Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) on Monday bashed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who has refused to condemn Donald Trump’s Saturday remarks suggesting that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is only a “war hero” because he was captured.
There’s something unseemly about Cruz following Trump around like a lost puppy,hoping to get his leftovers when he finally flames out.
— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) July 20, 2015
After numerous Republican presidential candidates quickly denounced Trump’s Saturday comments, Cruz declined to criticize the real estate mogul.
“They’re running their own campaigns, they can make their decisions, I’m not going to go into the gutter with personal attacks impugning character,” Cruz told Bloomberg Politics on Saturday.
Cruz said that he would not play the “media game” and said that he consistently declines to attack his Republican and Democratic opponents.
“My view on John McCain is explicit and unambiguous. He’s an American hero and he’s a friend. I’m not going to just take a stick to fellow Republicans or for that matter to Democrats,” he told Bloomberg. “In my time in the Senate I haven’t impugned the character of Republicans or Democrats and I don’t intend to start today.”
Cruz also declined to criticize Trump when the real estate mogul called Mexican immigrants “rapists” and drug dealers.
“Now, when it comes to Donald Trump, I like Donald Trump,” Cruz told NBC earlier in July. “He’s bold, he’s brash. And I get that — that it seems the favorite sport of the Washington media is to encourage some Republicans to attack other Republicans. I ain’t gonna do it. I’m not interested in Republican on Republican violence.”
And just last week, the two presidential candidates met at Cruz’s invitation, though Trump seemed unsure about why Cruz had requested the rendezvous.
“Ted Cruz called me. And I don’t know why I’m meeting him, to be honest, but I do have respect for him,” Trump told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Donald Trump and @tedcruz at Trump Tower in NYC. pic.twitter.com/Bb5M7lBAf7
— Rick Tyler (@rickwtyler) July 16, 2015
Cruz told reporters on Wednesday that the two simply chatted about the 2016 presidential race. When asked if he sought the meeting to obtain Trump’s endorsement, Cruz said no, according to CNN.
“I’m a big fan of Donald’s, and we talked about the race,” Cruz said, according to CNN. “We talked about how we are each enjoying it and how there is a need for more truth tellers.”
The Wall Street Journal editorial board on Monday also mentioned Cruz’s refusal to condemn Trump, noting that it signal’s the senator’s interest in gaining Trump’s supporters.
“But note the silence of Ted Cruz, who declined to criticize Mr. Trump because he said the media enjoy such intra-Republican fights. Mr. Cruz has recently released a book whose main theme is an attack on other Republicans,” members of the editorial board wrote. “It’s central to his campaign strategy. The Texas Senator must be hoping to inherit Trump voters once the casino magnate flames out, but he’s revealing his own lack of political character.”
“Hero” is a label tossed around so much it’s lost any meaning.
It’s funny that the critics of military service quite often are people who never served.
Cruz needs a new tailor, checkout the sleeve length on his coat!
Puppies the troll?
Of course he follows Trump around like a lost puppy. He wants to play with the same crazy chew toy of fear, ignorance and hatred that has provided the GOP with so many hours of entertainment, (not to mention more than a few winning elections).
C’mon TPM. You keep applying rules of logic to political thought that died off when a black man was elected President. Today it’s all about the fear and hatred. Didn’t you read your own posts about Jade Helm and the Marine with anger management issues?