefore it is at least good to see some voters starting to move away from the bombastic Trump. Furthermore I feel that Cruz is playing a smart game right now by not trying to engage Trump in any arguments (as was pointed out in the article with his quick twitter response stating that Trump was great). He realizes that he stands to gain many of Trumps supporters after more and more of them start to realize how unreliable a candidate Trump would make. Cruz also demonstrated this during the recent GOP debate where he didn't attack Trump as many thought he might of some of his stances. Overall I think that in the next few weeks we will see Cruz (as well as other Republican candidates such as Carson and Rubio) start to rise in the polls with Trump falling further behind.
I believe Trump is first and foremost making the comments to discredit Cruz since this is the first time he has to face a threatening opponent. Trump has for the most part been at the top of the polls since November. But now that Cruz has a chance of beating Trump, Trump must find away to discredit Cruz, but instead of exposing why he is a better candidate, Trump simply attacks Cruz’s person. Not only that, but Trump refers to irrelevant topics such as Cruz’s nationality. Expressing surprise at the fact that a Cuban is an evangelical just proves yet again the unprofessional Trump really is. I think that people are finally (and thankfully) beginning to realize that Trump isn’t fit to be the President of the United States especially in a time as precarious as this. With his harsh words and lack of real political knowledge, Trump would tarnish America’s reputation in matters of foreign policy. Trump’s support is decreasing and for good reason. According to The Hill, 13% of Trump’s supporters don’t agree with his proposal to temporarily ban Muslims. This will definitely affect the outcome of the Iowa caucus. Already we see that Cruz is gaining ground on Trump; Trump leads Cruz by only 3% which is within the margin of error. Despite the fact that Trump is leading, Cruz has been building the most momentum, gaining 11 points since the organization's November poll, and it might finally show in the upcoming caucus.I hope that in the next few weeks this trend will continue and we will see Trump continue to fall as the reality of the elections begins to dawn on voters. As for the other Republicans, the polls reveal that Rubio received 14 percent, followed by Carson, with 10 percent, and Bush with 7 percent. Christie, Fiorina and Huckabee all hit 3 percent. Rubio, Carson, Bush, and possibly Christie still have a chance at staying in the game, which the recent Republican debate could help with, but as of now Cruz and Trump seem remain the main focus.
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/263266-poll-trump-edges-ahead-of-cruz-in-iowa
I think with these inflammatory comments per usual about Cruz are Trump's efforts to keep the media attention on him as Cruz is beginning to obtain momentum (the big mo'!). In an effort to undermine Cruz's supporters, he is calling out Cruz for speaking behind closed doors and attempting to polarize his evangelical supporters. While I don't agree with it, I think that this strategy is smart on Trump's part. A Bloomberg Poll revealed that 73% of Trump supporters rate Governor Cruz quite highly. This statistic must be frightening to Trump and his camp as this means that if Trump is to falter (even more than he already has), his support could easily shift to Cruz who has already gained on him. By publicly bashing Cruz, he is trying to ensure that his supporters do not rate Trump as highly as they currently do. Trump is obsessed with his poll numbers, as demonstrated by his incessant tweeting about them; therefore, he is fully aware of Cruz's recent success. I agree with Amanda that Cruz is also being smart playing the same game as Trump; however, he is avoiding confrontation with Trump so he doesn't polarize any potential supporters from Trump's side. I think that if Cruz is able to pull off the Iowa caucus, Trump will suffer significantly and lose quite a bit of supporters. However, I'm not sure how I feel about a leading Cruz as the Republican nominee since he is deemed the "a nicer, more capable Trump." I particularly hope that neither Trump nor Cruz are able to win the nomination. Trump, for obvious reasons, but Cruz because of his RIDICULOUS comments about climate change as well as his take on the refugee crisis and same-sex marriage.
Source:
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-12-17/ted-cruz-is-winning-the-war-with-trump-without-even-having-a-battle
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