Posted on 04/20/2016 12:13:54 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Republican Donald Trump’s top staffer in Iowa accused rival Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) campaign Tuesday of blatantly bribing delegates but backpedaled on the accusations when pressed for specifics.
Asked on CNN whether the Cruz campaign has proved better at “gathering” delegates so far in the race, Tana Goertz, Iowa co-chair for the Trump campaign, responded they haven’t been ethically collecting delegates at all.
“Oh, no, no, no, not gathering delegates, stealing, lying, and bribing people to become delegates. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear,” Goertz, a former contest on “The Apprentice,” responded with a smile.
But when CNN hosts John Berman and Kate Bolduan followed up, Goertz was thin on the details but claimed she’d “seen it in action” working on the ground.
“Oh just, you know, bribing people to become a delegate for him and what and what he'll promise them I do not know because I actually didn't have a recording device to hear the bribes,” she said.
Bolduan pressed on about what exactly Goertz had seen, saying it was the first time they’d heard from a Trump staffer who reported seeing bribery of delegates in action.
Goertz said she’s witnessed the “corruptness” of the “rigged system” that Trump talks about on the campaign trail.
The CNN hosts didn’t let her off the hook.
“But Tana, you stated several things,” Berman began. “First of all, you have seen corruptness. I'm curious exactly what corruptness looks like. But you said you've seen the bribes in action but you said you don't have specifics about what was being offered. Doesn't a bribe require something specific being offered? What was offered? If you're accusing them of bribing, you should be able to back that up.”
Goertz said she would be happy to provide specifics after she spoke with Trump himself.
“Well, once I talk to Mr. Trump about it and he says I'm at liberty to say these things, I will be more than happy to come back on your show and explain to you about what I saw,” she said.
Bolduan tried again: “But you have definitely seen a bribe occur?”
“I have seen shady behavior. Let's just call it that,” Goertz answered. “But until I speak to Mr. Trump, I'm not at liberty to discuss this.”
Later on the show, Cruz's delegate adviser Ken Cuccinelli called the allegations "BS" and another of the Trump campaign's "Gestapo tactics."
Watch the exchange, captured by TPM:
(VIDEO-AT-LINK)
Stupid little codependent tried to imitate her boss's style and blew her own ignorant head off.
Accuse your opponent what you yourself are already doing, even if he isn't doing it, so that your opponent will get the media hit and when it is found out that you were doing it all along you won't get much of a media hit because your opponent got it first.
You're not clear at all. Go gather some actual evidence and come back... and not some enquirer slime gossip piece either.
Lyin' lib Trump.
This is a nothing burger, and of course, she hasn’t seen a bribe take place - she isn’t an undercover cop, but, there is evidence, and it will probably come out in due time. CNN reports sh** all the time without “evidence,: yet, they want to play gotcha with someone from the Trump campaign. Ken C is just another washed up candidate - seems Cruz surrounds himself with losers.
It doesn’t matter how much you lie about it or how much the media covers for you, stealing deligates to win at the convention will end the party and destroy Ted Cruz. The American public belives thier votes should count and Ted’s collapsing poll numbers shows that the truth is getting out.
Why does she need to talk to her boss first? She can’t even come up with a specific inducement?
A fact that the desperate Cruz supporters can’t seem to grasp.
wait, yesterday the discussion was still about Manford using the word 'gestapo' and oh, how horrible a person he was for using that term
now we hear that same term from the Cruz campaign?
We're trapped in the pages of Psychology Today!
"Trump aide defends use of term 'Gestapo' to describe Cruz campaign ..." CNN - 1 week ago
"The Trump campaign is accused of 'gestapo tactics, violence, ..." Daily Mail - 1 hour ago
stealing, lying, and bribing?
Amazing that the deal maker can’t make a deal.
“Lyin’ lib Trump.”
“Lyin’ Trump” is just as inaccurate as “Lyin’ Cruz”. Does anyone benefit from these personal attacks other than Hillary, Bernie, Jeb, Rubio, Kasich, and others who consistently support Amnesty, who consistently support Obamacare, and who consistently support restrictions on our individual, God-given right to keep and bear arms?
Decent Americans are better off with a real truce, and not just a “I’ll stop when every person who even pretends to support the other side stops” gesture toward a truce that will never happen.
The nonsense is not helping us to elect the best possible conservative in November. I want 99% or more of Cruz supporters to vote Trump, when he is nominated, even if they hold their noses. In the event that Cruz wins the nomination, I want 99% or more of Trump supporters to vote Cruz, even if they hold their noses. Offending the other side does not encourage them to vote Trump (or Cruz) in November.
I cannot help wondering how many of those who stir up the Trump-Cruz wars are actually paid trolls taking Jeb/Hillary/Soros money to cause trouble - not all of them but probably enough to set the toxic tone.
I stand by my recurring statement:
Cruz and Trump are both imperfect but they agree far more than 80% of the time (see my tagline from Ronald Reagan). They should be friends and allies, and we should treat both of them as such.
What weasels.
Well-earned applause. How about both sides of the Trump-Cruz wars stick to the issues, and remember that we are on the same side in the long run?
“Someone is not electable if he can’t get elected,”
As involved as I have thought I have been in the process the last almost 60 years, I have either been oblivious to that or it didn't happen. As much as Cruz supporters say this is the rule I must have been oblivious and would love to read about any examples I can.
I saw a fawning Sean Hannity interviewing the Trump children last night. They stated that Cruz was bribing candidates and Hannity just let it slide.
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