Posted on 05/01/2016 8:47:18 AM PDT by COUNTrecount
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said in an interview airing Sunday that GOP front-runner Donald Trump may encourage riots if he does not win the Republican nomination in Cleveland this summer.
Asked on CBS' "Face the Nation" if he was concerned about the possibility of violence if he were able to "overthrow" Trump with the delegates in Cleveland, Cruz insisted there wouldn't but said that Trump might try to fan the flames.
"No, it won't, although Donald may do everything he can to encourage riots," he said. "You know, overthrow is such a loaded spin word as ... to bring nothing but chuckles."
Gerald Ford and Abraham Lincoln both won their respective nominations despite coming in with fewer votes than their opponents, he added, so it wouldn't be the first time that the candidate who comes out of a convention is the one who didn't win the most votes during the primaries.
"When we arrive in Cleveland, I'm going have a bunch of delegates," he said. "Donald's going have a bunch of delegates. And it's going be a battle to see who can earn the support of a majority of the delegates elected by the people."
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
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Cruz is becoming dispicable.
It's maddening trying to research this on the Internet because the numbers are all over the place but the best count I could come up with was that Ford was 43 delegates ahead (1,121 to Reagan's 1,078). In that year, 1,130 was the required amount so Ford was just 9 delegates short. Reagan only needed 58 delegates to put him over the top. So realistically, Reagan had a case for forcing a second ballot but it was a long shot as Ford only needed nine - which he ended up securing.
At convention time, Reagan saw the handwriting on the wall, dropped his bid to force a contested convention and was gracious and honorable in his concession to Ford, who went on to win on the first ballot.
We know the rest of the story. Four years later, Reagan would steamroller to the nomination and give America 8 wonderful years of presidential service.
It is insane to compare this year to 1976 in any way. In that year, both Ford and Reagan had over 1,000 delegates and Reagan was well within his rights to contest the nomination. This year, Cruz will be lucky to have 600 delegates while Trump is virtually guaranteed to have between 1200-1400.
Trump has an overwhelming lead over Cruz and even if Cruz were to win every remaining contest, he still would not be able to hit the needed 1237.
Has his “personality” changed over the past few years?
He (thinks) he’s smarter than everyone, this is a tremendous fault of his which has caused his implosion. He listens to no one, obviously.
He’s infuriated that Trump is winning because in his mind he’s smarter.
Ted Cruz is a low life.
I have gone from leaning Trump, but still very happy with Cruz - to despising the good Senator.
Seriously, what is wrong with this man?
I thought earlier that it was Trump,first choice, then Cruz, second choice...
A few months ago, I completely changed from that thought and saw Cruz for what he really was...
The true Cruz came out when he started losing badly to Trump...
I don’t know. To be honest, he barely registered with me although I remember the government shutdown. All I know is that I disliked his voice and his manner but I agreed on some issues. I did not follow his run for senator, though.
Cruz is the kid in high school who won all the awards, got the best grades and thought he was a shoo in to be class valedictorian. Then all of a sudden a brash kid with even more achievements has surpassed him to be the valedictorian, and Ted doesn’t know how to handle it.
Trump did say earlier in the campaign that his supporters wouldn't take a GOPe "screwing" lightly and implied there could be violence in that case. He didn't advocate it.
“Why didn’t his political advisers give him some clue(s)?”
Maybe they won’t because they would stop receiving their paychecks.
The only sane advice is to end the campaign, which means the advisers no longer have a job. That’s why they don’t.
LY’N Teddy. Lying again. There is a great distance from calling for riots and predicting riots. Cruz is a LIAR!!
It’s beyond “creepy”, it’s now in the serious mental health area.
Wow, that is lawyer talk if ever I heard some.......”COULD”. We all “Could” do something (name your poison) does not mean we will.
Mobs in CA paid for by Soros.......Cruz sending a message here?
His actions certainly show that claim to be a lie; heck, just his run, when he's so obviously not eligible, does.
I’m not worried about riots among GOP.
I am a bit worried that these guys have lost sight of an important point. Whoever wins in Cleveland will not win in November without the support of the other man’s supporters.
A scorched-earth campaign that leaves the opposing side bitter and unforgiving is a failed campaign. Trump can’t win without Cruz’s supporters and Cruz certainly can’t win without Trump’s people. This puts limits on what can be gained by a guerrilla campaign in Cleveland.
Both Trump and Cruz have proven themselves to be tough fighters and tough campaigners. Great. But a fight that leaves the party unable and unwilling to unite afterward is a failed campaign whoever emerges as the nominee. The enemy is Hillary, the DNC, the Soros mob. Not each other.
I’m impressed, really, with both men and their willingness to fight. But in the end each man has a veto over the other man, which means a dirty fight is a ticket to disaster. Especially, the Trump folks are particularly loyal on a personal level, which gives Trump himself a veto over Cruz if Cruz manages to pull out a victory in Cleveland. A victory in which half the hall walks out is no victory.
I don’t think this is going to happen. I think the two camps will come to an understanding before they get to Cleveland. I think in the end Trump is going to come out on top, simply because his people will not stand for anything else. Most Cruz people will support Trump if he is the nominee without any problem. Most Trump people will not support Cruz if there is any hint of dirty pool, and without Trump himself giving his blessing. So Cruz’s guerrilla campaign can only be effective if he is seen as in the end deserving of victory by his opponents, which is a tough barrier to get over.
Actually, that is an actionable slander. It is knowingly malicious and not protected speech in campaigns.
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