Subject: Ted Cruz: ‘Foolish’ for GOP to criticize Trump - Katie Glueck - POLITICO
From: "Eric Schwerin" <[email-masked]>
To: "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 10 Aug 2015 23:03:56 -0400

Ted Cruz: ‘Foolish’ for GOP to criticize Trump - Katie Glueck - POLITICO

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/ted-cruz-foolish-for-gop-to-criticize-trump-121241.html#ixzz3iTH1mFJX

Ted Cruz: ‘Foolish’ for GOP to criticize Trump
[image: WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 11: Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), speaks at the
2013 Values Voter Summit, held by the Family Research Council, on October
11, 2013 in Washington, DC. The summit, which goes for three days, is
attended by a number of Republican senators and high profile conservative
voices in American politics. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)]

Getty

He says that it is dangerous to dismiss a candidate with this type of
drawing power.

By Katie Glueck <http://www.politico.com/reporters/KatieGlueck.html>

8/10/15 10:48 PM EDT

FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz on Monday warned that the Republican
presidential candidates who are slamming Donald Trump do so at their
political peril.

Cruz’s remarks, which came during an interview with POLITICO as he swings
through the South on a bus tour, are among the most detailed comments to
date regarding his reluctance to criticize the real estate mogul, who is
currently leading the polls in the GOP primary.

Story Continued Below

“I would … note that an awful lot of Republicans, including other
Republican candidates, have gone out of their way to smack Donald Trump
with a stick. Now I think that’s just foolish,” he said.

Asked why, Cruz paused and then replied, “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.”

And when asked whether he wants those voters to eventually support him, he
replied, “It is my hope to earn the support of the supporters for every
other candidate in 2016.”

In contrast to most of the other Republican presidential contenders, Cruz
has refrained from directly condemning Trump for making comments targeted
at prisoners of war and at women, even as he has indicated he doesn’t agree
with the sentiments. 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.

“There are no doubts that there are policy differences between me and
Donald Trump’s past policy positions,” Cruz said.

For example, Trump drew fire from other Republicans — though not from Cruz
— when during the first GOP presidential debate last week he appeared to
take a favorable view of single-payer health care in other countries.

“There may well come a time in this conversation where we discuss those
differences more fully,” he continued. “No one is asking about tax policy.
[The media] wants me to comment on the salacious back-and-forth, and I’m
not going to play that game.”

Instead, he was quick to praise Trump for bringing the issue of illegal
immigration to the forefront. Cruz, who takes a tough line on illegal
immigration, may have crossover appeal to some of the same voters who are
turning out for Trump, an anti-illegal immigration hardliner who has made
highly controversial comments about undocumented immigrants.

“I am grateful to Donald Trump for forcing the media to talk about illegal
immigration,” he said. “Illegal immigration is a tremendously important
challenge facing this country, and it is an issue where I have been leading
the fight for many years.”
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Eric D. Schwerin
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