Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) positioned his presidential rival Donald Trump as a puppet of the “Washington establishment” while talking to reporters in New Hampshire Wednesday, Politico reported.
“Right now the Washington establishment is abandoning Marco Rubio, they made an assessment that Marco can’t win this race, and the Washington establishment is rushing over to support Donald Trump,” he said. “We’re seeing that happen every day and Mr. Trump is welcoming the support of the Washington establishment.”
The report noted that the Texas Republican did not mention any establishment Trump supporters by name. His comments came in response to questions about recent remarks from former Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole and Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R), who both cast doubt on Cruz’s ability to serve the Republican Party.
“I’m a Christian first, American second, conservative third and Republican fourth,” Cruz said, as quoted by Politico. “I’ll tell ya, there are a whole lot of people in this country that feel exactly the same way.”
After avoiding attacking each other for months, Trump and Cruz have been at each other’s throats since the Cruz rose to second place in many key early-state polls just weeks before voting gets underway.
Trump has gone after Cruz for being born in Canada—suggesting he may not be eligible to serve as President—and for his likability. For his part, Cruz has painted Trump as a New Yorker who is out of touch with the “values” of heartland America and a false conservative who once donated to Democratic causes.
Both candidates pitch themselves to voters as straight-talkers who are unafraid to ruffle feathers on Capitol Hill.
