A CNN reporter tweeted that Carson was not going to New Hampshire or South Carolina after he left Iowa. Someone on Cruz's staff interpreted that to mean that Carson was dropping out of the race. I would have interpreted the reporter's words exactly the same way. If Carson was not going to visit the states hosting the next two primaries, why would anyone believe that he was still in the race?
In perfect hindsight, the Cruz staffers should have waited for confirmation from Carson. They did not, and Cruz apologized for their mistake.
The notion that this was anything more than a mistake falls apart on examination. Had Cruz or his staff known that Carson was not dropping out, they would also have known that Carson would quickly reaffirm that he was still running. The "dirty campaign trick" was guaranteed to blow up in the face of the Cruz campaign within hours. It would lose votes for Cruz in all subsequent primaries. That would have been obvious to Cruz and his staff.
It would have been an incredibly stupid campaign stunt.
Ted Cruz is not stupid. He would not have done it.
I Appreciate your thoughtful reply with the knowledge that Trump isn’t your guy. But I wasn’t arguing the Iowa episode over again but using it to explain my opinion.