Trump is playing defense. He is adopting a defensive strategy.
Defense is a losers' game. Its only utility is to prevent advancement of the opposition.
Ted Cruz has for the past 26 years spent his life working in the legal system to do more than prevent leftism from advancing -- Cruz has actively functioned to advance conservatism. His record and history show it.
During that same 26 years, Trump switched parties three times and only 8 years ago was a Hillary-loving Democrat who supported McCain (Obama failing to name Hillary as VP may have had something to do with it). He found the Republican party good enough to re-join right when it became the party of McCain and Romney. That was the same time the party left me and I daresay most conservatives.
Of all times to take an offensive strategy, it is during the party's primaries. At this point, we can only guess as to who the Democrat opponent will be. Exit, don't you remember this time eight years ago, when Obama was but a tiny blip on the radar and all conservatives were shrieking, "Anybody but Hillary!" While allowing the nomination of (up to that point) the single most fraudulent "conservative Republican" in presidential history, John McCain???
Trump is publicly attacking Hillary and Bill Clinton.
How is that defensive?
It is obviously offensive, so much so that the rest of the GOP will not join him in the attack on Bill Clinton, nor on the attack of Hillary's physical abilities or precarious legal position regarding the email server situation.
Maybe it is offensive to them.
Trump is playing defense. He is adopting a defensive strategy.
Defense is a losers' game. Its only utility is to prevent advancement of the opposition.
Do you actually read what you write?
Sun Tzu's — Art of War "Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack." It would be hard to find a better epitome of the root principle of war.