“Why would MSNBC want to portray Cruz as rising and threatening Trump and Carson? Why would MSNBC not want Trump and/or Carson to be the Rep nominee?”
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Perhaps MSNBC believes that Cruz has a narrow, albeit passionate, base of support.
Unfortunately come election time, the vote of every extremely low information, America-hating, lawless Democrat voter, even if they didn’t actually vote, is equal to the vote of a knowledgeable patriotic Cruz voter.
Plus the millions of illegal alien votes and that election night voodoo the Democrats perform with perfection on voting machines and ballots from one end of the country to the other. Regardless of who the GOP nominee eventually is they will have a tough, uphill fight even against the most flawed candidate in American presidential history in Shrillary Rodham.