Ted Cruz Questions Donald Trump's 'Judgment' to Be President (Uh oh)

NY Times ^ | Maggie Haberman and Matt Flegenheimer

[RoosterRedux]

Senator Ted Cruz raised questions on Wednesday at a private fund-raiser about whether Donald J. Trump, his bombastic rival for the Republican presidential nomination, has the "judgment" to be president and mused about "strength," according to two people who attended the event in Manhattan

The remarks from Mr. Cruz came as he has studiously avoided public criticism of Mr. Trump, who is handily beating the rest of the Republican field in opinion polls.

Mr. Cruz has positioned himself to be the beneficiary of any erosion of support for Mr. Trump. While he has said he doesn't agree with Mr. Trump's proposal for a ban on Muslim immigrants entering the United States, he has taken pains to praise Mr. Trump for making immigration a focal point of his candidacy.

But inside a conference room in a Madison Avenue office, with about 70 people pressed around a table, Mr. Cruz gave a candid assessment of the race, lumping Mr. Trump with another candidate whose supporters the Texas senator hopes to poach, Ben Carson, according to two people present for the remarks.

[V K Lee]

As has happened before, we sit with breath awaiting the first punch, the second, and ultimately the KO

Perhaps Cruz has seen himself rise in the polls and feels the time is right. Perhaps this is a nothing no-burger. Brother Ted, hold your fire. There is still a long road ahead and not one you wish to travel alone with no friends in high places. Scouts ahead!

GO Trump Go Cruz
Riding your coat tails and flying high. Greatly enjoying the view

[ETL]

"I think that I would probably get along with him [Putin] very well."

--Donald Trump, CBS' Face The Nation, Oct 2015

[Marcella]

“I do believe when the times comes, it will not be school yard ugly.”

Trump knows no other way than “school yard ugly”, to put down a candidate. He will do it that way if Cruz numbers come close to his. However, I doubt the polls will reflect the work Cruz workers are doing county by county, meaning the actual Cruz voters cannot determined by a poll.

That is what happened in Texas when Cruz ran for Senator. He ran against a wealthy Lt. Governor and the polls showed Cruz losing even the day before the election. The next day, when voters voted, Cruz won handily.

[Impala64ssa]

This smells to me like the Times is trying to manufacture a wedge between Cruz and Trump.
Like that Honeymooners episode where Ralph is goaded into taking on Harvey, the neighborhood bully Sometimes life does imitate art.

[CottonBall]

Yes he did question Trump’s judgment. Not in a bold honest way but in a mamby-pamby way.

[ETL]

Ted Cruz on ISIS, Russia, Obama, missile defense, and the New START Treaty with Russia...

"If we want to actually dismantle ISIS, we need to dramatically change course. We need a real, robust campaign that maximizes our overwhelming air advantage.

We need to focus our efforts not on trying to create friends, but on supporting our real ones, especially the Kurds in Iraq and Syria who have actually had success against ISIS."

-snip-

"We can redouble our efforts to develop the defensive weapons that neutralized the offensive Soviet threat -- particularly missile defense, which has seen a 25% budget reduction under Obama, according to an analysis from the conservative Heritage Foundation, and has been constrained by bad arms deals like New START.

We should not only move quickly to install the canceled interceptor sites Putin opposed in Poland and the Czech Republic, but also to develop the next generation of systems that will only increase his discomfiture.

These options do not entail a ground war in Syria, yet would effectively shake us free from the failed policies that have brought us to our current impasse.

These options set us on a new path that puts Putin on notice that the United States is reclaiming our traditional role as leader of the free world."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/09/opinions/cruz-syria-putin/index.html

**********************************************************

"I think it would be a mistake to get involved in the Syrian civil war. There have been voices in Washington eager for us to send our sons and daughters over to fight that civil war for some time. I haven't been one of them. I think the touchstone of U.S. military policy should be protecting the national security of this country."

"What we're seeing Putin in Russia do is a direct response to the profound weakness of Obama over six and a half years.

Putin views Obama as weak, as ineffective, and frankly, as a laughingstock. And, as a result, he is moving in, he is invading his neighbors, like Ukraine, he's kidnapping Estonians, and he's moving into Syria to gain a stronger foothold in the Middle East."

https://www.tedcruz.org/news/icymi-cruz-we-have-no-business-getting-in-the-middle-of-the-syrian-civil-war-goal-should-be-to-defeat-isis/

**********************************************************

Ted Cruz:
"We need a coherent plan to address both the specific crisis in Syria and the challenge posed more broadly by Putin's resurgent Russia.

The good news is that America still has options, if our leaders can summon the will to exercise them.

For starters, in Syria we can't double down on the failed strategies that have given Putin his opportunity to intervene.

We are now two years out from President Obama's proposed intervention after al-Assad used chemical weapons against his own people. ..."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/09/opinions/cruz-syria-putin/index.html

[kabar]

...but no one has any idea of where he really stands on anything.

That can be said about any of the candidates of either party. They are politicians who will do anything to get elected. Obama got the two highest vote totals in American history--by far. Hope and Change won out. Now we find out what it really means.

[gwgn02]

Suck it up buttercup.

[pgkdan]

I think Ted senses (like everyone else did before him) that it’s slipping away. We’re now 50 days out, and in most polls he’s 20 points behind. In normal politics, that’s just insurmountable.

I completely agree but this isn't normal politics. However, every time Trump says something that gets Washington's panties all in a twist and the media announcing the end of his campaign he just picks up more support. I still support Ted for the second slot on the ballot.

[Jay Thomas]

Where’s the facts or quotes in this story? Only the words judgement and strenth are in quote marks.

[kabar]

Trump is incapable of admitting he’s wrong, has only an intermittent connection between his brain and his mouth, and does not take criticism at all. We’ve had 7 years of a person like that in the White House and see where it’s gotten us.

We see where it has gotten the Dem agenda. The Reps have lost the popular vote in 5 out of the last 6 elections. It is a party on life support. We need a winner no matter what.

[CottonBall]

“That actually is a good comparison - Biden speaks without thinking through what he is about to say and neither does Trump. The comment was not abut their politics, but about their speaking habits.”

Trump knows exactly what he is saying. He says it in common, nonPC, nonlecturing terms so it appears off the cuff. But it is planned and calculated.

Read any of his books - his speaking style is part of the plan.

His Muslim moratorium came right after Obama’s weak speech. He has set himself up as the counter to a president weak on national security, which the democrat candidate will just continue.

[Liz]

You can make book Trump has a fascinating, capable, well-known person in mind for his running mate...someone w/ impeccable conservative bona fides...maybe even a true patriot from the high echelon of the retired military. Definitely won't be the lackluster Cruz who has little to no charisma who's been mired in low ratings since the beginning.

There's an artificiality about Cruz, an emptiness that does not inspire confidence. Seems to be saying: "Look at me, A Canadian Latino running w/ the big guys. "

Cruz was born in Canada to an American mother, and latino father....Cruz ran for office as an unacknowledged dual Canadian-American citizen. It was not until a 2013 Dallas Morning News article that Cruz finally acknowledged his Canadian citizenry publicly. In 2014, he renounced his Canadian citizenship altogether....but nobody knows whether the Texans who elected him to office are aware of it. Cruz got elected touting his "latino" credentials.....even though only his father is supposedly latino.

The US presidency is not the place to shore up one's lack of self-esteem. Donald is confident, smart, and a real patriot. He does not need to check his self-esteem every few minutes.

========================================

Texas Gov Greg Abbott would be an outstanding VP choice for Donald Trump.

<><> He beat abortion Dem/Barbie handily.

<><> Abbott took on the lesbian sheriff and said NO to sanctuary cities.

<><> Abbott is a leader who gets things done; he lead 26 AG's in the
successful legal fight to get Obama's heinous amnesty EO's out on hold.

<><> Abbott recently found the funding loophole that could prevent Obama
from forcing taxpayers to finance Syrian refugees squatting in the US.

<><> He warned non-profit groups to cease their refugee activities in his state.

<><> Abbott honored a young Texas student who defended her Christianity w/ an invite to his office.

<><> Texas has an armed state militia.

<><> Abbott threatened legal action against non- profits resettling Syrian refugees in his state.

<><> Abbott Ordered Investigation of Use of Tissue from Abortions

<><> Aboott has played rough w/ Mexico throwing its illegals over the border.

<><>Abbott appointed Home-School Mom To Chair State Board Of Education

<><> Abbott OK'ed Ousting Planned Parenthood From Cancer Program

<><> Texas Building New Facility To Store Gold Reserves Out of Reach of Federal Confiscation or Seizure

<><> Abbott is a formidable roadblock thwarting Obama's dream to turn conservative Texas purple.

Texas Gov Greg Abbott would be an outstanding VP choice for Donald Trump.

Gov Abbott is permanently disabled, confined
to a wheelchair b/c of a crippling accident.

[ETL]

Like that Honeymooners episode where Ralph is goaded into taking on Harvey, the neighborhood bully

Ralph was goaded by his best friend Ed Norton.

Hey, he's even bigger than your friend Shirley"...
"Go ahead, Ralph, I'll hold your coat"

[DoodleDawg]

We see where it has gotten the Dem agenda. The Reps have lost the popular vote in 5 out of the last 6 elections. It is a party on life support. We need a winner no matter what.

We can find a winner who isn't a blow-hard. Ted Cruz is more conservative than Trump, brighter than Trump, a better communicator than Trump, and would likely be able accomplish things as president.

[Uncle Miltie]

Any good candidate we all want should expect all good people to come to their side.

Why would anyone run for President if they didn’t have great confidence in their ability to attract votes from competitors?

This is normal. Everyone take a deep breath, and let the campaign continue.

[Travis T. OJustice]

So why is trump handing him his lunch?

[DungeonMaster]

Ted Cruz Questions Donald Trump's 'Judgment' to Be President (Uh oh)

Football analogy. Trump is a running back heading toward the end zone. Trump seems unchallenged but Cruz is a tackle triangulating on him hoping to make the tackle before he scores.

[Marcella]

"He (Biden) may be the Dems choice if Hillary is indicted or at the very least, the FBI recommends to DOJ that she be charged."

Biden cannot run. The date has passed for Presidential candidates to sign up. Plus, it is too late to get his name on the early states primary ballots even if he could sign up, which he cannot.

[CottonBall]

Trump gets along with everyone until attacked - ever see him on an interview? He usually has the liberal reporter eating out of his hand.

Getting along doesn’t mean agreeing with. We are too used to the RINOs and their definition of ‘compromise’ which us really ‘capitulate’.

Reagan got along with Gorbachev - lots of smiling and hand-shaking - but never capitulating.

I think even the Trump-haters don’t see Trump as weak.